A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! May 2021 be a fantastic year for us all!

Official codenames used by the Alvanian Underground are all based off figures from Greek mythology. Some are mentioned in this chapter. More will be used as the story continues.

Chapter 20: Bonding Practice

Gertrude leaned back in her rocking chair on the back porch of the farmhouse. She nursed a warm mug of cider in her hands as she enjoyed some afternoon air. This was a small break from some of her daily chores, and it felt nice to get off her feet for a few minutes. She turned her attention to the side when she heard the back door open and close. Heinrich had returned from his trip into town, and he came over to occupy the empty rocker beside hers.

"You're back earlier than I expected." She said with a warm smile. "Did everything sell?"

"Quickly." He replied. "You may have to prepare a second batch for next week's cart."

Gertrude laughed, "You'd think the people of Heidelberg have never tasted apple tarts before." She shook her head with a thoughtful expression slowly forming on her face. "Though, by next week I'll have lost my extra set of hands. How… how did it go? The other matter?"

"Brody made contact late yesterday with Hermes." Heinrich said with a slight nod, "if everything goes to plan, the message should be received later tonight."

"Then we'll be hearing back in the next day or so. That's encouraging."

"Very."

She set her mug down on the small table between them. There were hints of worry and hesitation in her voice. "Do you think Aidoneus is alright? Do you think he'll be able to help our young friends?"

Heinrich nodded confidently. "He's a resourceful lad, as you know. I'm sure he's perfectly fine. If anyone can help them, he can." After resettling comfortably in the rocker, he faced forward towards the open yard. His brow immediately furrowed in confusion. "What on earth are those two doing?"

Gertrude's expression lightened as she glanced out to the yard and giggled quietly. "Practicing, I believe. Or teaching. I'm not entirely sure which."

"With ragged-old brooms?"

"It was a safer alternative to true weaponry." Gertrude replied, "And I didn't have the keys to your shed where you locked away that man's arsenal."

Heinrich snorted, "well regardless, they look ridiculous. What use would a princess have using a real sword, anyway?"

"Best to be prepared for anything, Dear." She reached for her mug again. "And remember, there are no princesses here. They are Marit and Nikolai."

"Does it really matter?" He asked. "We know who they are."

"Marit requested it. She said she wanted to get more accustomed to using the alternate names. And I agree with her." Gertrude said. "Their cover could use some work. Better to iron themselves out here where it's relatively safe than out in the middle of danger."

"I suppose." He said stiffly, then his eyes suddenly his eyes widened. "Well… that was a lucky move on her part."

Gertrude nodded, quite amused. "They've been going at this for quite some time now. I think she's finally getting the hang of—" there was a distant-surprised-shriek from the yard and Gertrude could feel her cheeks reddening. "O-oh my…"

"I thought you said they weren't a real pair." Heinrich cast her a skeptical glance.

"That's what she told me."

"HA." He laughed and rose to his feet. "I'd say that's a dirty lie." He waved his hand for his wife to ride. "Come along, dear. There's too much to do to waste the day. And I doubt they want you peeping on them right now."

"This looks so…" Anna struggled to find the right word as she traced her fingers up and down the broomstick handle. "…ridiculous."

"Just use your imagination."

"Yeah, but…" Anna swung the broom upwards—the bristles in the air—and tried to keep a stable grip. "It's so unbalanced this way."

Hans closed the gap between them and took the broom from her to flip it the other way around. "Like this."

"Oh." She muttered, not appreciated being shown something so obvious. "Is this really going to be effective?"

"Can't be any worse than using tree branches. At least these won't splinter so easily." Hans said. "Consider yourself lucky. Do you want to know how I learned how to wield a blade?"

"Um…" the tone he used didn't make her feel too good. "Should I even want to know?"

"I had a real weapon thrust into my hands and had to dodge not being sliced to pieces by my two immediate older brothers. Those were my trainings, at least until Alexei returned from his campaign to teach me properly. "

"…at least you survived." She said, "It doesn't sound like your brothers were keen on going easy on you."

"They weren't." He replied, "Dirk and Derrick probably would have taken great pleasure in running me through if given the proper chance."

"That's… that's awful!" She was shocked. Never in her life could she imagine such a horrific relationship between siblings. "What kind of family behaves this way?"

"Clearly mine." He said matter-o-factly as he moved to stand behind her.

"Your family is just ripe with stories." She replied, glancing over her shoulder at him. "I'd love to hear them." She bit her lip as she awaited his response. He made it clear before that he didn't like to talk about his family. But that was also days ago when their relationship—or whatever she wanted to call it—was at a terribly rocky point. He was clearly more comfortable around her now. Perhaps now he wouldn't mind sharing.

"No time for that right now," he said. His broom was tossed lightly to the ground. "I need you to focus." He gently pushed on her back and shoulders to get her into a proper posture. "Start by standing alert, like this."

Anna fought the impulsive urge to shrug him off as he positioned her shoulders, her back, even using part of her broom to poke and shift her legs. "This feels… weird."

"That's because you're just standing there. It'll feel much more comfortable later on."

She made sure to pay close attention to everything Hans did. In the beginning of their lesson, he stood beside her and moved slowly to demonstrate stances and how to properly step forward and back. Without the broom in her hands, it didn't seem to make much sense, but she tried her best to mimic his movement. It was soon becoming abundantly clear how he bested her so easily in the woods, even with little to no effort on his part. She was comfortable enough to admit that he was right all along—she really didn't know what she was doing. And now that he was making good on his promise to teach, she wasn't going to waste any moment of it.

It took her a bit of time to get certain steps down. It was hard trying to imagine someone coming at her just so she could mimic Hans' movements, so she had to pretend to attack him just to see how he moved his legs. The first few times she tried it, she ended up tripping over herself. She expected Hans to laugh or sneer at her clumsiness, but he was rather patient with her. It was a pleasant surprise.

Getting used to full stances and holding positions seemed a lot easier for her. The broom was a bit awkward to hold until she found a good place to grip it so the bristles wouldn't dig into her legs. And now that she held it in her hands, combining all of the individual components together really made everything start to make sense.

"Much better." He complimented after she finished her swing.

Anna lowered the broom handle downward and beamed at him. "I think I might finally be getting the hang of this!"

"Do you think you're ready to take me on?"

Anna blinked. "Um, it depends. Are you going to fight at my level or pummel me to the ground like the first time?"

Hans chuckled, "Maybe I shouldn't say." He bent down to retrieve his broom.

"…jerk." She muttered under her breath as she took up an appropriate stance.

"I'll come at you slow and progressively get faster." His brow furrowed for a moment as he appeared to reconsider what he just said. "That came out terribly wrong." He quickly cleared his throat and was thankful that she didn't seem too fazed by his off comment. "Your level. For now."

Anna nodded and took a deep breath to center herself. There was a pause between Hans' declaration and when he actually started advancing on her. True to his word, his movements were slow, almost to the speeds that he used when showing her the early techniques. His first strikes were very obvious and easy for her to block, and he purposefully left himself open to a blow to see how she would react. It took a few times before she caught on to what he was doing. When she finally took the bait and landed a proper strike on his arm—which wasn't more than a tap with the broom handle—Hans quickened his pace.

She was quite pleased with herself. Even with the faster strikes, she managed to hold her own. Hans easily gained the offensive ground between them, but she wasn't about to give up. The knowledge she had was a crash course at best, but she wanted to prove herself, and daresay, make Hans proud.

His speed and strength soon reached the point that she recognized in the woods. The force of his swings started to drive her back through the yard. This practice session would no doubt end the same way as the first time. Even with the knowledge he passed down to her, she was still at a natural disadvantage. But then, she remembered something he said the last time—about fighting fair.

If the enemy isn't going to play by the rules… then I won't either!

Anna bided her time fending off his advances and waited for just the right moment. After he recoiled from a swing, she quickly flipped her broom around and pretended to make a move for his torse. When he naturally went to block it, she quickly jerked the broom downward to catch the bristle end behind his legs. With a rough shove, she dragged it into the backs of his knees and knocked him off his feet. She couldn't hide the smug look on her face when he landed hard on his back.

"Hey!"

She gently nudged his broomstick out of reach with the toe of her boot and then let hers fall to the ground beside his. Her hands clasped behind her back as she leaned over him. "I do believe I've won that!"

One of his hands briefly cradled the back of his head. "You little sneak."

She giggled and took a step closer to him. "I learned from the best. That's the same move you pulled on me in the woods!"

"How good of you to remember." Hans said, "but there's one thing that I didn't tell you, and it's rather important."

She didn't like the sudden gleam in his eyes. "W-what's that?" Before she could even register on what he was doing, she felt his leg suddenly kick out her own feet. She let out a surprised shriek and found herself getting knocked down right on top of him. She landed with an 'oh!' escaping her lips and his arms quickly latched around her and flipped her onto her back with him hovering over her.

"Never under underestimate your opponent. They're still a threat until the danger is eliminated."

Anna winced as her mind immediately flashed to Hans' previous rounds with their opposition. "Eliminated? Do you mean… dead?"

"Well… disarmed at the very least. Unconscious perhaps. I doubt you would go any further than that."

Anna eyed him carefully, though she could feel the blush forming on her cheeks as she looked up at him. His eyes lingered on hers, then moved to scan the rest of her face before traveling down her body. For the briefest moments she felt incredibly exposed. When his gaze became fixated, she lifted her head slightly to see what caught his interest. He at least didn't seem to be staring in a licentious way, and she was shocked that a part of her was almost left wanting because of it. Not that she desired for him to cross the boundaries that were agreed to, because she certainly didn't. They were amicable at best. Nothing further. But… this entire afternoon seemed rather…different. Hans was very much in his element in teaching her combat. At times, he even seemed excited. Happy even. What a change to his previous behavior over the last several days.

His eyes returned to her face and she gently pushed up on his chest to motivate him off of her. "Are… are you ever going to let me up?" her cheeks reddened further when a sly grin started to appear on him.

"I don't know. Should I?"

"Um…yeah?"

He tilted his head to one side. "Perhaps you should force me off instead."

"…wait, what?"

"This is all about self-defense, right? Well… pretend I'm a soldier. That soldier… even. How would you get me off of you?" When her hands started to ball into fists, he quickly pinned her dominant hand to the ground beyond her head.

"Hey!" Anna protested and struggled against his hold. He wasn't gripping her all that tight. She had enough sense to know it was more for show, to get her to adapt to the challenge. "You can't tell me to fight back and then cripple me."

His eyebrow raised, "It's logical to assume if some man has you pinned beneath him, he's going to be holding you down. Use something else. For example," he hesitated before briefly glancing down below him again. "do you know the most vulnerable place to hurt a man?"

"Um… his face?" She felt incredibly sheepish guessing that. It was probably not the answer he was looking for. She had never really fought a man in close combat before, other than swinging fists… and that target was always the face. Where else was a dignified royal lady supposed to slap a man?

"…cute." He couldn't resist a chuckle before releasing her arm. His hands moved downward to lift up one of her legs from behind her knee. Part of her skirts slid down her leg and pooled down at the bottoms of her thigh, thankfully not high enough to show him anything other than the bottom halves of her pantaloons on her raised leg.

Anna's eyes immediately widened in shock at his boldness. "What are you doing?!" She trusted him, but the way he gripped her gave her terrible flashbacks of that nightmare experience in the woods.

"Demonstrating. And if you even try kicking me while I do this, I promise that you will sleep on the floor tonight."

Her jaw dropped. "You're the one who told me to fight back!"

"To be honest, it was a terrible decision on my part. We both know you can and will break my nose without a moment's hesitation—"

"Hmmph. You're not wrong." She huffed and watched where he positioned her knee—inches away from his groin. Laying there in such an intimate style felt incredibly awkward and demonstration purposes aside, she could only try to imagine what was going through his mind. the expression on his face didn't give away anything. It bothered her.

"Right here." Hans explained, seemingly unfazed by her reddened cheeks and the inappropriateness of the whole thing. "You jam you foot, your knee… or anything that you can find right here, and I promise you any man will be so overwhelmed in agony that you'd have time to get away."

She frowned when he made no move to put her leg down. "…and if you're wrong and it doesn't work?"

"Jab your fingers in his eyes. Break his nose. Punch his throat. Kick. Claw. Bite. Do what ever you have to do to get him away. Ladylike behavior be damned."

"But—"

"Marit, dear! Nikolai! Come inside! It's time for tea!"

Gertrude's voice called from the house porch. Her sudden presence outside startled Hans and he ended dropping Anna's leg unceremoniously back to the ground. Anna's cheeks reddened all over as she looked over her shoulder towards the house.

"How long do you think she was watching us?"

Hans shrugged, clearly amused at the situation. "Does it matter?"

"It matters to me…"

"Come along, my dears! Nikolai! You behave yourself, young man!"

Hans cleared his throat as he crawled off of her and rose to his feet. Once he brushed off the leaves and dirt from his trousers, he reached down to help Anna off the ground.

Anna shook off her skirts. "I'm glad you found this amusing. I'd rather not have Gertrude think we were… I dunno… getting frisky or something."

Hans burst out laughing as he casually wrapped his arm around her back while they walked back to the house. "I'll be sure to try harder next time."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Sure, you will." She glanced behind her briefly. "What about the brooms?"

"Leave them. We'll be coming back outside."

"We will?" She asked, "But we've been at this for hours. Isn't this enough for one day?"

"My dear Marit…" he flashed her an amused grin as they ascended the porch steps. "We've only just begun."

As Anna stood in front of the mirror running her hands through her hair to get some of the knots out, she could see the reflection of the bedroom door opening. Hans walked in with slow, labored steps as he closed the door behind him and tossed his towel carelessly aside.

"Took you long enough," Anna teased, "I was beginning to wonder if you fell asleep in the bath."

He sighed and made for his side of the bed. "Frau Kranz was nice enough to replenish the hot water after you stole it all. I really needed the long soak."

She smirked at his reflection in the mirror. "Well, if you didn't roll around in the dirt all afternoon…"

"Oh, very funny," he sighed and pulled back the blankets, "I recall you spending quite some time with your back to the dirt as well."

"And yet, I'm not the one complaining."

"The difference between you and I, Dear, is that I spent the better portion of the late afternoon getting beaten up by a broomstick.

She burst into giggles as she skipped over to her bedside and flopped down beside him. "I dunno. I thought today was fantastic! I really enjoyed myself." She nudged his arm playfully, "thank you so much for the lesson. It was a lot of fun."

"Hmmph." He pretended to sulk before flashing her a sly smile. "For you perhaps. You took way too much pleasure in smacking me around."

"And you took way too much pleasure in pinning me under you."

"Husband's privilege." He chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at him. "Besides, you had to practice on somebody. So, before this conversation gets even more ridiculous, let me just express my immense gratitude that after all of that abuse, you were kind enough to leave my manhood alone."

She tried hard not to blush. "Well, it wouldn't do me any good if my tutor was too pained to continue the lesson." He didn't seem to have a comeback, so she reached behind to fluff her pillow. Even though it was bedtime, she still found herself wide awake. The excitement of the day's activity was still fresh on her mind, and even though they had stopped hours ago, she was still riding on the energy of their practice session. As she leaned back against her pillow, she glanced to her left. Hans was already settled comfortably under the blankets. His gaze was more focused on his lap as his fingers fidgeted with the edge of the bedsheet. He was unusually quiet, especially after their activities.

Maybe I beat him up a little too hard….

"Are you okay?" She eventually asked.

He nodded. "Just tired. And sore as hell." He turned to flash her a reassuring smile. "Despite your enjoyment at trying to kill me, you did really well today. I'm proud of you."

Anna couldn't help but beam at him. "Really? So, you think I'm ready to take on some brutes?"

He let out a chuckle, "No—but you'll definitely last a lot longer than five minutes."

"…thanks for the confidence."

"Hey. No one masters anything in one afternoon. What you've got is a good start. And if the weather is favorable, and if there's still time, maybe we can go another round tomorrow—with brooms, not your fists."

Her smile widened at the offer. "I'd really like that. Thank you again for teaching me. It really means a lot."

"Well, I did promise."

Anna tilted her head slightly to the side. "You said we might not have time?"

Hans cleared his throat. "Herr Kranz was under the impression that he might receive news tomorrow. We would be discussing our next steps before we head out into the wild again."

Out in the wild? She liked how he worded the phrase. That was certainly how it felt like at times—as if she and Hans were like rabbits trying to flee the wolf's den. But this was the first that she's heard news of travel. How much more did he know? The last thing she needed was for him to keep secrets.

"When did you find this out?"

"Herr Kranz told me earlier."

Obviously. She resisted rolling her eyes. "Why didn't I hear about it?"

"You were busy being a domestic housewife along with Frau Kranz." He reached over to nudge her arm. "And as your husband, may I just say that you're doing a marvelous job at it."

She snickered and nudged him back. "You're just saying that to get on my good side."

"Not at all. And besides, I think I speak for both of us when I say we don't want to go to sleep upset with each other."

Her mind instantly flashed to their first night on the farm. That was definitely one mood she'd rather not repeat. "I suppose you're right about that."

"I know I am."

Anna swatted his arm away and watched as he readjusted both his pillow and the bedding covering him up. "I bet you're tired."

He nodded. "And sore, yes. You going to sleep, too? I'll blow out the candle."

"Actually, I'm still wide awake. Do you mind if I stay up a bit longer?"

He gave her a puzzled look. "…and do what?"

Anna slid off the bed and crossed the room to her satchel. It only took her a minute to dig through it, and when she turned around to him, her sketchbook was clutched in her hands. "I thought maybe I'd fill some pages… or at least one, anyway."

"Oh?" His eyes followed her as she took the candle, moved it around to her bedside, and then sat bad down on the bed atop the blankets. "With what?"

She smiled and hugged the book to her chest. "Whatever comes to mind."

The corner of his mouth curved upwards as he nodded. "Well, I won't disturb you. Just don't stay up too late. I suppose there's always the chance we could be leaving tomorrow."

"I understand."

His eyes lingered on her for a brief moment before he slowly rolled onto his side with his back to her. "Good night."

"Good night, Hans."

"Nikolai."

She sighed softly. "Nikki."

Other than the soft sounds of his breathing, the room remained quiet. Anna watched him for a few minutes before drawing her knees up to prop her book. She opened the cover and ran her fingers lightly over the first page. She knew exactly what she wanted to draw. Her pencil hesitated before touching the paper, just so she could plan out how she wanted everything to look.

Her pencil strokes were slow and light as she outlined her doodle on the page. As more of it took shape and the image filled in, she couldn't help but smile. Her artwork didn't have the level of detail that Hans' sketch of her did, but she was perfectly fine with that. This was whimsical and fun, and it accurately represented the subject of her piece.

Were this a different time or place, she would desire to add touches of color to her little masterpiece. But she highly doubted Hans bothered to bring along an array of extra supplies in his mad dash to pack the real essentials. His sketchbook, even two of them, would have had to be enough. She was lucky to find one of his pencils to use without digging too far into his own bag. Shading in parts would just have to do.

She hummed very softly to herself as she worked on some finishing touches. Every so often, she peeked over at Hans slumbering away, just to make sure she didn't wake him. He had barely moved since the moment he went to sleep. A part of her felt a tad jealous. Even in the best of times and the safest of places, she was always a bit of a wild sleeper. Rolling about, settling into strange positions… it was no wonder that she always woke up a bit groggy completely disheveled. Even her hair dressed in nighttime braids somehow turned into medusa-locks in the morning.

One of her quick glances ended with her eyes lingering on him a bit longer than she would normally prefer. She didn't exactly have the best view of his face with his back towards her, but she could imagine the serene look he must be holding in his sleep.

Is this what domestic life feels like? She wondered as she watched his shoulder subtly rise and fall with each breath. …When you get so comfortable with the other that they don't care what you do while they sleep? This night felt quite different than the other times she and Hans went to sleep. No early nights out. No hard feelings. No arguments.

She was practically startled when he suddenly shifted and rolled more onto his back. When his head settled, it was angled towards her. She quickly averted her gaze back to the sketchbook while he moved just in case he woke up. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was actually watching him sleep.

…because that's exactly what I'm doing...

Soon it got to the point where she couldn't focus on her drawing anymore. Her eyes kept gravitating back to her sleepy companion. He was just as she thought—an incredibly relaxed expression plastered all over his face. It made her smile. At least he was truly getting some well-earned rest.

A quiet yawn escaped her as she shifted slightly on the bed. The candle would have to be blown out soon.

"…is that a snowman?"

His tired voice broke the silence a few minutes later and the pencil nearly flew from her hands at being startled. Almost immediately, she glanced over. Hans was suddenly awake, though he looked drowsy enough to pass back out in any given moment. His eyes weren't open very wide, but they were directed right at her sketchbook.

"H-hey!" She quickly moved the cover to block his view. "What happened to no peeking?"

"It was an accident, I swear," he yawned, "it was the first thing I saw when my eyes opened."

"…did I disturb you?" Anna asked. "I'm sorry. I didn't think I was being noisy—"

"—no. I'm just uncomfortable." He said and shifted a few inches closer to her. "Well… since I've already caught sight of it… do you think I could get a better look?"

Anna made a face and glanced back to the book in her lap. "You're going to make fun of it."

"No, I won't. Why would I do that?"

"I dunno. For the same reasons you won't let me look at your book?"

Hans hesitated for a moment. "My brothers used to take great pleasure in destroying my work. I've had drawings ripped out of my hands and thrown into fireplaces. I'm used to people going out of their way to be cruel towards anything I say or do." He sighed, "It's become routine to hide everything away. There's nothing personal against you, Anna. Just old habits, I suppose."

Anna's gaze softened as she reached over to place a gentle hand on his arm. To an extent, she could understand how he felt. Right after the gates opened, Elsa was hesitant in using her magic. The summer thawed and the kingdom was saved, but there was still a stigma attached to her magic. There was always the anxiety over what could happen. It took Elsa weeks just to be comfortable enough to invite the citizens back to the castle courtyard for an afternoon's ice-skating activity. Fast forward three years later, she knew there were still moments where Elsa's magic was a bit startling. It wasn't necessarily in a bad way, and she recalled in those specific times that Elsa always recovered from the surprise outbursts fairly quick. Still, a lifelong fear of magic made for difficult habits to break. And if Hans' brothers forced a similar lifelong concealment with Hans and his hobbies, it was no wonder he had trust issues showing it off.

The only difference is… I'm not one of his brothers. And I'm certainly not cruel.

"That's a horrible thing to have happened to you. I'm… I'm really sorry."

He shook his head slightly. "You have nothing to apologize for. Their doing wasn't your fault."

"It doesn't change how terrible they've behaved." Anna frowned, "Hobbies and pastimes are supposed to be fun. They've robbed you of that for so long." Her gaze redirected back to the book in her lap.

I don't have anything to hide. And who knows, maybe it'll bring him some joy, too.

She slowly closed the book and handed it over to him. Hans stared at the offering for a long time. He was hesitant to reach for it.

"…you don't mind?"

Anna shook her head. "No. Go ahead."

Hans shifted against his pillow before taking the book from her. "You're sure?" He clarified one last time. "I could become privy to some of your darkest secrets…"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't have any secrets. We both know I can never keep them anyway."

Hans flashed the slightest of smiles as he slowly opened the cover to peer inside. A simple doodle was staring back at him. There was a sun in the top right corner, a checkered type ground that he soon identified to be a picnic blanket and a very rounded figure laying across it with a flower held in extremely twiggy arms. There were small bits of shading in just the right places along the snowman's side and along parts of the blanket. His head tilted slightly to one side as his eyes scanned all over the drawing.

Anna bit her lip nervously as she watched him. Hans' skill was so much more than hers, and she anxiously awaited his opinion. The longer his silence went on, the harder it got for her to keep calm composure.

"…well?"

"I'm enchanted by this." He said after a few moments. "A snowman enjoying a summer's day? That's certainly not something I would normally think of." He glanced over to her. "I bet there's a story behind this."

Anna nodded slowly. "His name is Olaf. He loves summer and giving warm hugs to everyone he meets. He's a magical snowman," she explained after a brief pause, "It's how he doesn't melt."

"…you knew I was going to ask that."

"Everyone does." Anna replied, "He's powered by Elsa's magic—"

"—wait, he's real?"

"Of course, he is. Elsa created him during the frozen summer."

"I don't remember him. Probably because I was too busy trying not to drown in the fjords after getting my face punched in." He mused and looked back at the drawing. "He has a very unique design."

"Elsa and I created him when we were kids, back when everything was still fine between us. He represents the love we share as sisters and maintains our childhood sense of innocence and wonder, even though he was brought to life so many years later. Olaf is so inquisitive about everything and yet, he has this strange wisdom, too." She said fondly as she too admired her work, "He is probably my closest and dearest friend."

"He sounds charming."

"He really is. I thought he would make for a great reminder of home… and this way, a part of Elsa is here with me whenever I need it." She paused, "I mean, that's the point of the book, after all. To use it whenever I'm feeling down or scared…. Having a symbol of immense optimism and true love just seemed perfect."

Hans nodded as he continued to admire her handiwork. "This is really cute." He said as he started to hand the book back to her. "You're right. He makes for a proper opening subject for your book."

She could feel her cheeks redden slightly. "I'm sure it's all rather childish compared to what's hiding away in yours."

"There's nothing childish about drawing what gives you pleasure, Anna. If it's a snowman frolicking along the beach or wherever… so be it." During the handoff, a single piece of parchment slipped from the back cover and fell onto the bed between them. "Don't feel as if you need to compare yourself to me. You are your own person." He retrieved the fallen page and paused. It was the wanted poster—or at least, part of it. The bottom half was torn away. "…You still have this?"

"Of course, I do. Why wouldn't I?" She asked and took it back from him. "It's beautiful."

"Where's the rest of it?"

Anna snorted. "Long gone. I didn't care about the bottom and its lies." She looked at the sketch before hugging both the paper and her sketchbook to her chest. "I suppose we're even now."

"Even how?"

"We've both seen something of each other's." She pulled the items back and gazed at the single parchment. "You did say this was your handiwork."

Hans reached behind him to fluff his pillow before resetting against it. "I did."

"Maybe you could tell me about it?" She asked. "I mean… I shared my story with you." When he seemed hesitant, she put on her best pleading face. "Please?" She allowed her fingers to trace along the edge of the image. The drawn representation of her was posed sitting and gazing downward and to the side with a wistful expression, and she could see the trail of ribbons hanging from the back of her formal updo. Around her neck was the crocus pendant hanging perfectly to compliment the off-shoulder gown she wore during Elsa's coronation. Even parts of the bodice and upper skirts had some portion of rosemaling to them. It amazed her how much detail he put into a mere sketch.

"I remember everything…" He had said once. She didn't realize that his memory was so precise that he could pull such small elements of a dress out of thin air. After all, she certainly had never posed for him before. He made this without a reference.

If this were a colored painting… I'd probably think I were standing in front of a mirror.

Hans' eyes lingered on the paper in her hands. "… I made that three years ago, just after you left to find your sister." He explained slowly. "I had just finished sending the villagers back to their homes and had retreated to my designated room in the castle."

"And you wanted to draw me?"

He shrugged slightly. "I wasn't feeling confident in the situation. The advisors didn't seem to hold a high opinion of me or have much faith that I could even hold everything together. But you… you had taken such a respected command in a matter of seconds. You showed so much bravery, courage, and determination in a split-second decision, and I wanted to channel some of that energy. You became my muse in both an artistic and spiritual sense. I thought perhaps a reminder of you would somehow give me some of your endless hope and optimism while I kept Arendelle safe. But we weren't the only ones in trouble. You were off on some dangerous quest alone and without any sort of protection from both the elements and whatever trouble was lurking out there. Naturally, I was worried for you."

Her jaw dropped slightly, and she was taken aback momentarily by his story. "You were worried… for me?"

His gaze softened on her as he tilted his head to one side. "Of course, I was. You were my fiancée."

It didn't escape her notice that he used the term 'fiancée' and not 'true love' when referencing her. Were this any other time, she would claim his supposed worry was only for his own benefit—being after Arendelle's throne, as he so bluntly explained to her years ago. And she was merely his stepping-stone to claiming it. Of course, her disappearance caused him concern. Without her, he was nothing. Had nothing.

But…

The way he described the situation, the tone of voice he used, even the way he looked at her now made her second-guess some of her beliefs. Perhaps not everything was as black and white as she thought. It was no secret what happened while she was away on a mad search for Elsa. Hans kept the kingdom from falling apart, that was indeed true. She heard several different accounts from both royal advisors and villagers of his tremendous aide and bravery in such difficult situations—in the early hours at least. The advisors and visiting diplomats obviously changed their tune after hearing what truly happened upon her return to the castle. But it made her realize that she heard everyone's account of the frozen summer except Hans'. His was, perhaps, one of the most important of all. Because the little he just told her made him seem like an entirely different person than the one she knew.

Just what did happen while she was gone? Was he always the scheming monster? Did something turn him into one?

Did she really want to know the answer?

"…did it help?" She eventually asked, curious to know a bit more. "The drawing, I mean?"

"In some ways. It helped me sleep that first night…. But in the end, there wasn't much time to fawn over it. Once your horse returned without you, leading a search and rescue became the high priority. If anything, it came in handy at some trading post in the woods. The attendant there recognized you and told us which way you went." He cleared his throat and gently took the pencil, drawing, and the sketchbook from her. He slipped the sketch into the inside cover and then reached over his other side to place them gently on his bedside table. "But enough on that." He said with a yawn, "it's late, and we need to get some sleep."

Without much choice, she slipped her legs under the blankets and settled comfortably against her pillow. She laid on her side angled towards him, and while nuzzling her head into the pillow, she could see Hans' expectant gaze on her, waiting for something to happen. It almost reminded her of their first night in this room… the same look that prompted them to get into another argument over miscommunicated feelings. But that couldn't possibly be what this look was for. She prayed it wasn't.

"You have the candle." He whispered to her as if reading her mind.

"Oh! R-right…" Now she felt sheepish for overthinking a mere glance, especially for something so obvious. She quickly turned over to blow it out.

With the room now appropriately darkened, she could feel Hans shift beside her as he went back to sleep. By the time she had resumed her previous position on her side, he appeared to have dozed off again with his head once more turned away from her.

"Good night…" she whispered to him as she let her fingers curl into the blankets. There was no way she would be able to sleep so easily. Her mind was starting to race. It was a rare treat for Hans to admit anything about himself, be it his familial relations or his own general emotions. She was even surprised that he even agreed to talk about the drawing in the first place. Art was a sacred thing to him, and this one piece seemed to stir a lot of feelings in him. He was a well-guarded individual, but she could see there was more about this sketch that he wasn't telling her. But what?

Anna let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes. She was left with more questions than answers. If Hans Westergaard was a puzzle, then this one revelation was merely a small clue to solving it. And she was determined to solve it, whatever it took.

This all started with my doodle. Perhaps art is the key to getting him to open up to me. He uses art to decompress. But there's only so much I can do on my own. Maybe… maybe I can get him to create something, too. I don't really know what, but I've got time to figure this out. We're gonna be together for a while, still. One of these days, I'm going to find out the truth, whether I'm comfortable with it or not.

Her eyes snapped open as she shifted her gaze across the room. With the moonlight shining in through the window, she could see his satchel hanging on the side of the chair. She would have to take great care, though. Her answers would have to come from him naturally. This entire endeavor would be tricky and could easily blow up in her face if she said the wrong thing. Or worse… if he caught her prying.

There was only one thing she was certain of. The answers were in his sketchbook.