Hi Everyone! Sorry about taking approx. a month to write this next chapter but in my defense it is pretty long haha. Thanks for being so patient with me and for being so supportive. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter! Happy Reading! :)
Short Summary: Hans and Klaus were on their way to speak with King Richard when Klaus started question Hans about Annaliese's strange behavior, causing Hans to start second guessing his best friend. Meanwhile, Elsa and the Captain were about to engage in a quick spar while Anna and Kristoff went off for lunch...
Chapter 10
Anna anxiously drummed her fingers against the edge of the table, her eyes glued to the ticking clock across the room. She occasionally would look over at the dining room doors and anticipated her sister hurrying in any second now. But the seconds ticked by and the doors never opened. Finally, she could not take it anymore, "Where is she?" Anna groaned as she let her head heavily bang against the edge of the table.
"Anna…" Kristoff reached over to gently lift her head up off the table, "We've only been waiting for three minutes. Give her a chance."
"But she said she was going to catch up to us in a second." She tilted her head so that she was staring at the clock again, "And it's been…180 seconds! Give or take a couple."
Kristoff chuckled as he let go of her head and watched it drop to the table again, "I've got to ask. Why are you so concerned? Elsa didn't even have breakfast with us a couple days ago and she's been skipping out on lunch frequently as well."
"And that's exactly why I am so concerned." Anna lifted her head and propped it up with her hand, "This isn't like Elsa. Ever since the Great Thaw she's treasured every opportunity to spend time with family, including mealtime. We didn't have a whole lot of family meals together once the gates closed and we were separated." A pang of sadness tugged at her heart as she realized how much they missed out on. On how much Elsa missed out on. "No." Anna suddenly pushed her chair back and stood up.
"No?" Kristoff watched Anna's determined expression as she stepped away from the table and headed for the door, "Anna, where are you going?"
"I'm going to find my sister!" She yelled over her shoulder.
With a tired sigh, Kristoff hurried after her and easily caught up with his long strides, "Anna, isn't this a little dramatic? You're acting like she just ran off to the North Mountain again."
Anna suddenly stopped walking, causing her husband to unintentionally stumble into her. However, she seemed unfazed, "Kristoff, don't you see what's happening?" He silently shrugged and shook his head, waiting for her to continue, "Elsa is preparing us for battle. She thinks Arendelle and Vortex are on the brink of war and we need to be ready for them. That's why she's asked Jagger to build us new weapons and that's why Elsa and the Captain are teaching us to fight."
Kristoff understandably nodded with furrowed brows, "Okay, so far I'm following you. But how does that connect to lunch?"
"You know what war brings?"
Again, Kristoff shrugged, "Destruction? Hard feelings? Displacement?"
"Death." Anna timidly looked around the hall as she wrapped her arms around herself, "We may not have many lunches together left…"
Kristoff watch Anna's body language and habits mimic those of Elsa when she was afraid of her ice powers getting out of control. It worried Kristoff to see this side of his wife. He had never seen Anna look so uneasy to the point of falling into her sister's fearful habits. He calmly reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, gently cupping her cheek with his strong hand, "Are you scared?"
A couple tears stung her eyes as she could feel her breathing become strained, "Well, yeah. I finally got my sister back after so many years. And now I have an older brother in Hans and you as a husband and…it's almost starting to feel like I have a complete family again." She wiped away a stray tear that was starting to run down her cheek, "I can't lose anyone now. I'm tired of losing people closest to me."
"Anna…" Kristoff stepped forward and enveloped her in a warm hug, "I can assure you that no one is going anywhere. Elsa is putting us through all of this training because she wants us to be safe and able to protect ourselves and each other."
"But-"
"Anna think about it." He placed both hands on her shoulders and bent down slightly so they were eye level, "If Vortex couldn't take us down when we were on their turf in London. What makes you think that they can takes us down when we are on our turf, here in Arendelle. It's a fool's errand for them to make another run at us. And they are quite foolish."
Anna shifted her gaze as she stared out of the window displaying the vast ocean beyond Arendelle, "But what about Hans? He's all the way over in the Southern Isles."
"He's in his hometown, in his element. He's going to be fine." A small smirked played on his lips, "Besides, do we really need him around?"
Anna returned her gaze to her husband with an eye roll, "Oh don't act like you and Hans aren't friends."
Kristoff dropped his hands and defiantly crossed his arms with a disgusted look on his face, "The term 'friend' is a little too nice of a word regarding our relationship. More like, tolerable brother-in-law."
"Uh-huh…" Anna nodded with a small giggle. She knew that when no one was around, Kristoff and Hans actually got along fairly well. They liked to debate with each other but they also had a lot of respect for the other. But despite everyone knowing, they were also a little stubborn in admitting their odd one-of-a-kind friendship.
Anna walked over to the large painting of her, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf that Elsa gave to her on her birthday shortly after the Great Thaw. A small smile stretched across her lips as she looked at Elsa's smile, seeing the joy and contentment on her face was the greatest gift Anna could have ever received. Thinking about Hans' safety and the possibility of him not coming back made Anna's stomach churn, she knew how devastated Elsa would be and how easily that joyful and content version of her sister can easily disappear for many years at a time. "Well…" Anna sighed as she continued to stare at the painting, wringing her hands in her usual anxious behavior, "For the sake of my sister, you better pray that he comes home safe."
The early morning sun slowly moved into late morning as Hans and Klaus patiently waited outside their father's bedroom door as the doctor examined and treated the King's injured shoulder. Klaus was bored-looking as he sat in a chair beside the door, irritably drumming his fingers on the arm rests while Hans was casually leaning against the wall opposite of the door, trying to relax and gather his thoughts before entering another round of psychological warfare with his family. Hans rocked his head back and let his head rest against the wall as he stared at the ceiling, letting out an unintentional sigh that unfortunately caught Klaus' attention. "What's the matter with you? You worried about something?" Klaus sneered as he continued his finger drumming.
"Huh?" Hans glanced at his brother with only his eyes, "No, like I said earlier, I am exhausted since I haven't slept in two days." He didn't mean for his answer or his tone to come out so sharp but he couldn't help it, his energy was truly drained.
Klaus scoffed followed by an eye roll, "Oh please, you're so dramatic. When you've only slept 7 hours in the span of an entire week then you may get some sympathy from me."
Hans snickered as he returned to staring at the ceiling, "Oh sure, because you've certainly done that."
"As a matter of fact, I have…" Klaus' tone soften slightly as he looked over at their father's bedroom door with a look of concern, "The week following Father's failed assassination attempt, I was run ragged from addressing citizens' concerns, to attending to Father's bedside, to being bombarded by those who were trying to prepare me for the kingship should Father not survive, all the while trying my best to find and arrest the man who did this."
Hans slowly lowered his head in order to casually watch his brother's expressions as he spoke. He tried to find some sort of tell that would lead Hans to believe that he was lying, but he found nothing but genuine concern as the eldest prince continued to stare at their Father's door. Klaus noticed Hans analyzing his body language and in response he let out a humorless laugh, "You like to think so little of me, but much to your chagrin, I have a heart, Hans. I may not be the most caring brother in the world, but I do worry about my people and try my best to achieve what is expected of me. I'm not a monster."
Again, Hans scoffed as he crossed his arms and produced another eye roll, "Yeah, sure. That's why I turned out the way I did."
Klaus deeply frowned at his youngest brother, slightly irritated by his usual excuse, "Why do you insist on blaming the entire Westergard bloodline for your failures-"
"What failures? I got the Arendelle kingship, didn't I?!" Now Hans furrowed his brow as he defensively, and mindlessly, responded, "As far as Father cares, I am his most successful son since I am the only one who currently holds the title of King."
Klaus smirked as he watched Hans grow defensive. Seeing his normally well composed brother start to lose his temper only made him press Hans even more, "King Consort, Hans. You're not as powerful as you think-"
"Oh, that's rich coming from a 40 year old prince who is still waiting to inherit the throne while his 25 year old brother has already secured a kingdom. At least I hold more authority that you." Hans could not control his pride nor his words as he foolishly continued this irrelevant argument.
Klaus shrugged and understandably nodded, "For now yes, but once I become King of the Southern Isles, I will be more powerful than anything you could ever be. You are and always will be nothing but a King Consort." A devious smile spread across his lips, "Unless…"
Seeing that all too familiar smile caused Hans to hesitate, "…Unless what?"
"Well it's quite simple, Hans. There's only one thing you have to do…" Klaus slowly stood up and sauntered towards his youngest brother. Klaus could see that Hans was practically hanging onto every word he spoke, he knew that Hans was vulnerable. So as he stood directly in front of him, he slowly leaned forward and whispered in Hans' ear, "Kill your wife."
Hans immediately drew back and his first reaction was to rebuke him and defend Elsa, but then he remembered who he was supposed to be…the old Hans. The conniving Hans. The murderer Hans. He could not outright defend his marriage to Elsa, but he also knew that if he said anything agreeable, it could lead to something far more dangerous. He was cornered, he was played, and he was outsmarted. As Hans desperately search his brain for the perfect response, he watched in horror as Klaus' confidence about his ploy grew. "What's the matter, Hansey? Can't kill your precious wife?" He darkly chuckled, "You love her, don't you? It was all conniving fun and games until, oops, you started getting feelings for the poor little ice enchantress. Oh, let me guess…" He theatrically placed his finger on his chin as he pretended to think, "Someone called her a 'monster' and it hurt her feelings so she cried. You, being the sap that you are, felt bad for her since you relate to such name calling and started to develop sympathy for her. Sympathy turned into fondness and fondness turned into love." He harshly laughed, "Please, stop me if I'm wrong but by the look on your face, I can assume that I'm right."
No matter how hard Hans tried to focus and develop a decent response, his mind continued to scatter and panic was one of the many emotions overwhelming him. He was mad at Klaus for belittling his love for Elsa, he was mad at himself for letting this get too far, and he was desperately fighting the urge to knock Klaus unconscious and pray that he would forget that this conversation ever happened. Just as Hans was about to put his violent plan into action, the door to the King's bedroom opened and the doctor followed by one of his nurses exited the room. "Your Highnesses, the King is available to see you now."
Klaus immediately returned to his normal, respectable façade as he acknowledged the doctor. Hans could only produce a firm nod of his head since he was still speechless. He watched the doctor and the nurse respectably bow and swiftly walked past the two brothers. The cruel look in Klaus' eyes returned as he sneered at Hans, "Whatever game you're playing is officially over once I tell Father the truth…" As Klaus turned around to walk toward their father's bedroom, he suddenly stumbled and before Hans could comprehend what just happened, Klaus collapsed onto the floor. Hans hesitated as he witnessed his brother lying on the floor unconscious, wondering if he was so tired that he actually had knocked Klaus unconscious without realizing it. But as he bent down to check on his brother, he found no sign of physical damage and Hans' hands were clear of any blood or pain that would have been produced had he actually gone through with it. Finally, his thoughts returned and he found his voice again as he shouted for the doctor and nurse who had just turned the corner not too long ago.
In a matter of seconds, the doctor and nurse came running around the hall with a couple of guards following behind. "What happened?" The doctor ordered as he knelt down beside Klaus and checked for a pulse.
"I-I don't know. He was fine one second and the next he was stumbling around and then he just collapsed."
"He just collapsed, huh?" One of the guards scoffed, "Nice try, Your Highness, but we've seen this before."
Hans panicked as the two guards restrained him, "What?! What are you doing?!"
"This is just like the time when Prince Kendrick 'just collapsed' when you beat him with that old rusty shovel 8 years ago in the courtyard." The guards began to drag Hans away from Klaus and further down the hall, "We heard you two yelling and arguing from around the corner. We couldn't make out the words you were saying but it's pretty obvious you two weren't getting along and you just couldn't control your rage again, could you?"
"I didn't lay a hand on him! I swear! Release me this instant!" Hans forcefully tried to loosen the guards grip, but it was no use. He could not understand what was happening. Was he being set up or was this just an unfortunate coincidence? But most importantly, was his brother alright?
"En garde!"
Elsa swung her sword first as she tried to get an understanding of how the Captain defended himself and how he would respond to her attacks. Just as she expected, the Captain effortlessly deflected her attack and expertly used her momentum against herself as she found herself already losing control of the fight's flow. She tightened her core and redirected her sword and body into a defensive position just in time to block the Captain's jab. She noticed the Captain subtly cock an eyebrow which meant that he was already impressed that she recovered so well so quickly. And for Elsa, that impressed cocked eyebrow gave her all the confidence in the world as the two engaged in an intense and rather lengthy battle of jabs, swings, blocks, and fancy footwork. Unfortunately for Elsa, her stamina and strength were not nearly as well developed as the Captain's and she found herself beginning to lose focus and missing crucial opportunities. 'All's fair in love and war, Your Majesty.' Those were the Captain's exact words, if I recall correctly. Elsa thought with a smirk on her lips. As the Captain rushed toward her, Elsa stomped her foot on the floor, causing an ice path to form between her and the Captain, so when he took that next step he automatically lost some of his balance as he slipped on the ice. This created the opportune moment for Elsa as gracefully skated across the ice path towards the Captain in order to hopefully end the fight. Unfortunately for her, the Captain regained control rather quickly and was now waiting for her next move.
"Nice try, Your Majesty." He chuckled as he effortlessly blocked her next her swings and jabs, "I must admit that you made a bit of a mistake when you used your powers."
Elsa let out a small huff that she hid as a confident chuckle of her own, "How so?"
"Well, if you feel the need to use your powers then that tells me you must be getting tired." He swiftly twirled his sword around hers and as his blade locked with her hilt, he easily flicked his wrist and Elsa's sword went flying across the sparring arena. As he held out his blade to her throat, Elsa instinctively clapped her hands together over the blade of his sword, careful not to touch the sharp edges. The icy coldness of her hands combined with the force of her grab caused the front half of the blade to freeze and break off onto the floor. The Captain hesitated as he stared in awe at his, now broken, sword and Elsa used this opportunity to attack as reached forward and grabbed his hand that held the sword while her other arm swung around as her fist collided with the Captain's jaw.
Immediately after, Elsa froze and instantly covered her mouth with her hands, "Oh my-I am so sorry, Captain! I-I went too far!" The Captain did not answer right away as he rubbed his face, stunned by what just happened. Since he could not do anything else but stare at his queen in stunned silence, Elsa reached out toward him, "Here let me take a look to see how bad it-hey!"
As Elsa stood directly in front of him in order to offer her help, the Captain gently tapped her side with the remaining part of his blade, "I win." He tried to smile, but it turned into more of a wince because of the throbbing pain in his jaw, "That really hurt by the way."
Elsa was filled with a combination of confusion and anger by losing to another fake injury. Hans had used a similar ploy back when they sparred in Sperca and Elsa had lost to him because she felt bad for possibly injuring him. Perhaps this sympathy for my opponent is something I need to learn to ignore. It has only ended in a loss for me. However, Elsa really did hurt her opponent this time and she was now starting to become overwhelmed with guilt,"Captain, I am truly sorry about that. I tend to get really caught up in sparring situations and-"
"Your Majesty, it's alright." He carefully chuckled at her panicked rambling, "We agreed on the terms. You did what you felt was necessary." He closely examined his broken sword, "Although I was not expecting something like this to happen."
Elsa let out a heavy sigh, "But still, I feel so bad." She leaned in closer to him, "How bad does it look?"
The Captain shyly covered his injury with his hand, "I can assure you, Queen Elsa, it is not nearly as bad as you think. I have received far worse injuries."
Elsa promptly put her hand over his as she tried to take a closer look, "Perhaps, but I would feel a whole lot better if I could see the damage." She managed to peel his hand away from his face and peered close at the minimal swelling that had produced, "Okay it doesn't look too bad, let me just-"
He reservedly gave her a crooked smile as she tried to place her ice cold hand on his cheek, "Your Majesty, this is not necessary-"
"I can minimize the swelling. The sooner I can bring down the swelling, the less bruising will show and I don't think you want your men to notice, do you?"
He gave into her with a reluctant sigh, "Fine. But only for a minute." As they stood in the middle of the sparring arena, her hand resting against his cheek, an awkward silence fell upon them. In order to break the silence, the Captain anxiously cleared his throat, "So, ahem, that was a pretty good punch."
"Thanks. I learned that from my sister." Elsa could not help but smile every time she remembered the punch Anna threw at Hans after the Great Thaw. Although she may be in a loving marriage with Hans now, Elsa still firmly believes that punch was completely necessary and quite possibly one of her favorite memories ever.
The Captain also let out a small chuckle as he recalled the same memory, "You know, if you really wanted to maximize the damage with that move, you should have either gone for the nose in order to break it or the best case scenario would be to throw that punch towards your opponent's temple in order to knock them unconscious…" He reached his free hand toward Elsa's face and gently grazed his fingers down the side of her head, "Right here would be the best spot."
Suddenly the doors to the armory flew open and Anna stormed into the room, "Elsa! Where have you-whoa!" Anna instantly froze when she saw Elsa and the Captain quickly break apart from what looked to be a romantic embrace, "What on earth is going on in here?!"
Elsa quickly took several steps away from the Captain and tried to speak in a calm casual tone, "The Captain and I were just participating in a quick sparring activity. I wanted to show him what I knew regarding sword fighting."
Anna crossed her arms and skeptically looked between them, "Uh-huh…and who won?"
"The Captain did." Elsa nonchalantly walked over to where her sword was still laying on the ground.
The Captain lightly chuckled as he slid the remaining part of his sword back into its sheath, "Only because Queen Elsa let her guard down in order to attend to my injury."
"Injury? What injury?" Anna hurried over to the Captain and took a long look at his face, "Yikes. Geez, Elsa what did you do to him?"
Elsa shrugged as she placed her sword back onto the rack, "I threw one of your infamous punches. They are quite effective."
"Uh-huh…if you'll excuse us for a moment." Anna grabbed her sister's arm and dragged her through the nearest door, which led to be a closet that went pitch black when Anna closed the door behind them for privacy, "Elsa! What the heck are you thinking?! What if someone else had walked through that door other than me? Do you know how bad that looked and how quickly rumors about you and the Captain could spread through not just the castle but the entire kingdom?!"
"You realize we're in a closest, right?" Elsa was grateful that it was completely dark in the closet so her sister could not see her trying to hold back a laugh.
"Yeah, obviously. I thought this door led to another room or at the very least the hallway or something." Anna irritably huffed, "But don't try to distract me. Answer the question."
Elsa wanted to roll her eyes but resisted since there was no point since it was so dark in the closet that her sister would not see it anyways, "Anna, relax. Nothing happened other than me trying to reduce the swelling of his injuries, I swear."
"Oh I don't need to be convinced, I know how much you love Hans." Anna took a quick pause to breathe and gather her thoughts before continuing in a more mature and calm manner, "Look, I'm just saying that perhaps you may be feeling lonely and subconsciously trying to find someone to fill that temporary void in your life right now."
Elsa let out an angry huff, "I don't have any void in my life right now and, even if I did, I am strong enough to not need the arms of the next available man that draws breath in order to comfort me, or fill whatever void you speak of."
"Elsa, look, I know that you are still upset about losing the baby and Hans leaving certainly did not help but if you need someone to comfort you, you have me. And if you really need a man to hold you then you could borrow Kristoff."
This time Elsa could not help but roll her eyes as she defensively crossed her arms, "Thanks, Anna, but I'm fine. I'm well aware of my marriage with Hans whom I love with all my heart and I have no desire to cheat on him with some other man. So let's drop it, alright?"
"Fine." Anna disapprovingly crossed her arms in annoyance.
They stood there for a few seconds before Elsa sighed, "Can we leave the sacred closet of secrecy now?"
"Yes. Let's." Anna fumbled her hand along the door before finding the doorknob, "There we go." The door opened and the bright light of the room caused them to squint as they exited the closet and made their way to the door that led to the hallway, "So how are the weapons coming along?"
"The lab should be done by tomorrow and then James can get started." Elsa opened the door and the two of them entered the hallway and started towards the dining hall, "Where's Kristoff?"
"He, uh, went to go see Sven, I think?" Anna did not want to tell Elsa about the conversation they had regarding the possibility of Hans not coming back.
Elsa cocked an eyebrow in suspicion at her sister's unconvincing answer, "Mhmm…"
Anna anxiously bit her lip as she glanced over at her sister, "How do you think Hans is doing?"
Elsa mindlessly played with her wedding ring as she felt a pinch of loneliness whenever Anna mentioned her husband's name, but she still answered in her matter-of-fact manner, "He should have just arrived to the Southern Isles this morning, so I am assuming that he is probably meeting with his father as we speak."
"You can't do this to me! I'm a King!" Hans angrily yelled as the guards forcefully threw him into a very familiar looking cell, "This was a set up or something! You have to believe me!"
"Sorry, Your Highness, but you don't have a good track record when it comes to controlling your anger. So until someone can prove your innocence, welcome back to your old cell." One of the guards ruefully chuckled as he slammed the prison door shut and locked it, before sauntering back to his original post.
Hans stood up and dusted himself off before angrily kicking a bucket across his cell followed by a yell of frustration. He dejectedly sat down on the wooden bench and dropped his head into his hands, his mind reeling with the morning's events. He was so confused, how could things have gone so wrong so quickly? With a sigh, he laid down on the wooden bench and crossed his arms over eyes to block out the sunlight streaming through the window into his cell. He took a deep breath before letting the exhaustion he had been fighting over take him.
It was nightfall by the time light footsteps hurried down the steps of the dungeon and approached Hans' cell. A guard immediately jumped in front of the person hurrying towards Hans' cell, "Halt! What are you doing down here?"
"I'm here to prove Prince Hans' innocence." A petite young woman dressed in a white long sleeve blouse with a dark green bodice that matched her dark green ankle length skirt stood before the guard. Her bold blue eyes were determined as she tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her ear.
The guard chuckled at the small woman, "Says who?"
The young woman, no older than Hans' age, defiantly placed her hands on her hips, "I'm the head nurse here at the castle, and I have news regarding Prince Klaus' condition that proves Prince Hans is innocent."
"No offense, missy, I've never seen you before so you don't seem too trustworthy. Prince Hans is a devious fellow, he could have influenced you in some sort in order for you to argue in his favor."
"I have no allegiance to Prince Hans. I have never even met the man." She took a step forward and tried to bypass the guard but he would not budge, "Step. Aside."
The guard scoffed, "We don't have to listen to you. You're just a woman-"
"What is wrong with being a woman?" A firm female voice sounded in the distance as Annaliese confidently strode down the hall towards them, "What is going on here?"
"Queen Annaliese." The guard respectfully bowed as she approached them.
Annaliese deeply furrowed her brow, "Let me repeat myself. What is going on here?"
The guard spoke in a demeaning tone towards the young woman, "Your Majesty, this random woman wants us to release Prince Hans-"
"This random woman is the head nurse of King Richard's personal doctor. She has been working all day in finding out what happened to Prince Klaus. She has also concluded that Prince Klaus was not harmed in anyway by Prince Hans. Therefore he is innocent and is allowed to return back to his room." When the guard hesitated, her expression turned cold and threatening, "Did I stutter?"
"Yes, Queen Annaliese. Right away." The guard quickly fumbled for the keys to unlocked Hans' cell. Once he opened the door, he found Hans lying motionless on the wooden bench, "Your Highness." When he did not respond, he spoke a bit louder, "Prince Hans."
"Hmm?" Hans slowly moved his arms off of his face and stiffly turned his head, "What's happening?"
"You are free to go." The guard opened the cell door even wider to prove his point, "Apparently, some nurse as proven your innocence."
Hans slowly sat up with an audible groan due to the stiffness his body developed. His back muscles especially were aching from spending the entire day on that hard wooden surface. When he finally managed to get to his feet, he tried to walk as normal and poised as possible, smirking as he passed the guard, "Told you I was innocent." He heard the guard grumble behind him, but did not care anymore as he met Annaliese in the dungeon walkway, "What are you doing here?"
Annaliese smirked, "I wanted to make sure you were released properly. The doctor sent his head nurse down here to state your innocence, but I figured the guards would give her a hard time, which they did, so I made sure to accompany her. They wouldn't dare disobey a queen."
"Head nurse?" Hans looked behind Annaliese and noticed a beautiful young woman about his age standing far back behind Annaliese, "I don't believe we've met." He walked around Annaliese and gave the young woman a charming smile, along with a polite bow "I'm Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, currently positioned as the King Consort of Arendelle."
The nurse deeply curtsied, "I am Leila Nott. Head nurse working under King Richard's doctor, Peter Var."
"Well, thank you Leila for your help in clearing my name. I was worried I would be stuck down here forever." He led Annaliese and Leila out of the dungeon and headed back to the castle, "How is my brother?"
"Prince Klaus is resting comfortably in the infirmary under close examination by Doctor Var and myself. We suspect that he was severely dehydrated from travelling so much and he is still very much sleep deprived." She unclipped her messy bun and let her long black hair cascade down her back before she gathered her locks and twisted it back up into a cleaner looking bun, "It was amazing that he lasted this long, but considering the amount of stress he's been under, this sort of incident was inevitable."
Hans slightly frowned as he realized that his brother really was telling the truth about the hard week he had been having. He felt a little bad about giving him a hard time, but Klaus wasn't necessarily going out of his way to be kind to Hans either. Of course, Hans first handedly understood how the lack of sleep can devastate a persons' tolerance. He did not know if it was because he finally got some sleep or if this revelation about his brother gave Hans a different perspective, but he decided that he should go visit his brother and check up on him before going to his room for the night. However, he was also curious about this familiar looking young woman. "How long have you been working here Leila?"
"Only a couple of years, Your Highness." She made sure to walk behind both Annaliese and Hans as it would be improper of her to walk side-by-side with them, "However, I lived here for a little bit when I was very young before my family moved us to a different kingdom."
Annaliese let out a delicate laugh, "It's funny because Leila and I used to be good friends when she lived here. But once she moved, I moved into the castle along with my mother to help her with her duties here." She turned around and fondly smiled at her childhood friend, "I was so sad to see you go."
Leila flashed a small sly smile, "Well, it seems that things have worked out well for you, Ann. I mean, look at you, you're a queen and you're best friends with the handsomest prince in the Southern Isles."
"What?" Hans' eyebrows shot up in surprise as he glanced between Annaliese and Leila, "The handsomest prince?"
"OH! She didn't tell you?" Leila laughed as she faked embarrassment, "Ann, here, had a huge crush on you when we were little. I swear, she always told me how she wished she could get a job at the castle so she could see you every day."
"Really?" Hans smirked at his best friend and gave her a small eyebrow wiggle, "You had a thing for me way back then?"
"Leila!" Annaliese shrieked as her cheeks started to turn red, "That was confidential!"
Leila dismissively waved her hand, "Oh please, he's married. You were married. Nothing happened between you two and now, we're all grown up. It's no big deal." An awkward silence fell upon them as Leila skeptically looked back and forth between them, "I mean, nothing did happen between you guys right?"
Hans glanced at Annaliese which caused her to anxiously laugh, "My dear friend, there is so much to catch you up on."
It was getting close to midnight in the Kingdom of Arendelle and everything was quiet and peaceful in the castle, except for one room…Anna and Kristoff's bedroom. Anna had been venting to her husband about what she saw in the armory when she walked in on Elsa and the Captain's tender embrace and she could not stop herself from talking in circles. "I mean, what if I was some other soldier in the royal guard and I walked in on that sight? They were standing really close to each other like this close!" Anna laid down beside her husband who was trying to catch some sleep and snuggled really close to his body, "This close!"
She heatedly sat back up as Kristoff groaned in annoyance, "Anna, please, go to sleep."
"I can't sleep. You should have seen them, Kristoff, it was really weird." She glanced down at him and noticed that his eyes were shut, "How can you sleep at a time like this?"
"Well, the time is almost midnight and we have another lesson tomorrow so I would like to get some sleep before then." He grabbed a pillow and placed it over his head, "Goodnight."
Anna threw her hands up in the air and shook her head, "Ugh, you are completely unsupportive."
"You want supportive?" Kristoff took the pillow off his head and propped himself up on his elbows, "Fine, here it is. Do you honestly believe that Elsa is cheating on Hans with a man who is 10 years older than her?"
Anna scoffed with a raised eyebrow, "You make it sound like 10 years is a big gap."
"Isn't it?"
"No! Rapunzel and Eugene have an 8 year gap between them and look how amazing they are together!"
"Huh…" He thoughtfully tilted his head, "They're really 8 years apart?"
"Kristoff, focus." Anna rolled her eyes in annoyance.
He briefly chuckled at her reaction before turning serious, "Anna, your sister is fiercely loyal to Hans and she would never jeopardize her relationship with him. Besides, you and I both know how easily she feels guilt so I doubt she would do anything that would produce excess stress on herself."
Anna silently stared down at her hands for a few seconds before letting out a defeated sigh, "Perhaps you have a point…" She fell back onto her pillow with a groan, "Ugh."
"What now?" He glanced down at her in intrigue.
"I wish you would have told me that earlier. It's nearly midnight, ya know?! We have another lesson tomorrow and I would like to get some sleep before then!"
Kristoff playfully whacked her with his pillow, causing her to laugh and fight back with a pillow of her own. Soon they were engaged in an all-out pillow fight complete with bed jumping and pillow forts. It was half-past midnight by the time they started winding down and both flopped onto the bed together. As they laid there, staring up at the ceiling, still panting from their pillow fight, Anna happily sighed, "You are so good for me."
"How's that?"
"You know when to let me vent and you know when and how to calm me down. You know how to comfort me and how to make me smile and laugh. You know exactly what I need before I even realize it myself-oh!" She was cut off when Kristoff swiftly rolled over and climbed on top of her, delivering her a hot breathless kiss that made her toes curl. When he finally ended the kiss, Anna stared up at him in pleasured surprise, "And you know when to make me shut up." He laughed as he leaned in close and granted her another heartfelt kiss that made her body yearn for him. Her heart started pounding violently when she felt Kristoff swiftly start unbuttoning her nightgown with one hand, something he had gotten really good at over the past month and before they got too carried away, Anna placed her hand on his which caused him to pause, "I don't know if I say this enough, but I love you, Kristoff."
He rested his forehead against hers, "You say it every day in both words and actions. I never feel anything but love from you." He gave her his signature crooked grin, "I love you too, you know? I would do anything to make you happy."
"I know." Anna smiled as she could feel his heartbeat through his bare chest, "So…are you going to make me happy tonight?"
A naughty grin spread across his face, "I'm going to try my best, I assure you." And he picked up right where he left off, feeling proud when he heard a happy sigh come out of his wife's mouth.
It was three in the morning when Anna startled awake with a loud gasp. Her heart pounded in a very different way than it had a couple hours ago. This time she was scared and panicked as she wiped the sleep-developed sweat that had formed on her forehead and tried to untangle herself from her husband without waking him. She anxiously sat up in their bed and brought the covers up to her neck as she shivered from either the dream or her lack of clothing, or perhaps a little of both. She glanced down at Kristoff and debated on whether or not to wake him, but the peacefully content look on his face persuaded her to leave him alone. Besides, this is a matter she had to discuss with her sister.
Anna grabbed one of the quilts that had been pushed onto the floor by recent activities and wrapped herself up in it before she slowly climbed out of bed. She hurried across the room and picked up her nightgown from the spot on the floor where it had landed and quickly shimmied her way into it. Once she finished buttoning up her nightgown, she tiptoed toward her dresser and grabbed her silk green robe before heading towards the doors. As she placed her hand on the doorknob, she heard a deep voice whisper, "Where are you going?"
A small yelp escaped from Anna's lips as she turned around to find her husband sitting up in bed with a concerned look on his face, "For the love of-you scared the living daylights out of me, Kristoff!" Anna loudly whispered back at him.
"What's going on, Anna?"
"I-I kinda had a nightmare." Anna bashfully looked down at her feet.
"You kinda had a nightmare?"
Anna anxiously bit her lip, "Well, I can't decide whether it was a nightmare or a vision so-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Kristoff tiredly rubbed his eyes before looking at his wife again, "A vision?
"Yeah, sometimes I get these visions through my dreams when I'm asleep. It's something I've had ever since I was a child." She played with the ends of her hair, avoiding her husband's gaze, "Like my dream where I was kissed by a troll which turned out to be a memory from the troll encounter I had when I was a little girl. Back when I had my memories changed by Grand Pabbie."
"Alright." Kristoff stared at her intensely, "So what was this nightmare/vision dream about?"
Elsa was startled awake by the sound of someone knocking at her door. She glanced over at her nephew fast asleep in the crib beside her bed and hurried over to the door before the knocking woke him up. She hastily fixed her appearance as she quietly opened the door to find both Anna and Kristoff standing before her. "What are you doing here? What's wrong?" Elsa's face immediately filled with concern as she noticed the look of worry on Anna and Kristoff's faces.
Anna grabbed her sister's arm and dragged her into the hallway, "Did you, by any chance, send a letter to Corona?"
Elsa furrowed her brows in confusion, "Corona? No, why?"
Kristoff anxiously rubbed the back of his neck, "Rapunzel and Eugene could be in the same amount of danger with Vortex as we are. They were with us when we took Sullivan and the rest of his organization down."
"They need to be warned!" Anna accidentally whispered a little louder than intended.
Elsa firmly shook her head, "No, leave them out of this. This is not their war. Vortex does not want anything to do with them."
"How can you be so sure?" Kristoff's intense brown eyes bore into Elsa's crystal blue ones.
"That's what I was told-"
"By who?!" Again, Anna's whispers were beginning to escalate.
"James Jagger…" Elsa paused as realization hit her. As she remembered that Thomas never limited his revenge to only Arendelle, the color in her cheeks paled, "Uh-oh."
"Exactly!" Anna tightly squeezed her sister's arm, "Jagger only wanted revenge on us and Arendelle but Sullivan and the rest of Vortex wanted revenge on all of us who interfered, Rapunzel and Eugene included."
"As well as our friends back in London." Kristoff added with a small wince.
Elsa froze as she recalled the words Thomas told Hans when they were picking up James from the prison in London. "You think he's going to help protect your kingdom? You think that man will stop what VORTEX has coming? I let you win. I could have easily sliced her throat when you burst into my lab, but I didn't. And you want to know why? Because it wasn't a part of the plan. You think I failed, but I didn't. I accomplished everything I needed to and the best thing is that you have no idea what I accomplished. And yet my master plan is already in motion...a plan that will end with your demise." Elsa's chest tightened as she realized that the Kingdom of Corona was unaware of what was brewing and would therefore make an easy target for Vortex, "We need to warn them. They'll never see it coming."
WOW! A lot has happened in 24 hours! Do you think Klaus was really dehydrated/exhausted or was their foul play afoot? What do you guys think about Leila? What happened between Elsa and the Captain? Is Corona in danger? I also felt like I had to add a little bit of Anna/Kristoff fluff because this story had been pretty dark and intense lately. Please let me know what you think! Have a great weekend everyone! :)
