A/N: Thank you so much for the thoughtful and constructive reviews, I genuinely adore you all for taking a moment to share your thoughts. The good, the not as good…the bloody honest! It is the only way I can grow as a writer! I beg you to continue :)

The first section of this chapter is "present day" before picking up on the backstory.

Her heart soars as she spots him, silently rejoicing at the chance he is willing to offer her and unable to suppress her smile. Hans is the lone figure, tall and proud in the dim morning light, waiting patiently for her among the rows of blooming cherry trees in the orchard beside the castle, overlooking the French countryside. His back is turned and thus unaware of her approach.

He came!

She was fearful that after everything she's done, everything she's said, the infuriating way she's danced around them, he wouldn't come. And she'd have to resign herself to the reality she'd mistakenly created.

The dawn's chorus fills the cool morning air as Elsa slips silently beside him where he stands under the branches heavy with pale pink cherry blossoms. The warmth of him radiates through the space between them and through the press of her skin as she weaves her hand into his, startling him slightly when she whispers in his ear, "You came, my Heroic Prince."

It's a fraction of a second before he twists towards her, hungry green eyes meet hers as he captures her lips and murmurs into her, "I love you, Elsa." He's pulling her into his arms before she can catch her bearings and she finds herself melting into his chest.

"I love you."

Her words are soaking into his lips but he doesn't seem to mind. She decides she could do this forever, simply stand in his arms just kissing him and sharing sweet words of affection, exploring the different ways to smear her lips to his. There is a thrill coursing through her as she traces the crease of his mouth, as she practices nipping playfully at him in response to his breathless exploration of her. He eventually breaks from her as the passion cools from its initial rush and he presses his forehead to hers with eyes still closed, "I hate this. It hurts."

Her heart cracks, mirroring his pain but she had promised herself she'd be strong, "Me too. I'm so. So…sorry."

Hans sighs as he hauls her closer to drop his mouth to her ear, his voice stern yet soft, "Stop. I already told you – "

"I'm going to make this right. I promise," she interrupts, unable to hear what she is sure he is going to say, "Trust me."

His voice is hushed, "I shall never doubt you again."

And she believes him.

So her grin pulls wicked as she catches his gaze, "Maurice and I have a plan." It's taken all night and she's literally just come from meeting with him. There's a lot to work out in a very short time, but she has to try.

Elsa can only describe Hans' smile as conspiratorial as hope and excitement flare in his eyes. "Just tell me what to do," he replies, his voice full of promises of smoke and mirrors.

Three years earlier...

Everything.

Elsa shares absolutely everything with Anna about her trip to Corona while she sits rocking a sleeping babe in her arms and watching his sweet innocent little expressions shift in his sleep, his wet thumb loosely stuck in his mouth. He feels heavier in her arms than she remembers, chunking up nicely as Kristoff puts it. Elsa feels he's growing too fast already and needs to slow down – his first tooth having cut while she was away. (Anna reassures her that it was for the best she was gone, the poor child had been quite cranky, and not CHARMING. And there would be more teeth to follow, so no worries missing this one.)

Elsa's confession slips easily from her lips, coming without her permission in a soft rush - like the only way to come to terms with the strange jumble of guilt and anxiety she's weighed with is to give it to Anna. Her tendrils of worry untwine slowly as she recounts her voyage, her anxiety and unsettled fear of being lost at sea during both the transit to Corona and the return home, the late arrival at the conference due to the storm and the unexpected attendance of Weaselton (and Anna-Marie), the awkward visit with family - Elsa adding that Rapunzel and Anna are absolutely kindred spirits, and that discovery was wonderfully comforting. She shares her mischief and rebellious act during one of the balls; the trip to the pub and the surprise that Hans has friends (Anna is equally dumbfounded that his friends evidentially include Rapunzel and Eugene).

There is guilt twisting in her words as she spins her story, or rather Gerda's version of her story; the one of the night she froze her chambers during the storm. Elsa even shares her vivid and inappropriate dream, still not wanting to trust that it was entirely real. She describes the horrific shock of waking and finding Hans beside her. Just sitting on her bed drinking tea like it was perfectly normal, and Gerda chortling at her. (It was a dream. Hans said it was…it's his twisted truth now, she rationalizes, not hers. Besides, he lies about a lot of things, so what's one more?) She knows she's beet red and her speech is slightly stuttered, fragmented thoughts making it more uncomfortable to try and articulate everything. But she tries.

Anna just watches her, lips pressed flat.

Elsa holds back the harsh, cruel words of Queen Alessandra, lessening the blow and shock to Anna. She filters her words because she can't bear to hear her own voice speak such terrible things of her parents. Anna seems appropriately horrified and gets the point with what little she does say. She finishes with how she found Hans in the chapel, what he had said, and his gift to her upon her departure. (It's in her pocket, but she can't tell Anna that part because she's unsure how to explain it to herself…the why it seems to be so important to her and thus in her pocket.)

Anna's expression is inscrutable as she quietly absorbs Elsa's words, occasionally she ask for clarification or to offer reassurances that she understands, but otherwise offers no interruption or commentary. It's not until Elsa's finished that Anna breaks her silence.

"You're my sister, and I love you – unconditionally," Anna says softly, slight shrug of her shoulders as she smiles reassuringly, "and there is nothing you can ever do or say that will change that."

The creases of Elsa's frown smooth at the way the heaviness in her chest lifts, "I love you, too."

"It sounds like you're not sure what to make of everything."

She hates that she struggles so much with people, understanding their feelings and motivations. Her confusion regarding her own emotions makes it so much harder. "I'm really not. That's why I need to know what you think."

Anna's smile pulls slightly wider for a moment before her expression shifts somberly, "Elsa, I think you need to sort this out yourself, you know?" She sighs, "You need to think long and hard about what you are trying achieve by being friends with that jerk."

Oh.

Elsa takes a measured breath, but says nothing.

"Because very clearly you have no idea what your goal is. But others do – or they presume they do." Anna adds very carefully, "As much as I hate to agree with that horrible woman that Hans calls MOTHER, she's right."

Elsa can feel the color drain from her face.

Anna rises to take Kristoffer from Elsa, quietly returning him to his cradle and providing silence for her words to settle in before offering Elsa her hand, "Your intentions are not clear. You have only ever danced with him, you spend time with him in a manner a couple would, and he's even been in your private chambers. The way you interact with him is…" Anna sort of gestures with one hand, "I don't know, almost inappropriate? Too familiar? It's like there are no boundaries between the two of you. I can see it from his Mother's perspective, if I didn't know better, it looks like you're allowing him to court you."

Elsa huffs her protest as she stands before Anna, but is silenced as Anna takes her shoulders gently and guides her out of the nursery, "Perception is everything, especially as gossip spreads at court."

"Anna..."

"Your Most Important One is still talking," Anna says playfully, her smile twisting in her words and leading Elsa to breathe an amused chuckle. "You do realize that the consequences of your choices impact not just you, but all of Arendelle?" Anna pauses, but Elsa won't fill the silence. So she continues, "I'll bet that he's making his own assumptions about what your intentions are and where he may one day fit into your life, and in Arendelle."

"I told him no," Elsa sputters, "I – I told him…"

Anna cocks an eyebrow, "I heard."

She hesitates, glancing to Anna quickly before opening her mouth and closing it once, like she's hopelessly searching for the right words before she sighs, continuing her shuffle down the dark hall, "I-"

Anna shakes her head and she gives Elsa a gentle shove towards her chambers, "Go to bed. Sleep. Now. Right now." She darts to the side and pecks a kiss to Elsa's cheek, "Just think about it, Elsa. And welcome home. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Bossy Anna is the best, however she didn't really help.

Sanctions imposed by Arendelle against Weaselton following the events of her coronation are slowly lifted.

The whole thing leaves Elsa terribly uncomfortable, as well as feeling guilty for wanting to hold the sins of Lord Fredrick's father against him. The trade agreements and peace accords which resulted from the summit and delivered to her council are more than fair, but something feels wrong. Her council seems to disagree entirely, unanimously supporting the motions, so she yields to her advisors and trade with Weaselton is resumed after eight years of embargos.

There was a maritime agreement proposed by her Fleet Admiral, Admiral Sorenson, which would support allowing the reinstatement of naval operations once more by Weaselton, backed by every kingdom in attendance of the peace summit. Except the Southern Isles.

Elsa can't help but read into that a little. Or not.

(Hans and his prior relationship with the now Duchess of Weaselton. He said there was "nothing", but she doesn't trust that.)

She struggles to rationally explain why she feels Arendelle should follow the lead of the Southern Isles. Instead she falls back on her thoughts that given the Southern Isles maritime superiority and well developed strategy abilities, Arendelle should also not support the motion. Her Admiral is immediately offended that his expertise and wisdom are questioned, arguing with Elsa to the point that she decides she won't tolerate it any longer and leads her to end the meeting.

(It is one night, after Elsa's fuming rant regarding the disagreement with her Fleet Admiral, that Anna points out that that the Fleet Admiral's daughter is now married to the Duke of Weaselton. She goes on to further theorize that her Admiral may have once hoped to have Hans court and wed his daughter, if there was indeed some sort of romantic interlude between them. Elsa feels ridiculous for not having realized that sooner…she knew on some level, but the importance of that fact is suddenly far more significant as she tries to decipher her Admiral's motivations. The value in listening to court gossip becomes apparent, as well.)

Meeting after meeting with Admiral Sorensen is rather abruptly ended without resolution of Arendelle's position on the proposal when it is brought up. Such becomes the pattern for the next few months.

It leaves Arendelle and the Southern Isles the only two countries in the region to oppose the motion, so the ban is lifted by the end of the summer – allowing naval activity by Weaselton to resume. Her Fleet Admiral is overly pleased as he delivers the news, fixing a hard stare at Elsa that causes her blood to run cold. Unsettled, she moves the meeting along, but fails to shake her concern.

The arrival of Hans' first letter causes her to feel slightly ill. The physical appearance of the envelope in her hands leaves the consequences of her misleading actions to seem far too undeniable.

No. I'm not toying with his affections to break him. Not at all. We're friends.

Anna takes note of the letter's arrival, as well as Elsa's delay in reading it, mentioning as much at a private tea in Anna's chambers one afternoon. Elsa is left once again confessing her conversation with Hans' Queen Mother, relaying the Queen's impression that Elsa is trying to toy with him, and the Queen's agreement not to interfere any further (thus condoning such an act against her own son).

Anna just rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, Elsa. I remember what you said…disgusting and manipulative family."

The subject is immediately forgotten as Kristoffer suddenly appeared at Elsa's feet, crawling for the very first time, and squealing gleefully as he smacks the top of Elsa's pump.

"Anna!" Elsa laughs excitedly, scooping her nephew up and into her lap to face her. Kristoffer laughs and claps his hands once before trying to twist out of Elsa's arms and back to the floor, a look of determination setting in his blue eyes. "He's crawling!" Lifting him to kiss his cheek before sitting him back on the rug, Elsa says sadly, "He's growing far too fast."

"Little stinker!" Anna adds affectionately, beaming a wide grin.

He shifts back to his knees and hands, awkwardly, the motions still uncoordinated but enough to begin his locomotion towards Anna.

He's really growing too fast.

It is after a tumbler of scotch that Elsa finally breaks the waxed seal, a crowned passant lion atop a XIII pressed into it. By the time she is pondering his scrolled Hans at the bottom of the last page she feels better about everything, this is what she wanted. So her numb fingers excitedly write back.

He responds quickly to her correspondence. The strange twist of guilt quickly fades with the arrival of each letter, her concerns regarding her "perceived intentions" are soon forgotten. His letters are just as they always were, eloquent accounts of his adventures, juicy tidbits of gossip from various courts, his thoughts on literature and philosophy, and sharing what he's reading to pass the time at sea. There is a noticeable lack of romantic conquests mentioned, although it takes her a while to notice that. He writes of increasing skirmishes between his fleet and the growing Weaselton navy - Weaselton challenging international maritime law in such a manner that has Hans suspecting the Weaselton captains are attempting to get him to instigate a fight (and cryptically alluding to intelligence reports supporting his suspicious):

Thus far I have successfully avoided such acts, but I confess that Weaselton's unfoundedly aggressive maritime activities are beginning to crack my resolve. The obvious persistence of their fleet seems to go unnoticed by other Kingdoms. I suspect that they are simply avoiding any perceived involvement to prevent escalating these "interactions" - likely figuring that I can handle it myself (please trust that I can). None the less, it has been entertaining, and excellent training for my younger commanders who have not yet had the experience of live battle at sea. It also allows me to avoid home far more easily, although now I am forced to consider more creative methods to irritate my dear Queen Mother.

I inadvertently stumbled across one such method – altering my morning toilette to forgo the blade. The seas had been quite rough over the previous weeks and I felt it was safer to avoid a sharp blade so close to the vital blood supply in my neck than to allow vanity to dictate my appearance.

My Queen Mother was most appalled upon my arrival home.

I confess that I must agree that the facial hair is terrible; it is irritating and itchy and most unbecoming a Prince. But after such a splendid reaction from her I insisted on keeping it. Any suggestions of new methods and ways to irritate her, my Evil Queen, would be greatly appreciated. I trust your truly diabolical nature may lend itself to such a task.

I have the honour to be, Madam, Your Majesty's humble and obedient servant,

Hans

Her harbors freeze, winter comes and goes, and as soon as the harbor can be wrenched open with the early spring thaw she's off to France.