New chapter that took forever to update! I had decided to take a tiny break from writing so that when Reading Week came along, I wouldn't have to force the ideas out of my brain. That's my excuse.

Also, there's a tiny Wicked reference in here. I've never seen the show or read the book so that will be the only one in this story (probably)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 12

With the ball less than a month away, Elsa was often too busy to do anything besides preparations for the event. It promptly meant that she couldn't spent time with Anna or visit Hans. She tried to spent equal attention to both but, as it often turned out, she spent more time with Hans. Unlike Anna, he couldn't just wander around the castle or the city. He'd be too easily spotted and Elsa didn't want to know the repercussions if someone found out who he really was.

If she was entirely honest with herself, she enjoyed his company. A lot even. They talked about a lot, although they avoided speaking of personal things as much as possible. Hans even helped her with some issues she was experiencing with the councilors. The old men were pressuring her to find a husband again but Hans had given her a few tips as to keeping them quiet. To her relief and surprise, the tips worked.

With the pressure of the council gone, Elsa could put her attention back to the ball. Working hard day and night, all the preparations were done a week before the grand event, besides the food which would be taken care of the day before and the day on. Relieved of her heaviest duty, Elsa could afford more time with Hans. At times it felt strange being with him, considering that a year ago he tried to behead her, but other times she felt comfortable and secure with him. Elsa had found that they had more in common than she had thought, the biggest commonality being that they both concealed who they truly were and hid their emotions. They had both lived inside their heads, never giving the world a clue to what they were really feeling; it made Elsa see Hans even more differently. Not some ambitious prince that had sunk low but rather a man that was tortured by life and fate.

Elsa's frequent and extensive visits to the bedroom had caught Anna's notice. At first Anna had thought that it was a council room that nobody used anymore but Kai had told her otherwise. The Princess' suspicions that her sister had a lover of some kind sparked again. Anna knew that Elsa would never do anything drastic or out of line with a lover but what Anna couldn't understand was why her sister would hide something like that. Wanting to know the truth, Anna hid in the hallway to the room and waited for Elsa to leave. Anna watched her sister walk out with a beaming smile and waited until she had disappeared from the hallway before knocking on the door.

"Come in." A gravelly voice said. Anna slowly opened the door, peeking in her head a little. She was surprised that she didn't see anyone in the room.

"Hello?" She called out, stepping into the room and closing the door. She looked left and right, the closed curtains and the night sky doing little to help her find the source of the voice. She gasped when she saw two eyes staring at her from the shadows, "Oh, there you are." She said with a beaming smile, though it fell when she saw that he wouldn't move out of the dark. "Why are you hiding? I'm not that scary. Well, I did fight wolves and I've punched someone in the face once but that doesn't mean you should be scared of me." Anna piped, her hands moving around frantically with her rapid tongue. Hans chuckled lightly.

"I'm not afraid of you." He said gently, the assurance causing the Princess to let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh good but, why won't you come out of hiding then?" She piped, stepping forward, only to have the mysterious man retreat further back.

"Then you'll be afraid of me."

"Why would I be?" Anna asked. She could hear a sigh and an arm coming from the shadow. She had to stifle a gasp when she saw the terrible burns on them.

"Ouch…" She winced, "That must've hurt." The arm pulled back into the shadow.

"It did. I have more burns on my face; that's why I'm in the shadows." Anna nodded, putting her hands behind her back and wobbling on her heels.

"What your name?" She asked. There was silence for a moment.

"Fiyero."

"Fiyero? That's a weird name. I mean, not weird-weird but, you know, it's not one you hear often." Hans chuckled more.

"I know what you mean, Anna." Hans immediately bit his tongue for his stupid mistake; now Anna would probably be suspicious.

"How do you know my name?" She piped, "Wait, don't tell me." She added quickly, the statement allowing Hans to take a breath of relief. "Elsa told you, didn't she? You must be her lover!" Her bright smile disappeared when she heard what sounded like the man in the shadows stumbling against the furniture.

"What?" He stammered out. "She told you I was her lover?"

"Well, no. I just amused that you were because it would explain her absences and why she doesn't want to say anything about them." Anna rambled on, her hands motioning and gesturing with each word. She stopped when she heard him chuckle.

"Well, I can say that your sister is not my lover. She's my…" He paused, the word getting stuck in his throat because of its near-forgotten sound.

"Your what?" Anna pushed with a cheeky smile. A short silence followed.

"My friend." Was the answer that came.

"How did you two meet?"

"She found me hiding in the woods."

"Why were you hiding?"

"A lot of people are scared of me and even more hate me too. I've made some very bad choices in my past and because of that, the only thing they saw was a monster." Hans scoffed but he had a smile on his face, "But your sister didn't see a monster and she gave me something that I wouldn't dream of in a thousand years."

"What's that?"

"A second chance."

"That's very nice of her." Anna piped. A nearby clocked started chiming, catching both their attention, "I gotta go." She almost ran for the door. "Nice meeting you, Fiyero." And she was out the door before Hans could reply. Once the door shut, he let out a heavy breath

"That was awkward." He mumbled, emerging from the shadows while staring at the door. He had recognized the knock as being Anna's but he didn't realize it until after he had responded. Luckily, he had just enough time to dash for a hiding place. For once, he was glad that the demon had completely destroyed his voice and his face because Anna would've recognized him if they weren't.

Despite the fact that she couldn't see him, Hans couldn't believe that he actually had something of a decent conversation with the Princess. It was something he thought he'd never have again with her because of what he did. As they had talked, part of him wanted to apologize to her but he had held his tongue because it would not only reveal himself to her but to the world too and he didn't want to risk the Southern Isles coming here to take him back and kill him. Besides, he knew that Anna would never, not in a lifetime, accept any form of apology from him. Why would she? He had done horrible things to her, things that he now regretted.

As he sat quietly in his room, he knew that he'd never come around to Anna. Not this time. She would always see him as the world saw him: a monster. A monster under the control of a queen; a queen's monster.

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