/*Author's Note – My apologies. I'm not sure how I messed this up and why no one commented on it until now, but apparently I uploaded chapter 12 twice and missed chapter 11 completely. So, thank you to the Guest reviewer who let me know, and here is chapter 11 as it was meant to be. :) */
It had only been a couple of days since Elsa had left, but Anna was already climbing the walls. Almost literally. What she wanted to do was order a ship for herself to follow down to the Southern Isles and see Hans for herself, but she knew that wasn't an option. She had a kingdom to run and people to watch out for. With Elsa gone, it became Anna's responsibility to settle disputes, make trade agreements and handle the various diplomats that were currently hanging around the court. She was developing a lot of respect for what her sister had to do on a daily basis and was very glad that she would be able to give the responsibilities back over in a month or so.
Unfortunately, or fortunately since she really wasn't looking forward to it, all the extra duties meant that Anna hadn't had the chance to seek out Kristoff and speak with him yet. He seemed to have been avoiding her since their last encounter with the trolls, and she really couldn't blame him. Finally, she had to send a servant down to the market every day to keep an eye out for him. She knew he wouldn't come to her and she was too busy to go looking for him. She also wasn't willing to go back to the trolls to find him if he was avoiding her.
So it was five days after Elsa's departure and just over five weeks since Anna had last seen Kristoff that the servant returned to announce that Kristoff was waiting in the garden for her. Anna had to take a few deep breaths to nerve herself, then quickly checked how she looked in the nearest mirror before heading downstairs and outside to meet him.
The moment she saw him, Anna knew that all her worrying about what she was going to say to him was pointless. The flow of words was instantaneous, and it took her a moment to realize that Kristoff had started speaking at the same time.
"I'm so sorry about how I took off! It was–" she started.
"I completely understand why–" he said.
They both stuttered to a stop and Anna laughed nervously, "I'm sorry, go ahead," she said.
"No," said Kristoff, "You go first."
With a deep breath, Anna started over, "I shouldn't have blamed you and taken off like I did," she said, "I admit, I'm still upset about what the trolls did, but it's not fair to blame you for their actions. I'm sorry." Anna stopped herself before she could start rambling.
Kristoff took a step towards her, "I'm sorry too," he said, "I understand why you're upset and I don't blame you for it. Bulda has been like a mother to me, and I felt like I needed to defend her." He flushed and looked at his boots, "And I've been jealous of Hans basically since I met you. It made me mad when you started talking about him like he was a good guy."
"Oh Kristoff," Anna flopped ungracefully onto a nearby bench, "He might be. He wrote me a letter, and I'm so confused. I think he's telling the truth and Elsa's gone to find out, and I wish it was me. I can't stand just waiting here for her to come back and tell me what she learned!"
Kristoff tentatively sat down beside her. "What did the letter say?" he asked.
Anna hesitated a moment, then reached inside the neck of her dress to retrieve the letter. She couldn't miss the look of pain on Kristoff's face as he realized that she'd been carrying around Hans' letter for a month and a half. He took in gingerly, unfolded it and quickly read through it before handing it back. When he didn't say anything Anna nudged him with her elbow, "What do you think?"
"I think you were right," he said, "I really like you Anna, but I don't think we would be a good match."
"Wait, what?" said Anna, "That's not what I was asking!"
"I know," said Kristoff, "But it's what I originally came here to say and I felt like I needed to get it out of the way first."
"Kristoff…" Anna started.
He held up his hand to stop her, "Do you disagree?" he asked. Anna had to shake her head. "Then we accept that we make better friends and move on from there," he said matter-of-factly.
Anna sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry about all of this."
Kristoff reached over and squeezed her hand, "Don't be. How else would we have found out without taking the time to get to know each other?" he asked. Before she could answer, Kristoff pulled his hand away and straightened, "Now about this letter, it could be true. Then again, it could be more manipulation, but I think you already know all that."
Anna laughed humourlessly, "Yes, that's why Elsa's gone to the Southern Isles and I'm here governing the kingdom."
Kristoff nodded slowly, "I think you made the right choice. You're too close to this. Elsa will be more objective and more likely to find out the truth." He gave her a sympathetic glance, "Sorry Anna, but this time it's your turn to sit it out and wait for someone else."
Anna huffed in annoyance, "I know. But that doesn't mean I have to like it!"
