That afternoon, Elsa tried to explain to Hans how she had dealt with her ice powers over the years.
"The curse always seemed to follow me, no matter how much I tried to run from it. The more I ran, the worse it got. It wasn't until Anna sacrificed herself that it all clicked for me. She had never seen me as a monster. Even before she lost her memories, she loved my ice powers, saw them as something magical and wonderful. There is a beauty in our powers."
"Easy for you to say," he said, leaning back in a chair. "You control ice. You created an entire palace! My curse is fire. All I can do is hurt and destroy." Hans hung his head, his auburn hair falling into his dazzling green eyes.
"Fire is so much more than destruction. Passion, rebirth."
"Try living in a castle made of fire," he said sarcastically.
Elsa gave him a serious look. "There is a reason, a use for everything. There are times you need the cold, like an ice cold drink on a hot summer's day. There are also times for warmth, like a burning hearth during a winter storm."
"I guess you're right..." Hans said, looking at his hands.
"You have to realize that the curse is a gift, but it's not all you are. It's a part of you, a good part."
"Whatever you say, Snow Queen," he said, using her signature moniker sarcastically.
"But that's not all that I am. You said so yourself."
He finally lifted his head to face her. "You are. You're fierce without the threat of being frozen. You're calculated, calm, powerful, kind and beautiful. Everything I wish I could be."
"You can be. Love is more powerful than any elemental magic. Remember that."
He reached out and touched her face. The fire inside faded, feeling more like embers. If she could see good in him, then maybe there was hope.
He kissed her, and she melted into him. Hans brushed a lock of white-blond hair out of her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. Her skin was so soft, yet cool to the touch. She deepened the kiss, and the inferno reignited inside him. He grabbed her waist, and she put her hands on his bare chest, causing him to shiver. The contact created steam between them.
Hans devoured her mouth, cradling her head with one hand, the other arm wrapping around her, pulling her close. Her cold hands slid up his chest and around his neck. The more he shivered, the more ravenous he became. He felt almost feverish as his mouth shifted to her neck. She gasped, a puff of frost escaping her pink lips. He nipped at her neck gently, and her nail dug into the back of his neck with an icy prick.
"Ouch," he said, rubbing his neck and kissing the hollow beneath her ear.
"Sorry," she said breathlessly.
Hans pulled away from her before he could lose control again. "It's okay. I'm tougher than I look," he said, echoing her words.
She smiled, her cheeks as pink as her lips.
"Dinner should be ready by now," he said, walking away and throwing a shirt on "Then we'll head to the beach?"
"Sounds like a plan."
When they arrived at dinner, everyone was already seated. Hans pulled out a chair for Elsa. Before Hans could settle in himself, Freyja started.
"Where were you at lunch?"
Hans sighed. He knew it was inevitable. "I was in my room. I wasn't feeling well."
"We must not forget our manners when guests are in," she reminded him, looking pointedly at Elsa.
Hans wanted to snap and say that she had done the same, but he knew it would only make matters worse and Freyja more angry. "Yes, Mother."
"Only two more days until your wedding, correct?" Elsa asked Fiona and Hagen, expertly averting Queen Freyja's attention.
"That's right," Fiona cooed.
"I'm just glad that you – and Vernon and Mila – were able to make it," Hagen said, winking at Hans.
"Hans came to my coronation. It's only fitting that I return the favor," Elsa reasoned.
Nikolai's bark of a laugh surprised everyone. "Return the favor? With what he did?"
Elsa maintained her composure. "I found him innocent after investigating."
"Nik, let it go," Hagen warned.
"No!" Nik shouted, slamming his hands on the table. He gets to sail to Arendelle, commits treason, almost assassinates her," he said, pointing to Elsa. "And we're all just going to pretend it never happened? If you're truly going to 'return the favor,' don't even think about taking the throne. Ours is protected by more than just two little girls." He sneered at the Northern Queen.
"That's not what I meant," Elsa assured them, but it was too late. Nikolai had already planted doubt in their minds. Mila shifted nervously next to Hans, and he noticed Freyja stiffen, pulling a wary Jakob close.
"You're out of line," Hagen bellowed to Nikolai, rising from his seat.
"You're out of your mind if you think he's changed. Once a monster, always a monster. I wish you had killed yourself instead of Garth. Do us all a 'favor,'" he spat at Hans.
Hans stood up, ready to punch him, but so did Queen Freyja, screaming, "Enough!"
The whole table froze.
"No one is dying. No one is talking. Now, sit back down and eat like a family," she said, holding back tears.
"But Mom, you know what he can-" Nikolai began.
"I said, 'enough.'" Her tone was low and deadly, her sharp face serious.
Nikolai sat back down with a huff.
Hans ground his teeth as he returned to his own chair. He noticed Elsa was embarrassed and quiet.
"Could we be excused?" Hans asked nervously.
"Certainly." Then, she turned to Elsa. "I apologize for my son's erratic behavior."
"It's alright," she replied politely, avoiding Nikolai, who hung his head in shame. She slipped out with Hans.
"I am so sorry you had to see that," Hans told her once they were outside the palace.
"No, I'm sorry," Elsa said. "I didn't realize..."
"How dysfunctional my family is?"
"Well...yes. What Nikolai said to you... That was cruel."
"What he said to you was rude. Accusing you of plotting against the crown without proof? As we eat together and welcome you as a guest, no less."
"I don't care what he thinks. I am here for you. I want to help you."
"I appreciate it, I really do," he said, cupping her cheek. "But you can't magically fix my family."
"I could try..."
Hans smiled at her naivety. Patching things up between her and Anna after 15 years was a hell of a lot easier than patching things up between Hans, his mother and three of his brothers after 20 years. He was shocked that Freyja had stood up for him at all...in a way. It was something.
"If I could just make them see that you're not a monster-"
He pulled her close and cradled her head against his chest. "There's no hope in talking to them. Now, let's go to the beach."