It'd been only a couple months since Hans had proposed to Anna. The longest months of her life.

So many people had asked her questions about colors, dates, and other such details. She didn't have answers for them. The palace was planning it all. She was allowed opinions, but it would be from their preselected choices. The king had decided for the wedding to take place mid fall, as this was what would work best for him. Anna rolled her eyes when she was informed of this. She had always wanted an early spring wedding when everything was blooming, but not overly hot.

Hans inquired if she would be staying in her home or transitioning to the castle. She opted to stay in her home. She didn't want to be closer to him than called for. If they were close, Hans may try to make good on his proposal and build their relationship. He'd been nothing but a gentleman so far, but they were engaged and she would be expected to show affection for him. Affection she had yet to form.

He had held her hand when they attended formal events, danced when it was called for.

He would call for her at her home and they would take strolls just to talk and get better acquainted. He was everything a gentleman should be.

"Here, Dear, let me help." Hans offered his hand to Anna as she stepped down from his carriage.

He was returning her home after a formal lunch with a visiting duke. All the lessons in manners she'd been forced to take were paying off, especially when it came to holding her tongue to the duke's young wife. She'd made a comment about it being a shame how people would marry outside their stations and riff raff should be kept out of the palace. A side glance at Anna following.

Just as a rebuttal began to form in Anna's mind, Hans spoke.

"Should love and affection be limited only to one's status? Surely if there were ever a reason to break ranks, wouldn't it be love?" Hans spoke so cooly.

His words resonated with Anna. Her mother had the same feelings towards Kristoff. And social status aside, Anna loved him as much as she knew how. The woman stiffened her form and gave her attention back to the dish in front of her.

All other eyes were on Hans and Anna at that point. She couldn't deny the heat that suddenly came to her cheeks. Hans simply offered her a small smile and sipped from his wine glass.

She wished she could chug her own glass at that moment.

Quick enough conversation came back to the table and Anna avoided eye contact with any royal for the rest of the lunch.

"Anna?" Hans' voice broke her thoughts, his hand still extended out to her.

"Sorry." She took his hand and stepped out of the carriage.

"Thank you for coming to that dreadful lunch. Honestly, Marietta is a nightmare since my older brother rejected her affections."

"Oh, it was no problem. Thank you for speaking in my defense though." Anna steadied herself on the ground and began to pull her hand from Hans'.

Before she could get it completely away his grip tightened. In graceful motion he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, just by her engagement ring.

"Think nothing of it, Dear."

Anna squirmed at his pet name. She wasn't a fan of it, but he had made it a habit to call her it daily. There was no harm in the term itself, she just didn't consider herself his dear.

Hans gave a small tug to Anna's hand, as if guiding her in towards him. She only took one small step closer, still keeping a safe distance from him.

For a sliver of a second, Anna's eyes cut over Hans' shoulder. She heard him before she saw him.
It was Kristoff. Heat rushed to Anna's face at the sight of him. She couldn't stop her breath from hitching or a smile from blossoming on her face.

"You are radiant." Hans had stepped closer to her, leaving a mere inch or two to separate them.

When had his arm found it's way around her back?

She was suddenly all too aware of their closeness.

Hans was lowering towards her and it was all she could do to turn her face before his lips found hers.

Kristoff was close enough now that she could clearly see his eyes. They were wide for a second before he turned away from the scene.

"Something wrong, Dear?" Hans was beginning to withdraw his arm from Anna and pull away.

"I just-well-"Anna was struggling to find the right excuse for why she dodged a kiss from her fiance.

The truth wasn't exactly something she could just spit out, 'I don't want to kiss you because the man I actually have feelings for is right over there watching this whole scene'.

"Kristoff!" Elsa's voice called from the house, in a flurry of elegant motions she made her way over to where Kristoff had parked his cart.

Her voice had stolen Hans' attention from Anna.

"Oh, thank you for coming! I was worried you wouldn't make it in time." Elsa ever graceful self hurried over to where Kristoff was. Upon reaching him she turned as if she had just learned of the couple's presence. "Oh goodness! I'm sorry, we'll leave you two alone. Anna isn't much for public affection."

Hans' arm was still around her back, trapping her in place. All she could do was watch her sister's terrible acting unfold.

Kristoff looked at Elsa in confusion and as she pushed him around the far side of the house he was questioning her.

"I'm sorry, Dear. I was not meaning to put you in an uncomfortable position like that. I

didn't realize we were not alone." Hans' focus was back on Anna.

"Oh it's okay." Anna tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear, trying to muster up an embarrassed act.

Apparently Hans didn't consider the coachman person enough to realize they had been there the entire time too.

"Is this good-bye until tonight?"

"Tonight?" Anna echoed.

"The ball we are holding in brother's honor apparently?" Hans looked just as excited about going to the event as he did the idea of jumping into a lake in the middle of winter.

"Oh yes, the ball." She had no idea which brother they were celebrating or why they were celebrating him.

There was a moment of silence between them.

Hans' hold around her had all but fallen away and it was all Anna could do to not let her eyes chase in the direction her sister and Kristoff had gone.

Hans' mouth pulled to one side and he let out a soft sigh, followed by the motion of placing a small kiss on Anna's forehead.

"Until tonight, Dear." Hans climbed back into his carriage, Anna gave a soft wave as the carriage pulled into motion.

Her feet stayed planted where she was until the carriage had completely pulled out of sight.

The second it was gone she sprung into motion and followed the path her sister had taken.

She didn't have to go far to find the pair. They were standing at the start of Elsa's garden. She was prattling on and Kristoff was doing his best to look interested.

"I don't know what's worse, enduring these gatherings or your acting Elsa." Anna approached with a joke, earning the attention of both.

"Well, I was reading in the front room and heard you two arrive, then I heard Kristoff and I knew mother would have a fit if-"

Elsa's words stopped short.

"If?" Kristoff asked.

Anna knew what her sister was going to say. If their mother knew that Kristoff had showed up at the same time as Prince Hans, she would fear Anna would do something stupid.

"If I didn't greet you in a timely manner."

Anna's eyebrow went up at her sister's lie. It was a horrible lie.

Kristoff didn't look overly convinced, but couldn't be bothered enough to pursue the issue.

Anna's hand made a subtle shooing motion when she made eye contact with Elsa. The blonde's mouth formed a circle and she bid ado to Kristoff before making an excuse of wanting to continue to read her book.

"Is it me or is your sister acting beyond weird?" Kristoff asked once Elsa rounded the front corner of the house.

"Weird? No. She isn't acting weird. Anyway, um, how are you?"

"I'm fine. What kind of royal affair did you attend today?"

Something shifted in one of the windows that caught Anna's attention, her parents presence had completely slipped her mind.

"Do you wanna go for a ride or a walk?" A walk in this dress did not seem like the most inviting idea, but neither did the idea of a lecture from her mother.

"I was going to go to the next town over and get some new-"

"Let's go!" Anna was rushing them towards Kristoff's cart before he could finish.

"I mean the woman was insufferable! She kept giving me nasty looks and then she tried to make a joke out of me!" Anna had been regaling Kristoff with the tales of her royal lunch for most of their trip.

"I'm sure you did not let that go over smoothly." Kristoff chuckled.

"Actually, I didn't do anything. Hans spoke up in my defense."

Anna witnessed the amusement fall from Kristoff's face a bit, his usual stoic expression returning to his face.

"Did he now?" His tone didn't sound as amused as it had before.

Had she gone too far by mentioning Hans?

"Yes, he spoke so poetically that it all seemed a bit rehearsed. But that wasn't even the worst part!"

"Oh?"

"I think he had intentions to kiss me! Thank goodness you and Elsa showed up when you did!"

"Anna," The way he said her name didn't give her the good feeling it usually did.

They were almost back home from their trip. The sun was just beginning to dip down, taking the temperature with it.

"You're going to marry him, sooner or later he is going to expect a kiss." He said 'marry' and 'kiss' with such a sour face, as if the words themselves tasted bad. "Besides I thought that you liked romantic things?"

"I do, I just wanted them with someone I felt them towards. I guess with all 12 of his married, the kingdom was running short on women. I just happened to be there. He isn't marrying me out of love, it's almost like it's laziness to actually go out and find someone. Why would I want to kiss someone like that?"

"Sounds like an excuse."

Anna's mouth pulled into a tight line.

"Oh you're right. I should just go ahead and kiss him. I mean, why stop there? Let's go ahead and move up the wedding! My life is over regardless, why slow the process?"

They were so close to being back at her home. She didn't want to spat with him and end their night that way. The nonchalant way he had talked about it though just bothered her.

Kristoff brought the cart to a sudden stop, jolting them both.

"I mean, I'll probably just go ahead and rush off to the palace whenever we get back. I'll just throw myself at him and tell him that I can't wait to rush into this disaster another minute. Let's just get married tonight!"

"That's not what I said." Kristoff rebuffed.

"Well, it's not what I want. I'll never know what it is to look into my husband's eyes and just see pure love emitting back at me. I won't have a great story to tell our children. I-" Anna's hands went to cheeks and she dropped her speech.

The thought hadn't even occurred to her, of course he would want children. What man doesn't want children to carry on his name?

Kristoff watched a panicked look take Anna's face. She looked like she was watching something die in front of her, powerless to help.

"Anna?" He started to reach over to her, but in a less than elegant motion she was suddenly out of the cart and pacing. "Where are you going?"

The wooded area they were next to was the back border of Anna's home property. Was she just going to cut through there and sneak back home?

"Anna?" Kristoff got out of the cart and rounded it to her side.

He caught her arms, breaking her pace, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I haven't even been kissed! I know nothing of how to raise kids or how to be a mom!"

"What? What are you even talking about?"

She didn't know what she was talking about. She just had so many thoughts assaulting her at once.

Tears were forming in her eyes now. She had wanted a great first kiss. She'd read about them time and time again in books, saw them played out in performances at theatres.

"Kristoff what are kisses like? I don't know what to do. I have no idea if I'll be good at it or not. What if he is a terrible kisser? What if I am?"

Kristoff's hold on Anna's arms tightened for a second before retreating entirely. "How am I supposed to know that kind of stuff?"

Anna watched the blonde scratch at his head, taking a few paces into the dark wooded area.

He muttered under his breath something she didn't catch, followed by roughly rubbing his hands over his face a few times.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked that. I guess I'll find out soon." Anna attempted to sober up her thoughts and emotions. "I'm sure being a prince, Hans will be well versed in-"

She was cut off by Kristoff making an unhappy noise while still facing away from her.

A silence fell between the two friends, something that rarely happened.

Anna took a few steps towards him, closing the distance.

The last few streaks of pink and purple were fleeting from the sky, leaving the moon as their only light.

In the most comforting way she could, she put a hand on his shoulder.

Kristoff had never been this openly displeased with her. No matter what she had done.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No." He cut her off, finally turning to face her. "I'm sorry. I know you're upset and I'm sorry I can't help."

Once more, he was out of his element with all the emotions swirling around in the air. His body was stiff and his tone was gruff.

Anna examined his face over. His cheeks red from rubbing them in frustration. His mouth pulled into a tight line and his gaze locked on something in the darkness.

Was he upset at the idea of her kissing Hans? Was this Kristoff being jealous?

It was hard to know what emotion Kristoff was feeling, so few of them ever escape.

Her mind began formulating a test.

She broke their eye contact and looked sullenly towards the direction of her home.

"It was just me being a girl and wanting to have that magical first kiss." What girl hadn't wished that?

"Maybe-" Kristoff was cut off by the sound of approaching horses. "Why is he back?"

Anna's head snapped in the direction of the noise. The approaching entourage was definitely from the palace.

"The ball. I forgot completely about the ball!" Anna groaned, hitching up her skirt to start to make a dash for her house.

"Wait!" Kristoff's word stopped her motion and heart.

Hello beauties! I'm sorry if this chapter seems off or not as smooth. I took a break for a while so I'm trying to get my mind set back into the story! Hope you enjoyed and are still hanging around!