Frozen Hearts

By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty

Chapter 6- Love is an open door

Seven years later

December 2013

The car stopped at the church gates. Anna got off the car alone. She remembered the last time she boarded that car with her parents; she was going to see them off at the airport. They were going to attend her cousin Rapunzel's wedding. Anna had to sit for her middle school final, so she couldn't go with them. She remembered how angry she was, and they promised to bring her gifts to tame her anger. Anna walked on to the lawn, near the lake where two tombs stood side by side. The graves of Adgar and Idun Kingsley.

It had been three years since she said them goodbye.

It had been three years since she was left all alone.

Was it only three years? No, there had been more. She was alone from the day the doors were shut in her face... She never knew why Elsa did this, or why she suddenly began to act so rude with her around her. But she knew she left her, deserted her in the middle of the sea of weird people. Valarie said that Elsa was ashamed to have Anna as her step-sister. Hailey said Elsa grew tired of Anna's witlessness and naivety. Anna never believed them. But as hours ticked by, their statements began to feel like truths.

Anna wondered if Elsa ever cared for her. Or the friendship they shared soon after their parents' marriage was just one of Elsa's temporary hobbies? Maybe she soon grew tired of her and began ignoring her. In the reality, all she cared about herself. All she wanted to be the perfect heir for their father's business. She secured a scholarship somewhere in Norway and flew away.

And then she found love. It was Hans Westergard who asked her to be his friend when she was spiraling into the bowels of depression. He broke up with his long term girlfriend Sofia soon after the riding competition. Anna heard in the air that it was Sofia who left him. She was angry with him for letting Anna ride with him instead of her. Anna really felt for him, because partly it was her fault. Soon they became friends, good ones. After Elsa's departure Hans became her only companion. Anna always had a crush on him, but after this, their relationship grew in a very short time. She could still remember the way they danced, his arms were around her waist, his breath tricking her cheeks.

They became such good friends and Anna was falling more and more for him.

But good things never lasted long in Anna's life. Three months after Elsa's departure he moved in to Denmark with his mother. He left her without saying goodbye.

People mocked her for her naivety. No one could be such a loser all the time.

She never trusted them. She emailed Elsa every month, and sent her the best pictures she captured. Everyday she checked her inbox, but there was no reply from Elsa. She emailed Hans asking how he was. But he also remained unresponsive. Anna remained perfectly happy as long as she remained out of the house, but again, when she returned home the similar emptiness of the huge Kingsley mansion came to engulf her. And also the memories…thousands of memories …and then she felt more and more lonely…

She heard that Elsa was doing well in her school in Norway, and Hans found his love back with Sofia.

Still she had her parents to hold her, to comfort her. They encouraged her to move on. They encouraged her to take more photography lessons. They arranged meetings with professional photographers for her. Anna grabbed the opportunity.

Then they died in a plane crush.

And Anna was left all alone.

She attended the funeral alone. She emailed Elsa for the last time, begging her to attend the funeral of their parents. Like all other times her email remained unanswered. She often wondered if Elsa really loved their parents. As the question of the next heir was roused, people began asking where Elsa was. She told them to wait.

Anna waited. For long three years. Their father's faithful business partners Mr. Kai and his young wife Gerda looked after the Arendelle Company for the last three years. But the hotel business was falling, and the employees longed for a real leader. The trusty board was pressing her to take Elsa's position in her absence.

Her phone buzzed to indicate a text message. There were several texts from the trusty board, asking for her final decision. Actually it was Duke Weselton, the head of the trusty board who seemed most eager to discuss topic. According to his opinion Arendelle was suffering without a real leader. They couldn't sign a new contract without a real president. Anna stared at the text for a while and threw the phone back into her purse. She wasn't made for this, didn't they know? It was Elsa's task.

Anna knelt down beside the twin graves, and laid the white flowers she brought for them. Snow of the mid winter settled upon her strawberry hair, a drop of tear rolled from her eyes. "Oh, papa." She sighed. "Tell me what I am goanna do now?"

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She didn't know how long she cried beside her parents' graves. When her tears finally ceased to fall, Anna stood up and wiped her face. She picked up her purse form the ground and turned to leave; then a voice said, "Wait…"

The voice sounded so familiar, that Anna stopped and turned. Through the tears that blurred her vision she could see a familiar figure coming towards her. He was clad in a formal white suit and trousers with a matching navy blue shirt and a burgundy tie. His hair was auburn with sideburns of same color, and his eyes were green. "Anna…" He smiled, taking another step closer.

The purse slipped from Anna's hand, landing on the ground with a soft thud.

"Hans Westergard…" She whispered, still not believing her eyes, "You…" She was about to faint, but he caught her before she hit the ground. "Glad I caught you." He continued smiling, "Oh, Anna you have not changed at all."

Anna didn't know what to say, she could only blink several times, still unable to close her mouth. "You…." She whispered.

The air was so heavy with tension. She couldn't still believe her eyes.

"I went to your house, but your secretary told that you are here." Hans grinned, looking amused with Anna's baffled expression, "I know I should call you first, but I wanted to surprise you."

Anna's hands were shaking, and various kind of emotions flooded her consciousness- love, hate, loss…she didn't know which one she was feeling right now. She was surprised that she didn't faint. After all the years of silence, after all the humiliation, he chose to come back now….

"Why now?" Her voice sounded like ice.

"Anna," Hans was taken aback by Anna's cold expression, but he quickly recovered, and took Anna's hands in a gesture of apology, "Let me explain…"

"No..." A cry ripped from Anna's throat, as she freed her hand from Hans' grip, "Don't even try it Hans." Her chest was rising and falling uncontrollably, her body was shaking as she was trying to fight back her tears, "I'm not the naïve girl you knew seven years ago..."

"Anna…" Hans was expecting something like this. So he moved near her to touch her shoulder, "I can tell you…."

"No." Anna brushed away Hans' hand from her shoulder; her eyes were blurry with tears. "Don't touch me."

Then she ran.

She locked herself in her room for the rest of the day, staring at the empty walls. Her parents were dead, her sister left her, and she had no idea what to do. She was so alone, so lonely in this merciless world. She buried her face in her pillows and cried.

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In the next few days Anna got numerous texts from Hans, and endless emails from the trusty board. Anna never read the texts or opened the emails. She deleted the texts from her phone and logged out from her email account. Her phone rang and rang, but Anna never answered the calls.

It turned into an everyday routine and Anna learned to live with it.

On the third week, suddenly all the texts from Hans stopped coming, so did the calls. First two days Anna ignored it, feeling relived by lack of them, but on the third day she began to wonder whatever happened to him, and on the fourth day she really began to worry. On the fifth day she got a voicemail from him.

I am going back to Denmark. Before I leave this country, I've something to say to you.

An odd sense of emptiness filled her heart as she listened to the voicemail; an odd sense of guiltiness overtook her. Though she never wanted to admit, but in the reality she actually enjoyed his annoying texts, and she got worried when he stopped sending them. She admitted or not but she did care for Hans, and she missed him. If she looked into her heart, she probably loved him too.

Now she was losing him again.

No, it couldn't happen. She could hear his apology. At least he really wanted to apologize to her, unlike Elsa, who never bothered to her any explanation except shutting her out.

Anna found Hans sitting on a bench, waiting for her in the park. When he saw her, he only shook his head, and Anna took her seat beside him. It was a cool winter day, with a soft breeze coming from the lake, and both of them sat in silence. It was Anna who broke the silence.

"So tell me what makes you to return?"

"Sofia finally broke our engagement." Hans turned his eyes from the lake, and looked at Anna. "She eloped with my brother Henry. She was pregnant with his child."

His answer made her angry. She quickly got up from her seat, her face was red with anger, "So you came back to have me as your second choice." She took a step backwards, her voice was broken, "How can you imagine that I will love you back after all the years of silence.

"Anna…" Her reaction hurt him. But Anna wasn't listening. She turned and ran, shock and anger propelling her forward with unusual speed. But she couldn't outdistance him, because he caught her near the gate, and gripped her arms. "Anna," Hans pleaded, his green eyes were wide with pain and honesty, "It is not the reason I came back to you. I realized that I wronged you, and I want to apologize to you for all the hurt I caused you."

Anna looked at him in surprise. "Why should you, after all these years of silence?"

"I think I love you, Anna. All these years I can't stop thinking about you. I'm sorry for my silence." His voice was filled with passion. "I deluded myself in love with Sofia. But I was in such a condition that I was forced to do it."

"But why should I trust you?" Anna was fighting a strange impulse to run away again, before her twelve years old self overtook her. She tried to keep her voice steady; although she was afraid it shook a little when she spoke, "What are your reasons? Everyone, from Elsa to you shut me out, always. What I've ever done to deserve that? What? What?"

She broke into tears, and she didn't even try to hide it. "How can you think I can accept you again in my life? How?"

Hans released her arms, and let her cry. He didn't hug her or take her in his arms, he only touched her hands which were resting on the empty space between them and whispered, his voice was so honest, "Anna, you know I was sent to Denmark after my father's death. My mom was a Danish girl and they met during one of daddy's tours in Denmark. She was his fifth wife, and my twelve older step-brothers despised her. Especially Henry. His mother was daddy's fourth wife, and they divorced because of my mother. I was her only child, so they despised me too. My eldest brother sent me and mom back to Denmark. Mom became drug addict; I hardly had any money to come back or to contact you over telephone or email. All of my step-brothers pretended that I was invisible for all those years, and I had to work hard every weekends, and holidays to earn my food and education expenses in a foreign country."

Anna listened as Hans went on, and she was thinking. It was her own life story repeating to her. Both of them shared the same story- shut out by their siblings, living in loneliness, yearning for love. The truth was that she found his story more heartbreaking than hers. At least she had her parents to look after her, but Hans had no one. He made his way alone in this rude world. She had never felt this way about a man before, and it was an exhilarating experience. She told him about her life story, and both of them cried together for their painful pasts. She felt her heart fluttering in her ribcage when Hans took her hand and smiled, "I longed for true love. Then Sofia came back in my life. We got engaged. But the day before our marriage she eloped with Henry. I know your pain, Anna. I promise, I will never shut you out like Elsa."

Oh, my God! Anna's breath caught when he said those words. He is always the perfect gentleman, damn him. He never let anyone to see his sorrows. But Anna could see right through him- a sixteen years old boy yearning for love. And she fell in love with him over and over again. She didn't protested when Hans took her in his arms, and kissed her.

"Whatever happened to you, it was not right, and I'm going to try to correct that for you, Hans." She said. He smiled, kissing her once again.

So when Hans offered Anna to accompany him to a photography session in Kentucky, she couldn't resist. She boarded the next plane to Kentucky with him.

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It was an amazing experience. Hans Westergard was a well known figure in the world of photography, and Anna was amazed to see how good teacher he was. Beside him, Anna felt like an amateur. They went to the beautiful sites together, and snapped numerous photos, and Hans was always there with his innovative ideas about the photos. He had an excellent artistic eye too. He taught her, corrected her, and the more and more Anna saw him, she fell in love with him again and again. Hans arranged for Anna to appear at company picnics, at photography contests, and at dozens of social events, but she knew these appearances were expanding her fame as a rising photographer, and she felt more and more grateful to Hans.

Anna and Hans were having dinner at Cheznous, after Anna's first exclusive solo photography exhibition.

"You're getting famous Anna. You'll not need my help soon." Hans said teasingly, "Will you forget me then?"

But Anna took the matter seriously; she raised her eyes to look into his, "Do you think I'm really that selfish?" She sounded quite hurt. Her tone made Hans to look into her eyes; tears were about to spill from those big blue eyes. Oh God, why she had to be so naïve? Her naivety almost pained him sometimes. Hans took her hand, and patted it gently, "Oh, Anna I never mean it. I know who you are. And that's why I love you."

Anna raised her teary eyes to look into Hans' face. She sat there looking at him across the table, thinking, "He's the most wonderful man I have ever met. What I'd do without him." She wanted to take him in her arms and hold him, for the rest of her life.

Hans read her thought in her face, because he took her in his arms, and Anna buried her face in his chest. He buried his face in her luxuriant strawberry blonde hair, and inhaled, "I'll always be with you Anna, don't worry."

Anna knew that it wasn't an empty promise.

They kissed, then again at the restaurant gate, then again and again through their way to the hotel. As they approached near Anna's room in the hotel, Hans said hesitantly, "Anna, it's almost midnight. You seem tired. I better go to my room, and you better take some rest. There will be another exhibition tomorrow."

"No," she said, and the intensity of her voice surprised him. "I'm not tired."

Hans turned to look at her. "You want me to stay? Am I reading too much into that question?

"Yes," she said quietly. "I want you to stay tonight." Anna took a deep breath, "With me. Will you stay, Hans?"

Hans looked at her a long time. "Yes."

Afterward, she never knew who made the first move. All she remembered was that they were undressing each other and she was in his arms and there was a wild, feral haste in their lovemaking, and after that, a slow and easy melting, in a rhythm that was timeless and ecstatic. It was her first time. It was the most wonderful feeling Anna had ever experienced. They were together the whole night, and it was magical. Hans was insatiable, giving and demanding at the same time, and he went on forever. And Anna thought, "Oh, my God, I'm happy. I'm really happy at last."

The next day Hans took her to another exhibition. Anna had no idea that it was her second solo exhibition too. This time the critics appreciated her, and the people kept whispering around her, "Oh, it's Anna Kingsley. Have you seen the picture she shot for the paper last week?"

Hans smiled proudly at her, "That's my girl."

"What would I do without you Hans?' Anna thought, falling for him again and again.

Whenever Anna wasn't attending any exhibitions or snapping photos, she and Hans found some time to be together. They went riding in a horse-drawn carriage through Triangle Park, spent a Saturday afternoon at the Antique Market, ate chocolate fondue at A la Lucie. They went on white-water rafting on the Russell Fork River one Sunday, only to turn the boat over and returned to the hotel completely soaked. They made love afterwards in the hotel room, in the woods, in the back of Anna's car.

It didn't matter to Anna whatever she and Hans did or wherever they went, she was always with him. Slowly the pains of her past began fading, so did the memories of Elsa, and her heart was soaring higher and higher with the dream of a whole new life. Her life turned more colorful when he took her in his arms, and the world busted into pleasure when he kissed her. The world suddenly seemed brighter, more beautiful. Everything was touched with magic, and the magic was Hans Westergard.

On their third week in Kentucky, Anna received an email from Duke Weselton, the head of the trusty board, informing her that she must attend a meeting with The Southern Isles Company about a contract. Anna was afraid; so she went to him "Oh Hans, What I'm going to do?"

"What about Elsa?" He asked, "Why don't you ask her to do it? After all she is the heir."

"She never responds to any of my messages since she left for Norway." Anna replied. Hans fell silent for a moment, he looked worried.

After a few minutes of thinking he finally said, "Then, you better agree with them darling." He soothed her, "Duke Weselton is our oldest business partner. He always wishes well for you."

"But…" Anna hesitated.

"Oh, darling." Hans kissed her forehead, "You'll do great, and believe me. I'll be with you. I'll share your burden of duties."

She looked up and smiled for the first time. "Can I trust you, Hans?"

Hans took her hand and kissed her knuckles, "You can trust me, Anna."

His voice was reassuring, and Anna never felt so secure in her life before.

On their fourth week in Kentucky, Anna and Hans were hiking in the Breaks Interstate Park, enjoying the spectacular scenery that surrounded them.

"It is crazy. I've never been on this trail before," Anna said.

"I love being crazy." Hans smiled.

They were approaching a sharp curve in the path. As they rounded it, Anna stopped, stunned. In the middle of the path there was a human chain, made by seven small children, each carrying a placard: ANNA KINGSLEY, WILL YOU MARRY ME?

Anna's heart began to beat faster. She looked at Hans, speechless.

But he was already on his knees. "It is crazy, I know. But will you marry me, Anna?"

"Can I say something even crazier?" She hugged him tightly and whispered, "Yes."

That night Anna typed the 1001st email to Elsa.

If you ever loved me, come to my wedding.

Reviews? Faves? Follows?

Influenced by "The best laid plans" by Sidney Sheldon.

Ages- Anna 18 (soon to be 19) , Hans 23, Elsa 21, Kristoff 21.

Errors are all mine. Consider them nicely.