At ten o'clock (precisely) the next morning, Elsa led Anna down the long aisle of the chapel, and, in front of a crowd of nearly every citizen in Arendelle, the entirety of the Moravian fleet, and the entourage from the Southern Isles, gave her little sister away to Kristoff to be his wife. Elsa wore her hair down, as opposed to the usual braid, and instead had woven ice blossoms in a crown about her brow. She also gave in to her sister's silly wish that she wear a skirt that didn't cling so closely to her figure. Still not quite as billowy as Anna's dress, Elsa wore a deep purple gown, the skirt moved freely about her ankles as she walked. She wanted today to represent the beginning of something new and greater than before, and the change in attire and hairstyle for Elsa reflected that.
Anna, as expected, was all smiles throughout the ceremony. Kristoff, for once, looked less insecure and rugged, and more like a proud, handsome consort. No couple on Earth was happier in that moment.
Before the vows were exchanged, Elsa took the place of the Bishop, and, taking a ceremonial saber in hand, asked Kristoff to kneel before her. In order for him to be of proper rank to ascend to Prince Consort, Elsa had to knight him.
"Do you, Kristoff Bjorgman, Official Ice Master of Arendelle, solemnly swear to protect the citizens of Arendelle from any threat, within and beyond our borders?"
"I do, Your Majesty."
"And do you vow to uphold the ancient laws of Arendelle through peace and war, and promise to act as loyal guardian to the sovereign family through thick and thin?"
"I do, Your Majesty."
Elsa tapped the saber on Kristoff's left shoulder, then his right, then his head. "Then rise, as Sir Kristoff Bjorgman, and go fulfill your sworn duty to Arendelle." The crowd clapped and cheered. Elsa brought her fingers under Kristoff's chin and bid him to rise with her.
"And take care of my sister," she demanded, a bold smile crossing her face. "That is your other duty."
"To my last breath, Your Majesty," Kristoff replied. Elsa gently kissed his cheek, and led him back to where Anna waited enthusiastically.
Upon the declaration of Anna and Kristoff as husband and wife, Elsa snuck out the back door of the chapel so that, when the newlyweds exited the church, Elsa was able to shoot ice sparks into the air in celebration, exploding like fireworks in the sky and raining a gentle snowy mist over the couple. The crowd waiting outside the chapel (it could only hold so many people) watched in utter awe at Elsa's display. Even Anna hadn't known that Elsa had planned to use her powers in such a magnificent fashion.
As expected, the festivities went long into the night. Elsa felt overwhelmed after a while, and, after checking in his the bride and groom and wishing them every happiness, made her way down into the dungeons. The entire afternoon, Hans had been on her mind, and she felt compelled to visit him.
"Has he had his daily walk?" Elsa asked the guard on duty in front of his cell door.
"He wasn't to have one today," the guard replied. "We didn't want him close to the festivities."
Elsa sighed. "Bring him up to the inner courtyard in ten minutes. I wish to speak with him. The wedding party is in the ballroom, so there is no need for concern regarding his...proximity to the festivities."
"As you wish, Majesty."
As she wished, Hans was escorted to the garden, where Elsa waited. The night sky was clear, although not many stars could be seen from all of the light the palace emitted tonight. Elsa was sure there were enough torches lit so they would be able to see their way through the path.
"Your Highness," Hans said quietly, getting to one knee.
"Guards, you may wait by the door, I wish to be alone with him," Elsa commanded. The guards hesitated a moment before obeying. "Hans, you don't need to bow here. I've had enough of that today."
"I thought for certain you were the bride today," Hans said, rising.
"Why on Earth would you think so?" Elsa asked.
"I've heard of the Duke's arrival and his quest for your hand," he explained. Elsa shook her head.
"My sister married today," she replied. "She is with child as well."
Hans raised an interested eyebrow. "The ice man?"
Elsa nodded. "The ice man."
"I must admit, I find that fascinating," Hans mused.
"How so?" Elsa asked.
"When I was with...with Anna, I never got the impression that she would marry to maintain dignity over simple love and passion," he explained.
"It wasn't just to...maintain dignity," Elsa shot back. "She is deeply in love with Sir Kristoff. She did it for the people and for Arendelle. But, above all...she married for love and family."
Hans nodded. "I apologize for offending you and Princess Anna. I pray for her happiness and health, and that of her child."
"Thank you," Elsa mumbled.
After a pause that lasted slightly longer than was comfortable, Hans broke the silence. "Why aren't you up there?" He indicated the second-story window that glowed with the light from the ballroom. "It sounds like the party's just starting."
"I was getting tired," Elsa admitted. "Even though I'm free to be who I am, I find I still get overwhelmed in large crowds sometimes."
"I can relate," Hans said. "All of my life I was surrounded by older brothers, their servants, my own servants, and, with so many flurrying around, it grew suffocating. The only way I could hide it was to act like none of them mattered."
"Which explains your charisma. It's a mask," Elsa confirmed.
"Exactly." Hans became bold and began to advance on Elsa, moving closer without invading her personal space. Elsa didn't feel afraid.
"I don't know why I feel this way," Elsa began. "Especially seeing as you've tried to assassinate me, but I'm not afraid of you. Instead, I feel interested in you."
"Interested?" Hans asked. "How so?"
"Like I want to know everything about you. As if knowing everything about you would help me decide whether or not I want to belief that you are truly contrite," she answered. "You mystify me."
"Ask a question, Highness, and I swear to you I will answer it," Hans said softly.
Searching her mind, Elsa quickly found what she wanted to know first. "Why Anna? If you were so bent on ruling Arendelle, would you not have had more luck trying to woo me?"
Hans sighed and looked up. "I'd heard things about you. That you were afraid of people, and that you wouldn't take a suitor. Rumors abounded as to why you were so private, from which sex you were attracted to, all the way to some idea that you weren't a human...but no one suspected magic."
"Maybe you shouldn't have been quite so quick to judge based on hearsay," Elsa suggested.
"I nearly...I nearly turned back the moment I looked at you," Hans admitted. Elsa felt chilly.
"What?"
Hans bit his lip and moved closer to Elsa. "I saw you and suddenly felt afraid. It was like being hit and coming to afterwards with a whole new worldview. Watching you at your coronation...I rethought everything, until Anna waved at me and reminded me of my course."
"Your course?"
"I'd met Anna that morning," Hans continued. "Once I charmed her, I had my in, and I couldn't go back...going home in shame, failing...I'd be at the mercy of my brothers again."
Elsa nodded, already known what that could have meant. Beatings, scarings, or worse.
"Failing people means going into the darkness again...going back to a place you don't want to be," Elsa added. Hans looked into her eyes with an odd emotion, one of surprise and understanding. "A place where you've been before-"
"-and would rather die than go back to," Hans mumbled. "Then you do know me."
"Know you?"
"My whole life, I've never had someone understand that. Helmuth and Lars couldn't see it. You can be surrounded by a hundred people and still feel like the most isolated man in the world," Hans mused. Elsa nodded. He had taken another step closer, now standing toe-to-toe with her. "I grew to feel like I couldn't be loved because I was so lowly."
"Maybe if you had come to me first," Elsa suggested. "Maybe we could have...sensed that. If you saw me and suddenly felt like you needed sanctuary before you did something awful..."
"But would you have let me in?" Hans asked.
Elsa knew the answer. She shook her head silently. "I had to learn to trust first...to believe."
"Do you believe me now?" Hans asked quietly, looking down at Elsa with sincere tenderness.
"I...I want to."
"But you don't," he confirmed.
"How can I?" Elsa asked, turning her back to Hans. "You tried to kill me!"
"I was afraid," Hans said. "Fear is our worst enemy! Fear can drive anyone to become the worst person they have deep inside them, especially after the abusive pasts we endured. I became a...a killer."
"And I became a frigid, frozen heart," Elsa sighed, turning back. She was amazed. Hans DID know her, and she knew him. Perhaps they knew each other too well.
"Elsa, you know I'm prepare to die for what I did, but if I die without letting you know how I feel right now, then I can't say how miserable that would be," admitted Hans.
Hans was leaning in to her face. Elsa quivered. "And how do you feel right now?"
Hans laid a gentle, bare hand on her cheek. Her cold skin immediately grew warm and soft. It was as if he was thawing her himself. As if his body was in tune with hers. "I feel like we're the same soul."
Elsa trembled. "You can't do this," she said. "It's unethical and...un...un…"
Hans released his hand from her cheek. "You're afraid, but you're not cold."
It was something Elsa didn't understand...it was as if her powers were working in reverse. She was afraid, more than ever before. But she was, indeed, warm. Testing this new twist in her ability, Elsa waved her hand in the air, expecting a frosty swirl or a few shards of ice to emerge...nothing but a few puffs of warm wind were created.
"This only happens when...I feel…" Elsa stuttered, refusing to say the last word. "But it's not...it's fear. I'm...it must be…"
Elsa was positive she had the reason of her powers down. Fear will freeze, love will thaw.
Hans took her hand in his, looking into her eyes again.
"I'm afraid too. But I don't think it's the same kind of fear," he said gently. Elsa looked at him, and she was shocked by the sudden longing she felt for Hans to lower his face to hers to kiss her.
Here they were, two people with horrible childhoods to shape their destinies, and a shared past full of violence and stone-cold hell. He nearly took everything she had away from her, and now his very life was at her mercy. Something about the moment felt forbidden, but the gravity between them was strong. The air grew ever warmer and Elsa felt the longing travel from her head, to her heart, and further down until she began to feel something stir between her legs.
"No," Elsa muttered. "I...I don't know."
With the swiftness of a fox, Elsa ducked away from Hans and ran for the door to the courtyard. "I am finished, he may return to his cell." With that, she ran onward.
As Hans was brought back to his cell and fell onto his pallet for the night, he couldn't help but stare at the ceiling and think of her. Elsa...Elsa…the one who truly knew what it was like to be him, even if she didn't know it. The most mystical, beautiful, magical woman in the world, who shared a heart with him...Queen Elsa...
It only bothered him a little at first (and perhaps he was to feel it more intensely in the morning), when it occurred to him that he was falling in love with his jailer and judge.
Elsa rode out on horseback like lighting. She needed to find Gothi. The trees whipped past her as she rode, faster and faster, into the wild, for what felt like hours.
The Valley of the Living Rock was perfectly abandoned when Elsa arrived. She hopped off the horse and ran to the center of the valley, standing and looking over her shoulders.
"HELLO? TROLLS? I NEED YOUR HELP!"
Nothing came towards her, not even the round rocks surrounding the clearing. Elsa's breath increased as she became more frantic for her answers.
"WAS IT HIM?! DID YOU WANT ME TO LOVE HIM?" she hollered, tears forming in her eyes. "PLEASE TELL ME! WAS IT HANS? WAS IT? AM I MEANT TO LOVE HANS?"
No answers. Elsa gave up after one more request before falling to the Earth, collapsing in a pile of fearful tears.
