Hans was woken the next morning by the sound of knocking at his door. Thinking that it was either a servant or the physician who had been caring for him on the ship, he called out for them to enter. A moment later he was scrambling for a robe when he heard Anna's voice, "Hans! I brought you your favourite food! Sandwiches!" In his haste, Hans got tangled up in the sheets and fell to the floor with a loud thud. He stifled a grunt of pain. "Hans?" came Anna's questioning voice.
"Just hold on a moment please!" he called out, but it was too late. Anna's face appeared in the doorway to his bedchamber to see him in his nightclothes, tangled in bed sheets.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. Hans watched her face flame and knew his own was likely the same colour, "Oh I'm sorry Hans! I thought you were already awake. You said you were an early riser…" her voice trailed off uncertainly.
"It's alright," Hans said, detangling himself from the linens and standing up. He grabbed the nearest piece of clothing he could find – a travelling cloak – and wrapped it around himself. "I usually am. The ship just made me–" he hesitated before finishing his sentence, "Uncomfortable."
"Don't you like sailing?" asked Anna, wrinkling her brow at him.
Hans looked away in embarrassment, "It's not the sailing that I don't like," he admitted, "It was being confined to a limited space."
Anna let out a soft 'Oh' of understanding. "Well," she said, obviously trying to change the subject, "Why don't you come and eat something?" She backed out into the main sitting area and Hans followed.
"Just put the plate over there with the other one Olaf," said Anna.
Hans turned to see who she was talking to and froze for a second. Before he could think it through, Hans dove across the room, grabbed his sword from the table where he'd left it, unsheathed it and dropped the scabbard, and jumped between Anna and Olaf. "Back off!" he yelled.
Olaf looked at Hans in bewilderment and Anna tentatively reached out to touch his shoulder, "Um, Hans? Are you alright?"
"Don't worry princess," said Hans over his shoulder without taking his eyes off of Olaf, "I will protect you."
"Protect me?" said Anna in confusion, "From Olaf? He wouldn't hurt a fly!"
Hans watched Olaf for a few heartbeats while Olaf looked rather nervous, then shifted to glance back at Anna, "The last talking snowman I met tried to knock me off a cliff!" he said stiffly. Then he looked back at the small snowman in front of him, "Of course, that one was a lot bigger."
Olaf's face brightened, "You mean my brother Marshmallow!" he exclaimed, "He is the best big brother a snowman could have!"
"Marshmallow?" said Hans incredulously, "What kind of name is 'Marshmallow' for that monster?"
Anna placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "He did throw me off a cliff," she said, "But he's a lot nicer now since Elsa let him keep her crown. She made a new one out of ice."
Hans straightened slowly and lowered his sword. He looked back at Olaf in confusion, then turned to Anna again with a silent question in his eyes.
Anna couldn't suppress her smile, "Elsa made them both," she said, "Trust me though, Olaf is a sweetheart. Give him a chance."
Hand looked at Olaf sceptically. Olaf smiled and waved from a safe distance, "Hi! My name's Olaf and I like warm hugs!"
"I'm Hans," said Hans.
"Oh I know," said Olaf proudly, "Anna has told me all about you." Hans looked a bit worried, so Olaf hastily reassured him, "All good things, all good things!"
"I'm sorry but, why is he here?" Hans asked Anna.
"Oh I'm here because Elsa said it wouldn't be appropriate for Anna to come visit you without a chapel– chaper– chaperine– chaperoon– What was that word…" Olaf trailed off.
"Chaperone?" Hans asked.
"That's the one!" said Olaf excitedly, "Wow! You are smart!"
Hans gave Anna an uncomfortable look, "He's our chaperone?"
Anna just laughed, "Yes. It's mostly because of your trial." At Hans' confused look, Anna elaborated, "Most of Arendelle still thinks you're a power-hungry would-be murderer. So I can't be with you without some kind of guard or chaperone. Using Olaf is Elsa's concession to be able to say I'm not alone with you while still showing you and the people in the castle at least that she believes you."
Hans nodded slowly in understanding, "That's very considerate of her. I'll have to thank her later today."
"Or you could do it now and get it out of the way," said a voice from the hall door.
Hans and Anna turned toward the door and Hans immediately dropped into a low bow on seeing Elsa. "Your Majesty," he said respectfully.
Anna giggled quietly and Hans was about to give her a reproachful look when he stopped himself. It was so easy to relax into the comfortable friendship that they had developed the first time they met, but he wasn't sure enough of his standing with her to risk to it. Instead, he quickly wiped his face blank while it was still hidden by his bow.
Hans watched Elsa's feet as she approached, then felt her hand as she raised him from his bow, "I'm not 'Your Majesty' to you Hans," she said, "I'm just Elsa."
Hans straightened and met her gaze, "I beg your pardon for contradicting you Your Majesty," Hans said formally, "But at least until after the trial I think I do need to use your proper title." Elsa shook her head but didn't protest further. "I do offer you my most sincere thanks for your consideration in sending Olaf to be my guard and chaperone."
This time a smile played at the corners of Elsa's mouth, "Actually," she admitted, "What Anna told you is only part of the reason I chose him. I also picked Olaf because I thought you could use some cheering up and good company. Barring Anna – who obviously couldn't do the job – Olaf is the happiest person I know." She gave him a mock stern look, "So relax, smile, and enjoy his company!" she ordered, then smiled again to show she was joking.
Hans couldn't help his answering smile. It was the first time he had smiled since the day he met Anna. Between the eternal winter, Anna's frozen heart and being imprisoned, he'd had no reasons to smile. It felt awkward and unnatural, but he was sure he felt that he get used to it again.