"Someone has a crush," Rapunzel whispered to Anna, thinking it was a harmless observation. Anna shot her a shocked look.

"He's always looking at you," she said. Then she giggled and knocked her shoulder into Anna's. "What? Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

Kristoff winked at Anna as soon as she caught his eye. She quickly looked away, but smiled as she remembered the dance, when he twirled her and winked because he knew she wasn't expecting that. Kristoff's winks had some kind of magical power to make her feel good. She thought each wink should have slightly less of an effect than the wink before that, but they only grew more potent. She looked at him again and watched as he sorted some cans. She wished she had broken up with Hans at the dance, because that's when things started getting complicated. She was so close, and now it was too late.

"Not to mention how he saved your life…" Rapunzel added, breaking Anna's trance.

Anna rolled her eyes. What he really did was give her boyfriend a reason to break up with her in a rather humiliating way. And anyway, that was personal. How would she even know he had a flashback? Did everyone know? It must be so embarrassing for him to have everyone know about his hidden horrors. She felt a pang at her side and touched the still throbbing bruise he left from tackling her to the ground.

"He didn't save my life. I just happened to be there. He would have done it for anyone."

"That's not what Eugene said!" she practically sang while examining her nails. Oh. Right. Eugene tells Rapunzel everything. It must be nice to have the kind of relationship where you didn't have to hide, where you could be yourself, open and honest, and be loved even more for it. She could never have that with Hans because she could never tell him everything.

The next time Anna looked over, Kristoff was laughing with Eugene and Sven. She hadn't noticed before, but from the side she could see that Kristoff was missing a tooth in the back. He probably had to pull it himself, without anesthesia. It must have been so painful. And he had to have been in constant pain for months before he pulled it. Guilt filled Anna's belly because of what Kristoff had to endure while she went to the dentist twice a year and always had a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss (for those rare occasions), not to mention constant access to clean water. He was such an extraordinary person to have come through all of that as well as he had. Most people wouldn't have made it, Anna wouldn't have made it. She was completely in awe of Kristoff and she couldn't look away. She tried to push the guilty feeling down, but that just made it worse.

That's why she couldn't date Kristoff. He shouldn't have had to go through that because he didn't deserve it. Like Anna didn't deserve the life she had, so easily given to her because her father's family was wealthy and he was a magistrate before they came to Corona. Not that she wasn't grateful, it's just that she didn't deserve her luck more than Kristoff, and she felt incredibly guilty being so safe, having a good and loving family, everything she needed and then some. While Anna lost her mom, Kristoff lost his whole family, and he had to fight and scrape by for everything. She felt an earthquake in her closet, and her boxes jiggled on the shelves. Another reason she couldn't date Kristoff.

Then he turned towards her again and winked. It made her squirm and feel good in an uncomfortable way. His missing tooth was like a dimple, and it made his smile even more special. The light that passed through when his mouth was open, alternating with the darkness of his closed mouth was a different kind of wink, and thinking about the kind of strength and fortitude it must have taken to pull it out made her respect Kristoff even more. She looked at her hand Kristoff kissed, and realized his dimple kissed her. She quickly put her elbows on the table to hide as much of her blushing face as possible. She forgot about the scrape and breathed deeply until the pain subsided, but didn't move. She wished her guilt would go away so easily.

"It's just because I was the only one that was nice to him at first. He got the wrong idea."

"Did Hans get the wrong idea when he punched him?"

"That was so long ago," she said, hoping Rapunzel would drop it. "Anyway, you know I love Hans."

"I know you believe that. And anyway, it's only been a couple of mo-"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anna sat up to glare at her cousin, her face scowling.

"Just… well, everyone loves Hans. You're supposed to love guys like Hans. He's the whole package… gorgeous, smart, maybe a bit of a mama's boy for my taste, but… Of course you 'love' him. But we both know there's more to love than that."

Then she chewed her lip and looked up, away from Anna. "Although…" she paused for dramatic effect, "...he did call you stupid in front of your whole class and insinuate what it would take for you to get back together…"

Did everyone know she slept with Hans? No, there's no way anyone would have known because she and Hans had barely seen each other since then. She didn't see him at all on Thursday because he joined some new culture club that met at lunch. But he texted her several times throughout the day telling her how much he loved her, how beautiful and amazing she was, how much he loved being with her, and asking in the least romantic way when they could do it again, then begging her and telling her how much he needed her. She ignored most of his texts, not exactly sure what to say because she was dreading it and wanted to put it off as long as possible. She finally told him she was busy all weekend with volunteering because a large group of refugees had just come in, which was true. He had to know that Kristoff would be there, which is why she asked him to help, but he said he was working on his mother's mayoral campaign all weekend. The only class they had together was gym class, and they only had it every other day. Of course he didn't run with her at Friday's class, but he never did. And he got to class late, so he didn't sit behind her when they lined up at the beginning of class, and he got lunchtime detention for being late. After class they went to their locker rooms to change clothes, but Hans wasn't waiting for her when she came out, so Anna assumed he went straight to class in order to avoid any more detention, and she hadn't seen or heard from him since then. It suddenly occurred to Anna that the only people that knew were Rapunzel and… Kristoff . Her heart skipped a beat and she craned her head to see where he was. He winked at her again and she relaxed with a small smile. He must not have known what Hans was talking about because there's no way he'd wink at her if he knew. Or continue to follow her home after she told him they got back together.

Rapunzel smiled at her awkwardly. She obviously knew that Anna slept with Hans, but was going to be gracious enough not to say anything else about it. Rapunzel probably sleeps with Eugene all the time, even though she never talks about it. He always had that look that Hans had that night every time he talked to her and looked at her. But her heart was always open for him. Maybe you have to have that kind of closeness to be so open and honest with each other. And if that's true, then why didn't she feel that way about Hans? Her heart felt even more distant than it had before.

"Seriously, I've been so close to whacking Hans with the frying pan in our home economics class all week. Thank goodness Eugene's in there, too, or I would have…" Then she went on and on about the ways she wanted to make Hans pay for being an awful human being and treating her cousin that way.

Anna tuned her out and turned her thoughts towards her heart. Was Rapunzel right? Did she actually love Hans, or did she just think she did? The thought had never occurred to her, and she was a little disgusted by it. No, she was angry. How could Rapunzel even suggest something like that? Because if she didn't actually love Hans… then… she made a mistake. If she didn't actually love him, then… she made a HUGE mistake.

"... so what," she interrupted Rapunzel's tirade, "you think I love Kristoff-er instead?" She did her best to sound nonchalant, but that question was loaded with confusion, hope, longing, frustration, guilt, and incredulity. It came out as anything but nonchalant.

"I don't know, but I didn't say anything about that. You said it!" Anna clenched her fists and rolled her eyes. She was fuming at her cousin's flippant response, and her confirmation that she chose poorly. Very poorly.

"I'm going on break," she said with as little emotion as possible. It was a very rare occasion when Rapunzel irritated Anna like that, and she needed to get away to clear her head.

"But it's ok to have a new dream! It's ok to move on if your feelings have changed!" Rapunzel yelled after her.

No, it was definitely not ok. Nothing about it was ok.

Instead of going back to the refugee camp, Anna ran home in tears and curled up on her bed. Her thoughts drifted to that conversation she had with Kristoff on Thursday, not even 24 hours after she made the greatest mistake of her life. Every time Anna closed her eyes, one of Kristoff's smiles popped into her head. Each one asked her if she was fickle, or if there was anything for Hans to be jealous of, and her stomach filled with guilt because there was. One of them said, "So there is a risk, then," flipping Anna's guilt to giddiness each time. She wanted to touch herself every time she remembered those words, his cocksure smile, and, most of all, the playfully confident look in his eyes. She unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down so she could. Fantasy sex with Kristoff always made her feel better, but she was too sore for that and it hurt. So she laid there throbbing from desire and pain and she didn't know which one to ignore.

Then Anna remembered Kristoff's smile outside her window when he noticed her watching him and she remembered his words that bothered her more than anything, "Northuldran women are never considered as property." What would he think of her now if he knew? Her desire subsided and was replaced with panic.

The shame she felt after sleeping with Hans dwarfed the worst shame she could remember. She gave Hans permission to use her as an inanimate object for his own pleasure, and he did, because he didn't really care a lot about what made her feel good. The memory of Hans reaching up to grab her breasts triggered a flash of the menacing hands she saw that day. She shuddered and threw both pairs of hands into the Hans box, which had lost its shape from being overfilled, its corners so rounded that they didn't even look like corners anymore. But it didn't feel right having the hovering hands in Hans' box, so she started a new box for them. Then she noticed that the lid of one of the boxes in the corner was just slightly popped up, and she filled with a cold dread and everything turned black. Next thing she knew she was wrapped up in Kristoff's arms and he whispered in Northuldran, "It's ok. I've got you." He must have seen the open box. "It's ok, I'm still here," he said tenderly.

Anna had been so worried about Kristoff forcing her boxes open, but it was Hans who popped that lid open, and Kristoff that saved her. Again. She allowed Kristoff to continue comforting her until she felt a chill and opened her eyes. A dark cloud had covered her window, but a single flash of sunlight briefly escaped an opening in the clouds and flashed at the mirror on her dresser. Anna perked up, ran to the dresser, and opened the bottom drawer to find her mom's scarf. It was a soft woven red and purple material with fringe all around and suns made of diamonds embroidered at the corners. She hugged it to her chest and stuffed it into a tote bag. She wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of this sooner. She raced towards the park on the other side of the market area. It was the first time in forever since she'd been there, and the thought of it made her feel as light as she did on New Year's Eve, and when she was dancing with Kristoff. The promise of an answer beckoned her, and even though it had just started sprinkling, little pulses of sunlight guided her path.

It was still raining when she finally reached the somewhat hidden stone structure surrounded by cairns made of flattened rocks. Her clothes and hair were soaked, and it was so cold being encased by all the concrete that she felt goosebumps on her arms, but the open dome at the center of the structure was lit up by the sun and it got warmer as she approached. Either it hadn't rained in that small circle beneath the opening or the bright sun had already evaporated the water.

She sat on the cool concrete just outside the sun's radius and she thought about all the things that led her back here after being away for so long.

Anna wasn't sure how she could still love Hans anymore since she couldn't stand to be around him, much less have him touch her in any way. And she didn't know how she could still love Hans when her feelings for Kristoff were so much stronger. She hadn't quite come to terms with the fact that she didn't love Hans at all, but if she didn't, that would explain why she wasn't able to give him more than her body. Her heart and soul refused to participate because they knew it was wrong. But all he really wanted was her body anyway. Kristoff was going to think she had allowed herself to become Hans' property. But that's actually what happened. And "Northuldran women are never considered as property."

Why would she allow Hans to use her for her body like that? She actually gave him permission to do so. She texted him in desperation wanting him to have her body a second time. There were times when she wanted it and liked it, remembering the guy she fell in love with, who she hardly ever saw anymore, when Hans showed her his true self, and when she thought about Kristoff; there were times she breathed through the pain because she thought she still loved him and wanted him to be happy; and there were other times when she desperately wanted him to stop but she didn't say anything about it, even though he'd proved that he would have, eventually, if she asked. Because that's what she thought she deserved, and that somehow she'd earned that.

Then Anna thought more about how Hans was able to pop the lid on that dusty box. What did he have to do with that box? The only thing that didn't seem to fit with him from that night was the looming hands. Maybe they had something to do with the dusty box. At first she thought they were part of her imagination, but something about the hands felt so familiar. She could tell they didn't belong to Hans, though, because they just didn't seem to belong in his box. But she couldn't think why she thought of them, and who they belonged to. Maybe they belonged in the dusty box, and they escaped when Hans opened the lid. She shook her head out and tried to put it back in the box. Then she felt Kristoff standing next to her, stuffing the hands back into the dusty box for her since she couldn't reach. He didn't shove it all the way back in the corner because she was going to have to open it eventually, when she was ready. Maybe Kristoff made her boxes shake, but he never opened any of them. And he'd proven that he'd protect her with his life.

Anna looked up towards the sun, to see if she could get any clarity like Kristoff had that day outside her window. It was becoming obvious to her what her feelings were towards Hans and Kristoff. And she couldn't hide from them anymore. The question was what would she do now that she knew.

It felt like Kristoff was there with her, the sun catching his smile in an enchanting way, as she eased herself closer to the sunlight. Truthfully, though, she wouldn't be able to resist him for very much longer. Every wink drew her closer to him, but never against her will. It was more of an invitation to be happy with him. And she wanted that, but for some reason she was holding back, too, but she didn't know why.

"Hey, Alex, is Anna ok?"

"Yuh-huh, why?"

"Because she was here a few minutes ago, but now she's not."

"Yuh-huh, why?"

Kristoff was already worried about her knowing she had gotten back together with Hans. The wind started to pick up and he had a bad feeling. He had noticed the worry on Agnarr's face lately, too. He was usually very sunny and friendly like Anna, but lately he seemed troubled and bogged down with something. Maybe he knew what was going on with Anna, or he at least realized that there was something going on that he couldn't do anything about. He thought that Anna being so unhappy made Agnarr feel like a dark cloud had covered the sun, as it did for Kristoff.

"Christopher was just worried," Eugene piped up, but exclaimed "ow!" when Rapunzel swatted at his arm. Then he whispered in her ear and the two giggled quietly, forgetting about Anna.

"Oh, she just had a big school project. She's fine. Just a little stressed out, I guess."

"Relax," Sven assured him, as the three returned to their pallets to continue working.

"Yeah, and some of us are doing most of the work while others are just standing there."

"You mean I'm doing all the work while you're just standing there?" Sven asked Eugene.

"I don't like your attitude, and I don't have to take it! I'm going to go keep Rapunzel company. She looks lonely without Anna and I'm sure she'll appreciate me more than you two bozos."

Kristoff and Sven broke down in laughter.

"Seriously, though. I can't do this without your help."

"What if I just went over to check on her, though? Just to make sure she's ok?"

"Wait… you know where she lives?"

"Yeah. I followed her home the other day." Kristoff didn't understand why Sven was so bothered by that.

"So you stalked her?"

"What is stalked?"

"You found out where she lived without her telling you and then you went there without her knowing? And now you want to just show up at her house, uninvited, to check on her?"

"Oh, she knows I followed her. And she watched me from her window."

"Hmmm. Did it ever occur to you that maybe you scared her and that's why she left?"

"It didn't bother her. She liked it." If Sven had seen the way she looked at him… Well, she was actually a little annoyed with him, but then she all but admitted her feelings for him.

"I assume that's ok where you're from, but it's not ok here."

"Really? Why not?"

"I mean, I don't know how to say this, so I guess I'll just say it... You're being so creepy! Listen to yourself. You stare at her all the time, you literally tackled her at gym class… I mean, she's got cuts and scrapes all over. Did you see her elbow? And you groped her convincingly enough that her boyfriend broke up with her…"

"They're back together now." Kristoff's demeanor shifted for the first time since he asked Sven if he should check on her.

"What?"

"Yeah, she told me when I walked her home."

Sven seemed exasperated. "Look, there's no way Anna would get back together with Hans after all the stuff he said to her in front of everyone like that. Eugene said he felt so sorry for her, and he never feels bad for anyone. She probably just said that so you'd leave her alone. It's not healthy, dude. You need to just move on."

Sven didn't understand his relationship with Anna, or Anna's feelings for him, and he couldn't tell him without revealing certain things about Anna's hidden self, which she'd very generously allowed him to know at least a little. She trusted him, and he wasn't about to betray her trust just to convince Sven how wrong he was.

Kristoff looked up to the sun and squinted. Ahtohallan parted the dark clouds for a single ray to warm his cheeks, bathing him in understanding. Following Anna was the right thing to do.

Kristoff didn't even bother to say goodbye to Sven as he took off towards Anna's house. If Sven had seen the way she looked at him from her window, he would understand.

Before Kristoff even got to Anna's house, he saw her nearly running down the street. She was about three blocks away from him, but Ahtohallan's light kissed her hair golden and she glowed like a beacon for him to follow.

Since she had such a large head start that it was a challenge to keep up with her. It was sprinkling, making it difficult to weave between streets, which Anna was very familiar with and Kristoff was not. There were loose and slick cobblestones - Kristoff fell twice - narrow allies, tradespeople moving merchandise, loading and unloading trucks, but Kristoff never slowed down. Once he passed the market district he came upon a park. He scanned the area but Anna was nowhere to be found.

Kristoff looked around frantically. Then he saw a relatively small stone structure with an open dome at the top, tucked away in a seemingly forgotten section of a neglected park. It looked like one of those man-made structures overtaken by nature in the paintings next to the poems about long-lost legends in his Coronan literature textbook. But it also looked like home. The rain had slowed to a mist at that point and a rainbow started to form from inside the dome.

He smiled so wide and laughed, tears of happiness rolling down from the outer corners of his eyes. He was so overtaken by his emotions that the only thing he could do was crouch down and put his head to his knees to block the blinding sun. He was so humbled by Ahtohallan's gift to him, he'd never felt such humility before. It wasn't so much a revelation as it was a feeling that nothing else had ever felt so right. That was how the men in his village described the moment they knew.

Kristoff stood and waited until he didn't have to fight his smile, the laughter, and the tears. Then he did his best to comb his hair with his fingers, but it was matted from the rain. He adjusted his hat so it wasn't so noticeable, he hoped. But his clothes were a bit damp, and there wasn't anything he could do about that. He plucked a wild mint leaf and chewed on it for a minute, but ultimately he gave up and threw his hands to the side because there wasn't much else he could do to fix himself up at the moment, and he couldn't wait any longer. He expected Ahtohallan to tell him to be patient, but they didn't, so he took a deep breath to slow his beating heart as he approached the temple.

He closed his eyes and took one more deep breath as he entered the building, holding on to one of the pillars as a guide. Then he leaned against the pillars once he felt the cold from being inside and squeezed his eyes even tighter. With his eyes closed he could hear her musical voice softly chanting. He was too nervous to open, just in case it wasn't her, even though he had known since he dreamed of her, and he knew now by the rainbow and the way she spoke. He would have been devastated if it were anyone else. Then something bright flashed in front of his sealed eyes and Ahtohallan told him to look. He'd never seen Ahtohallan's light shine so bright on anyone before. Her radiance was blinding like the sun catching a diamond, but Kristoff couldn't look away as his star mate prayed. He slowly walked to the center of the temple, heart pounding in his chest. He got there just as her last Northuldran words lilted from her incandescent smile, and he held out his hand to help her stand.

"Krriyistaf?"

Kristoff's inside's melted when she said his name like that, but when she looked at him with her starry eyes he boiled with desire for her.