Three Days Later…

The turn of events in the days after the Great Cooling certainly surprised a certain ice harvester and his prince. They had eachother, and knew now that that was all that truly mattered. Katharine had been right in the simplest of terms. Love was weakness, but their love was strength.

And the both of them were very proud of it.

On the first day, the prince had been incredibly anxious to even show his face in the kingdom after what he had pulled, his confidence falling into the hands of Kristoff, who convinced him after twenty minutes he had to go back to face them. The ship was steered to shore, Hans still hesitant, but as soon as the first of the crowd saw the thirteenth prince, cheers erupted from the docks like magma from a volcano.

It was hardly the reaction he had expected, but he was grateful nonetheless.

Elsa and Pedar had agreed to restart their relationship, the former practically ecstatic in her choice to accept her ex so openly. At times though, their relationship became very public, and often the pair had to take their passion with them into the woods or in the silence of a lodging room. Olaf took quite a liking to Ashley, and they often disappeared for hours at a time in the city, doing who knew what. A visit to the trolls was imminent at this point.

Princess Anna had chosen to return to Arendelle, but promised to keep in touch with Kristoff, knowing her family needed her to be ready to inherit the responsibility of being a princess, then a queen. It was a life with many rules, but as she would say later, those rules were well worth it in the long run; knowing the rewards outweighed the hurdles.

Katharine had been caught, and forced to confess at the fear of being burned to a crisp by the prince she tried to kill. The council was livid at her transformation, and charged her with high treason, attempted regicide, and held the sentence at death. But it was Kristoff that called off the hanging, deciding it was better to simply confine her in the dungeons until further notice. This, however, proved to be a grave mistake. In her short time there the woman's sanity melted like the layers of ice in a pond; until she ended up stabbing one of the guards that delivered her meals with a fork, and trying to hang herself on one of her bed linens until she succeeded. Her funeral was nonexistent, her emaciated body being sent to the local convent with a royal request for her to be buried there.

The kingdom, now without a stable ruler, was turned over to the council to deliberate on which one of the brothers deserved to rule; eight of the brothers having fled and abandoned their duty just as Hans had. A decision was made on the second day after twelve hours of discussion that Prince Thomas would take the throne within the next three months until he came of age. Hans was relieved to hear the news, as well that his brother as well as the council pardoned him of his crimes.

The late King Erik was buried on the same gravesite as former Queen Maren, his funeral just as depressing as the previous monarchs one, prince Hans deciding it best to create something for his brother. That thing being a statue of solid obsidian carved in exact detail of his likeness, as well as one for queen Maren, to watch over the country with all the grace and wisdom that the Southern Isles had prospered under.

Hans was invited to live within the palace with his remaining brothers. But Hans did on only one request: That Kristoff join him in the palace, the man having proven himself more than worthy as a noble and prince consort, the latter said only with the thirteenth prince's mind. That was still a fair distance away.


On the third day, Kristoff and Hans placed in a second special request for the same lumberjack that delivered the former to the fire prince and back. Pedar and Olaf were told the surprise, but also warned to keep it secret.

"Come on Elsa; put it on!" Kristoff handed the lumberjack a blindfold, the girl eyeing it with skepticism. She was dressed in a white collared shirt under a violet jacket, grey breeches, and a black alice band let a wave of chocolate colored bangs come down over her forehead. Exactly as the iceman had first seen her.

The iceman was wearing a blue Henley shirt with long sleeves, and a black vest with turquoise trim. Tight brown breeches covered his legs from the cold, the sun shining on the light winter day.

"Fine," Elsa tied the black cloth tight over her eyes. "How's this?" She struck a pose that looked like she was trying to be sassy, but it just looked ridiculous.

"You can't see; hmm?" Kristoff questioned moving closer to Elsa, looking hard to see any openings in the band.

"No," She sighed. "Wait, you're not doing something that needs my eyes closed, right?" She started to slide the blindfold off, but Kristoff grabbed hold of her wrist right as it began to pull the black cloth.

"No peeking, now come on!" The iceman tightened the cloth and took Elsa's hand, leading her across the castle bridge by the pavilion that sold flowers ten feet from the harbor, her surprise waiting for her there.

A shrill voice sounded from a ship docked there. "My poor old heart can't take this! I was; I was traumatized," She clearly sounded irritated, and was trying to come up with reasons, no matter how illogical. Slowing his pace slightly, Kristoff turned his head to see the Duchess of Weselton being 'escorted' back to her ship, her plan to assassinate prince Hans well documented in the former queen's confession. The elderly woman was putting up quite the fight, kicking at one of the Southern Isles guards with her pointy boot.

Of the fifty ships that sat in the Southern Isles harbor, only ten were remotely damaged, and all but two or three were well equipped and fixed to sail again the very next day. One of the few that could not be salvaged was the Arendelle ship, and as a result, the ship that carried Princess Anna back to Arendelle was indeed the Weselton vessel.

"I, I demand to see the council to hear their words. As well as Prince Thomas!" She shrieked angrily at Simon, who was escorting the troubled woman to her quarters aboard her ship. The announcer did his job, pulling a scroll of parchment from his pocket.

"I have a decree from Prince Thomas," He said before the duchess smiled confidently. "As well as Prince Hans." He finished and the confident smile fell flat into shock. The color drained from her wrinkled cheeks, which were covered in so much rouge she looked as if she'd had an allergic reaction to something.

"The nation of the Southern Isles, due to the rogue actions of the duchess, refuses henceforth to no longer have business of any sort;" He paused at what was written on the parchment and his lips curved into a joking grin. "With Weaseltown." Simon jabbed as the duchess fumed.

"Weselton! It's Weselton you ungrateful little-" She tried to protest as the guards dragged her off to her quarters. Beside the railing of the deck, the princess spotted Kristoff, and waved.

Kristoff smiled happily and waved back, Elsa hearing, but not seeing exactly what he had, and snorted at the old womans behavior. "That duchess, seriously, who does she think she is?" She rolled her blue eyes under the blindfold. "I demand to speak to Prince Thomas!" The lumberjack imitated her snooty voice with near perfect match. Kristoff chuckled and continued to pull her forward, a bit faster.

"Hang on! My arm is killing me-" Elsa stopped as a loud smack came from one of the wooden columns that made up the pavilion. She had smashed straight into it, her arms bowed out in front of her as Kristoff almost continued to run without her. Before he noticed and helped her past the obstacle, muttering apologies over the overwhelming laughing at his own blind eye.

"Okay, okay, here we are!" He said after giving her a final tug to the harbor path, their boots clicking on the gray cobblestones as Kristoff righted Elsa's balance. He gave the blindfold a sharp tug and it fell undone and Elsa saw it.

A sled sat on the gray cobblestones, a sleek dark wood painted a soft black and decorated with old Runic-like symbols. The seat was raised high and easily big enough to fit three people on the intricately carved bench. The runners were a wrought iron, but had a curious mechanism that was covered only slightly by the borders. It was a sled fit for a royal, or even maybe Santa Claus. But a strange lever sat to the left of the driver's seat, holders for reins left empty as Olaf strutted up to the sleigh like a runway model, giving a sophisticated and snobby grin at the pair.

Elsa immediately felt like crying, it was so beautiful. "No way." She breathed and resisted the urge to run up to it. "You're serious about this; the sleigh… I mean-"

"Yeah!" Kristoff said enthusiastically. "And it's the latest model. It also comes with a surprise!"

Elsa didn't have to guess, she knew just what it was.

Pedar appeared from behind it, cleanly shaven, and holding a lute, giving it a few playful strums. He broke out laughing and put the musical instrument to the side at Elsa dashed up and hugged him, giggling happily at the new sled she now possessed. "And: Thomas has named you the Official Lumberwoman of the Southern Isles." Kristoff pointed out as Pedar took the signal and broke the kiss, indicating the strange lever.

Giving it a quick pull, the runners lifted up as twelve wooden wheels slid down in their place. Elsa gawked at the transformation, and pushed her lover aside as she began to flip the lever back and forth like a child on Christmas Morning. "Look Olaf! It's a sled," She pulled the lever as the runners appeared. "It's a cart!" Elsa squealed pulling the lever again to show Olaf, who rolled his eyes at his master's giddy attitude.

Pedar walked up to Kristoff and crossed his arms, a friendly smile appearing on his cleanly shaven face. "You know, he didn't have to make up the title just for Elsa." He indicated the sled.

"I actually wasn't kidding. Turns out there's a lot of weird titles around here. I'm the Official Ice Master and Deliverer, and so was my father. Apparently Thomas found the Lumberwoman title while leafing through his grandparents records. They just hadn't thought to fill it after the original owner died from a tree falling on top of her." Pedar feigned shock and chuckled.

"You don't think you've jinxed anything do you?"

"Of course not. You're gonna be with her." Kristoff smiled confidently at Elsa, who was running back towards him and they collided with such force they both almost toppled back into the bay. She wrapped him in a warm hug, and winked at Pedar, who took something from his pocket.

"Also," The huntsman pulled something sparkly from his pants pocket. "I believe this belongs to you." He held out Henrik's ice harvesting medal to Kristoff who took it and stared at him, then Elsa, then smiled, not really caring how she got it back. But he knew he had to truly bury his past if he ever wanted to accept his love for the prince.

"Alright, you." Pedar broke the elated moment between Elsa and her sled. "We'll take this baby for a spin later. RIght now, the prince has requested every citizen to appear in the courtyard for some kind of surprise." He held her in a soft embrace that she laughed and tried to squirm out to no avail.

"Okay, my prince." She kissed Pedar and he only hugged tighter, the love they shared stronger than ever in the cold winter afternoon…


Prince Hans stood in the courtyard of the palace, the slick layer of ice beneath him refusing to melt until he wanted. What felt like thousands of people were gathered in the stony yard, a few struggling not to slip. Old, young, male, female, every one of them devoid of the look of fear they once held for the thirteenth prince. He ran a hand through his copper red hair, the stress fading to nothingness as he took a deep breath to address the crowd.

"Are you ready?" He asked in a sly and playful manner, looking about the citizens. All of them were accepting, ready to see what his magic could do at his will.

The crowd instantly rose in cheers and enthusiastic clapping. That was all the answer Hans needed.

As he always once practiced in the castle's ballroom as a child, the prince lifted his heel, still protected by the coal black shoe, and pressed it into the ice, the water immediately melting a fogging away into a soft mist like in a sauna. Warmth radiated around to the point where the crowd shed their jackets and scarves, many of the cheers were replaced not by screams, but by shouts of awe as volcanic glass substituted the cold ice, keeping everyone warm and cozy.

The black glass spread in somewhat chaotic jets, covering some areas of the cobblestones faster than others, but only because Hans allowed it.

As the obsidian reached the gates surrounding the perimeter of the courtyard, they grew in tall arches that entwined with one another, harmless sparks cascading as the glow of the freshly created architecture finished its own transformation.

Hans, not yet satisfied, turned his attention to the two bare trees now planted in the ground. With a whirl of his hand, the branches ignited in a soft blue glow, simply for beauty and nothing more.

The prince smiled as the people began to laugh, all of them sliding and skating on the flawless glossy surface better than any skating pond. Couples and children played on the ice-like rink, Simon doing some very impressive moves for being as old as he was with one of the chambermaids, Gretta.

Hans met the iceman's brown eyes, happy and pleased that he had gotten Hans back. They came face to face as Kristoff struggled to get a grip on the slippery surface, the muscular man colliding with the prince, who caught him easily.

He held into his friend's hands, steadying himself on the rink in his normal shoes. I should do something about that, Hans raised an eyebrow teasingly at the other man. He pulled his right hand free, and in a slinking motion, Kristoff's boots formed a pair of glass runners, beautifully shaped like the runners on Elsa's new sleigh.

"Oh Hans; they're nice but you know that I don't ska-a-a-a-a-a-te!" His voice raised as the prince pulled him forwards, his powerful hands feeling warm and kind in Kristoff's large ones.

"Come on, you can do it! What happened to all those lessons I gave you when we were kids?" Hans chuckled as the pair bumped into Ashley in her red scarf, who was skating around in a fit of giggles herself with a tall partner. Thomas held the twig fingers in his grip; laughing in a way Hans had never seen.

"I like the open gates," Kristoff remarked to all the changes that had happened over the course of a week.

Hans grinned devilishly. "We are never closing them again." He nodded and pulled his friend on as he struggled to skate with the prince, Elsa and Pedar laughing as they too slid around chaotically. Olaf clumping around on the glass like he always did, propping his friend up with a strong nudge so she fell into Pedars arms enveloping him in a kiss.

Maren's last words lingered through Hans' mind one final time, the words no longer hurting as they once did. "You'll be fine, Hans."

Never before that those words held any truth to them; that was, until now.

Kristoff smiled at the prince, his friend in his grip for the first time in forever. Everything felt right, nothing out of place, he was getting what he had always dreamt of: A friend he had kept close all those years.

Everything was perfect, and it would always be, as long as he knew how to play with fire.

The End


A/N: Okay, just finished the biggest story I've ever done in my life, now what? I'm thinking about doing a genderbent Brave. PM me if you think I should do it!