In some ways, the next few days mirrored the time they had spent together in Arendelle after Hans' name was cleared. But this time, Anna was fully present and involved in what they were doing, when they were doing it. When she suddenly realized that she had forgotten why she had originally travelled to Svetland, Anna was mortified, but Edwin wouldn't let her apologize. Instead, he brushed it off and insisted that she enjoy herself and the chance circumstances that had reunited her with Hans. The only cloud was the annoying feeling of guilt that she couldn't explain or banish. It wasn't until one night when there were walking through the courtyard, holding hands and she glanced up to see the moon setting that a particularly sharp pang of guilt lanced through her and Anna realized why. "Oh!" she gasped and staggered as though struck.

Hans turned to her in concern, "Are you alright Anna?" He took her other hand to steady her.

Anna couldn't quite meet his eyes, "Yes– fine."

Hans eyes narrowed and his tone was disapproving. "I can tell when you're lying you know," he said.

"It's nothing," Anna insisted, "Just a stray thought." She shivered, "It's getting cold. And late. I'll see you in the morning?"

Hans held her hands tightly to prevent her from leaving and waited until she looked up to meet his eyes. Another pang of guilt shot through her when she saw his trusting green gaze. Hans raised her right hand and bent down to kiss it. "In the morning," he agreed.

Anna worked hard to walk normally back to the castle door, but she had barely crossed the threshold before breaking into a run. She crashed into her room and slammed the door behind her. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she sank to the floor in front of it. In front of her she could see beautiful, intense green eyes, but they weren't Hans'. They were surrounded by a black mask.

"You have to tell him," insisted Elin. After much pressure, Anna had given in and told Elin about her conflicting feelings and guilt between Hans and the green man she had met at the masquerade.

Anna shook her head violently. "I can't!" she protested, "I've already hurt him so much. And this man I met was just a random stranger. I'll probably never see him again." She felt a sharp pain of loss at the thought and did her best to ignore it. I don't even know his name! "I've really enjoyed being with Hans the last few days. He is really a wonderful man. He's come out of his depression and confusion, so he's confident and strong again. I love being with him."

"But do you love him?" asked Elin. She was sitting at the desk reviewing the work that had been done so far in the negotiations between Arendelle and Svetland.

"I don't know," said Anna, "We've really had so little real time together…"

Elin looked up from her papers, "And this green man as you call him?"

Anna shook her head, "He's probably forgotten all about me and gone back to wherever he came from. Besides, it was one night."

"And yet," said Elin perceptively, "You can't stop thinking about him. To the point that you feel guilty not telling Hans."

Anna groaned and threw herself onto the couch, burying her face in the cushions.

"You need to tell Hans," repeated Elin decisively, turning back to her work.

Anna groaned again.

"Hans, can we talk?" asked Anna nervously. She had invited him to go out for a walk in the castle gardens with her, so they had wandered through the trees until there was no one else in sight.

"Of course," said Hans immediately. He playfully scooped her up and Anna squealed in protest. Hans smoothed down a patch of grass with his boot and placed her in the middle, then sat down beside her. Anna couldn't help but smile and he smiled in response. "See?" he said with a nudge to her foot, "I can still get you to smile. Whatever's on your mind can't be that bad."

Anna's smile disappeared and she looked away. Knowing she had to face him, Anna took a deep breath and looked him squarely in the eye, trying to ignore how his green eyes reminded her of the other green eyes. "Hans, I have a confession. I have loved spending all this time with you out here, away from the pressures back home, both the real ones and the ones that I made for myself. I consider you a great friend, but I'm not sure I love you."

Hans smiled a little sadly, "Oh Anna, don't you remember? Back in Arendelle I told you it was okay if you don't love me." He took her hands and squeezed them gently, "Just because I love you doesn't mean you have to love me. That hasn't changed. I'm just glad you're being honest with yourself and me about it."

"Really?" she asked in surprise, "I mean. There's more. I arrived the day before the masquerade and Tessa leant me a dress and I met someone there and–"

Now Hans' smile did disappear, "Please don't tell me you've fallen for that again. Elsa was right Anna, you can't marry someone you just met."

"No!" exclaimed Anna indignantly, "It's not like that! He was fun and I think he would be a great friend. I don't have any idea what he thinks of me, if anything. But I can't forget him. So I feel that I owe it to myself to try to find out who he is and get to know him better. I don't even know if I'll be able to, I just don't want to lead you on."

"You never were," he said, "You've never said that you love me. And I will never push you about it." Hans released her and leaned back on his hands, "Now, as to this man you met, finding out who he is will be easy." Anna's eyes widened in surprise. "Didn't Tessa tell you that there is always a follow up ball to the masquerade? Exactly one month later, all attendees are required to return, in the same costume, but without their masks. She calls it the Masks Off Ball." He shrugged, "I think she insisted on that part because she enjoys teasing Edwin when he can't find her at the masquerade."

Anna's mouth dropped open, "Really? Then I just have to wait…" she quickly did the math, "Two and a half weeks and I can find out who he is?"

Hans nodded, "It's that easy."

She furrowed her brow, "And you don't mind?"

Hans shifted his position to kneel in front of her and take her hands again, "Anna, I want you to be happy more than I want anything else. That's what it means for me to be in love with you. I'll even help you look for him if you'd like. Though I'll have to find you first."

Anna dismissed that problem immediately, "I'll be easy to find. The gown Tessa leant me was a phoenix costume. I'm pretty sure I stood out." Anna felt Hans go rigid and his eyes went momentarily blank. "Hans?" she asked nervously.

He shook himself and quickly pulled his hands away. Anna noticed that they were trembling as he rocked backward and folded his arms to hide them. "A phoenix, eh?" he said. His voice quivered with some suppressed emotion that Anna couldn't identify. "That will make it easy to find you. I'll help you find the man you met. If you felt a connection to him, you should to take the opportunity to get to know him better. I never want to be the cause of you wondering what might have been."