Still loving all the reviews... and, well, the love guys! Here's today's chapter!
Disclaimer: Frozen and Disney are not mine!
Elsa's eyes swerve over to the large man sitting at the counter, his beard puffs out from his face as he offers them both a large grin. The Queen looks down at her snow covered body and back up towards the large unassuming man, "Yes, um... hello. I am Elsa, Queen of Arendelle could you -"
Hans breaks the interaction with a cough, this one much more nasally as if he were getting sick. He pulls his gloved hand up to his face to stop the spray. Sick was something Elsa couldn't really afford at this point.
"We need to use your sauna to warm up... and perhaps you could make us something warm to eat, I will pay whatever the price," she wasn't sure how, but she'd figure it out when the time came to it.
"Are you interested in the Big Summer Blowout Sale?" The large man blinks in a simplistic manner, before adding, "unfortunately our sauna rocks are not steaming today."
Elsa massages her temples while repositioning Hans onto her aching shoulders, "well, I'm sure it's still the warmest room here, please just let us sit in there."
"Yes, it is still a little warmer than this room, you may sit, ja," the large man smiles, "and what about the Big Summer Blowout?"
"We're really not interested... thank you," she helps Hans hobble across the store. Hiding her face briefly from the stares of the large family sitting at their table. The little children giddily hop up on their chairs and look at the lady they are to believe is the Queen.
Elsa opens the door and cringes at the steam, there's not much and it's not much warmer then the room they were just in, still she was never one for saunas. She helps Hans sit carefully on the wooden benches, leaning his head back gently, "I'm going to get the food for us..." she looks at the young man wince in pain, "just relax, okay?"
She shakes her head of melting snow as she closes the door to the wooden room, she'd hate to think what it feels like heated. The image of the Prince flashes before her eyes, his sad and cringing face still staring right up at her... and for some reason that image was inflicting a deep pain inside of Elsa, like her and him had more in common than either let on. Perhaps he was feeling more than just physical hurt... maybe Anna's rejection had bothered him more than he showed. Anna probably thought nothing of it, the Queen shakes her head. Anna is sweet, but is too naive to know anything of how to treat people.
"Excuse me, can we please have the warm food?" Elsa asks to the room before her, trying her best to smile in a friendly manner. She looks around the shop, empty of most wares except summer goods. Elsa moves to the counter and leans over to find the man, missing from his post. How could she lose sight of a man that large?
The shopkeeper taps her shoulder, "Yoo-hoo!"
The Queen jumps and freezes the table before her. Her body shakes, as she slowly turns and eases her breath's pace, "I-I'm sorry..." Her hands fumble around each other as she tries to calm her shaking.
"Oh, you are very very cold my dear... the soup is ready!" The bearded man smiles joyously as he shrugs off the Queen's outburst and escorts her to the family table. Once again the family stares wide eyed at her – it's not everyday royalty walks into your shop... unless you count yesterday with Anna.
"Are you really the Queen?" The littlest girl tugs on her skirt causing Elsa to pull away harder than she meant. The little girl makes no note of it and continues to stare up in admiration.
Elsa straightens her posture, "Yes, I am the Queen. Can I please have the soup?"
"How did you do that with the ice?" A little boy sits atop his knees on his chair in order to get a better look at the platinum blond.
"I need the soup, please..."
The shopkeeper hands her two helpings, any family would be glad to be visited by the Queen and help her in time of need. She seemed so tense. The family wondered how they might be of help.
Elsa slides the door to the sauna open with her free arm, balancing the steaming soup bowls in her other arm and elbow. Her face is blasted with a misty steam, "Hans? Are you in here?" She squints into the room suddenly working like a sauna typically would.
Hans's eyes shoot up, much more lively than before. He grabs his gloves on the bench next to him, wrapping his hands up once more. His shirt was off his body and hanging, leaving only his bare and somewhat glistening chest in Elsa's sight.
"I thought this wasn't working? The coals wouldn't light?"
Hans seems to stutter over the words, "it just turned on all of a sudden... I don't know how."
Elsa nods, in the past few days stranger things have happened. She hands the recovering Prince a bowl and takes her own into her hands. The steam in the room helped clear her head, and almost calm her... making her feel safer.
Elsa stares into her bowl, "how does the soup tast-", and slowly her eyes meet the spectacle known as Prince Hans.
The spoon protrudes from the Prince's mouth creating a bulge in his left cheek, the bowl doesn't even tilt with liquid anymore. He had devoured it within seconds. He had been caught. Slowly he places the spoon down in a dignified manner, being under the scrutiny of the Queen's judging eyes. He sets the bowl to the side and folds his hands in his lap, patting his lips with a handkerchief in a very regal, princely manner to undo his earlier behavior.
"It's delightful my Queen."
Elsa feels it inside of her. It starts off small, but starts growing. Her lips break into a smile and a giggle escapes, slowly forming itself into a laugh. She tries to cover her face, as to not let the Prince see her ugly smile, but it's useless, she can't stop. The whole thing seemed so ridiculous.
Hans starts to feel it too, and soon he is joining the Queen in roaring support.
The Queen shakes her head, trying to break the spell of laughter, "I'm so sorry... I," a giggle breaks through again, "I don't know why I find it so funny."
Hans shakes his head, "It's fine!" He chuckles, and their eyes catch each other again. The steam casts shadows across their features, shining in the dim lantern's light, "I like your laugh."
The blush forms on Elsa's cheeks faster than the blood rushes to it. She stands, the room was far too warm for her, "You're feeling better... I'll have to see if we can get a cast for your arm."
"It's so nice in here, I could stay in the heat forever. The steam is clearing all the cold from my body," he jokes, "I can breathe again!"
"Looks like you have company now," Elsa nods up to the large family with their noses pressed tightly together onto the window looking into the sauna.
"Yoo-hoo!" The family waves, "the sauna is working again!"
One by one the family starts making its way through, throwing off their clothes and replacing them with towels. Elsa's eyes widen as Hans averts his. Both of them share a mental cue from the other's body language, it was time to go... time to get back to the matter at hand.
Elsa grabs Hans's shirt as Hans takes the empty bowls – well, one was still half filled. He places them on a table and humorously begins the attempt of trying to fit back into his shirt without angering his arm. The Queen stops him, checking her gloves a moment, concealing herself. She helps unbutton the gold latches and carefully pulls Hans's sweaty skin through the long, heavy, wool sleeves. They share the responsibility of buttons as she begins the lower ones and he the top ones. Soon, he's ready.
The Queen finds the large sling she's looking for and helps loop it through Hans's shoulder, the Prince almost starts to whine like a little boy, "I can't ride if my arm is tied up..."
Elsa tsks at him, "Come on, you won't be able to ride at all if you break this arm any further. A skilled equestrian guy like you... I would only expect a man of your stature to possess the best of skills." Elsa feels strange, like she is bandaging Anna after their snowball fight took a turn for the worse. It's like she wasn't afraid to touch this man. Like she could trust him. Like he understood her.
Hans stops protesting and allows Elsa to finish tying the sling. They were finally ready to head back out.
Only the large shopkeeper himself remains outside of the filled sauna. He sits at the desk and smiles, ready to type out the prices, "So that vill be two sauna visits, two soups, and one sling..." he puts his hand on his chin and scratches, "but since you are the Queen I suppose it should be free. Only he vill pay then, ja?"
Elsa frowns, she didn't really have any money. Her eyes flash over to Hans awaiting any idea from the cunning Prince, but he only shrugs, noticing the dripping ice on the desk before them. He wonders what sort of trouble Elsa had gotten into earlier.
"You wouldn't charge me, right?"
"Ja!" The shopkeeper nods persistently.
"Because I'm the Queen, right?"
"Ja!" The shopkeeper nods yet again.
"Then why would you charge the King?"
Now it's Hans's turn to blush, but for reasons unknown by Elsa. He almost seems to choke on his own breath at the thought of being called King, but shakes it out as silly notion.
"Vhat? We have a king?" He takes a minute to ponder this, and then shrugs, "Okay then, it is free!"
Elsa sighs in relief, her lying was getting better and better the more time she spent with this guy, "Thank you so much, we will not forget your hospitality, nor will we forget to send thanks when we return home."
"Thank you, come again, ja?"
"Ja!" Elsa repeats quickly nudging Hans to leave. They both exit out into the blistering cold once more, but this time with their strength returned and their clothes dried.
"Hey, Queen Elsa!" Hans points to a map next to the building, "Do you see the trolls anywhere near here."
Elsa squints in attempt to visualize the map in relation to her memory, "the cave..." she whispers.
"Cave? What cave?" Hans asks trying to re-examine the map. Navigation was a fairly strong pursuit of his, but there was certainly no cave on this map.
"It's not far from here, just not listed, I remember... we took Anna to the trolls once," she shuts her eyes tightly for a moment, "we're not far now. It's just through the cave."
Hans smiles while looking up at the white sky producing fluffy white puffs crashing down from above, "We'll save Anna..."
Relief from the Prince's voice washes over the Queen and slowly the snow starts to fall slower and slower, no longer a blizzard as before. Hans stares at her, noting the calmness in her breathing. For some reason she needs to constrain every muscle in her body from throwing themselves at Hans, she wanted to hug him... but knew better than to do something so irrational.
If her sister had to follow her boy advice, so would she.
"Well," Hans starts, trying to roll his wrist and keep his broken arm from movement, "Let's get Sitron, and start moving."
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