Anna couldn't remove any of the attached hangers from the closet—did people seriously steal hotel hangers?—so she folded the coal-colored shirt jacket as neatly as possible after washing it in the bathroom sink a good four extra times. When she'd gotten the smell of barf out to the best of her ability, she'd gone down to the front desk. She had of course known how low the chances were that they would just tell her which room the celebrity was staying in. Yes, the clerk understood that Anna only wanted to return the jacket. No, the hotel couldn't under any circumstances give away such confidential information.

So, Anna was left with the next best option. She spent the next two hours working her way from ground level up and knocking at each door to see if the jacket's owner would answer. Sometimes no one answered. Either those rooms were vacant or the other guests did not want to be bothered. But most people went to the door out of curiosity, not one of them Hans, of course. It was a long and grueling process of elimination, but it was the only thing she could think of for the moment. As soon as Anna saw the person greeting her was not the haughty celebrity she was looking for, she'd mutter in embarrassment about forgetting which room a friend of hers was staying in and needing to return something she borrowed. A few people—mainly Japanese or guests of other foreign origins who could not understand her—either raised their eyebrow or stared in bewilderment to find a foreign girl at the door. But most took her brief intrusion fairly well, which was a relief to Anna. She'd thought someone would have called security on her before she cleared the first floor. But she managed to reach the luxury suites on the upper levels, where she decided she probably should have started her search in the first place. The halls of the lower levels were gorgeous enough, but the floors with luxury suites had mirrors along the walls, more intricate chandelier lighting and marble floors with vibrant red carpeting for guests to tread on. The wooden doors were lined by beautifully carved frames that Anna would have stopped to study more closely if she weren't on a mission.

Her task itself was not so tiring; it was the anticipation when she heard footsteps approach to answer each time after she knocked. The guests on the luxury levels of the hotel were more visibly annoyed by her knocking. Some of the suites had multiple doors; she discovered this the hard way when she angered one elderly gentleman by knocking on all three of his. From then on, she was extra careful to check the suite numbers.

She contemplated taking a break as she knocked at suite 1214 at the end of the hall. There was no answer at first, so she tried again. A few seconds later, she heard approaching footsteps from within. The door opened, and Anna found herself looking up at a familiar scowl. Hans's eyes widened when they laid on her, but he was soon scowling again.

"You," was all he said.

"Hi! I... just came to return this... I washed it several times," she explained as she held out the abominable jacket. Hans's smile was strained as he quickly grabbed it from her.

"Oh! Thanks!" He moved to shut the door in her face, but Anna was too quick for him. She shoved both hands against his door.

"W-wait! Also, may I come in? I have something to discuss with you."

"Oh? You can tell me right here."

"It's a bit of a long story..."

"Make it quick, then."

"I-I need to... borrow some money..."

Hans's mouth turned up in disgust. "You what?"

"Don't look at me like that! I don't have any money to pay for this hotel or to get to the airport... I've been trying to get ahold of my friends back in Arendelle, but no one's answering. I don't know what will happen to me if I can't get home!"

He gave a little clap of his hands before moving to close his door again. This time, Anna shoved her foot in the door.

"Hey!" he snarled, pulling the door back only an inch. "Stop that! Get your foot out!"

"I'm serious! I need help!"

"So, go to the police!"

He nudged her foot back out into the hall with his own and managed to slam the door shut that time.

The instant rejection rattled Anna, but she was not ready to give up. She balled her fist and knocked on the door again. Hans must not have walked far off, for he opened it quickly, fuming.

"Please," she said. "I swear I'll pay you back!"

"Forget it!" Hans hissed, slamming the door shut once again. Desperate, Anna was just about to knock a third time when the door reeled open. "And stop knocking on this door!" Again, he slammed the door shut.

Anna blinked rapidly, trying to collect herself. She glanced off to the left and moved toward the middle door to Hans's suite. She forced herself to knock gently even though she wanted to bang on the door to annoy him.

A moment later, the door opened. Hans was pale with fury when he saw it was her again. He opened his mouth to tell her off, but she cut him off in time.

"Yes, yes, I get it. If you're not going to help me, can you at least give me Kristoff's number?"

She was satisfied by the puzzlement that distorted his perfect features.

"You know Kris?"

Anna bit her lower lip. She hadn't thought through it that far. She'd only blurted out Kristoff's name because she panicked. With a clearing of her throat, she looked down awkwardly as if it were a difficult subject for her.

"Yes! ...and he wouldn't be happy with you if he saw you treating me like this," she retorted, squaring her shoulders somewhat.

"What? What are you to him?"

Anna gulped. Oh boy. But this was progress, right?

"W-we... have a history..."

"Hmm..."

She squirmed under his piercing gaze. An awkward couple of seconds passed before Hans stepped aside. "Come in, then."

She wasn't sure whether she was more relieved or terrified, but she stepped over the threshold and heard him close the door behind her. She followed him into the sitting room, where they sat and eyed one another. Anna kept her twitching in check, but she felt as if she was about to be cross-examined.

"What's your history then?"

"That's... it's kind of long, sad story. I don't want to bore you..."

"I won't be bored," Hans pressed.

Anna groaned inwardly. "Let's just say that if things had worked out differently, Kris," she used the same name Hans had used for Kristoff, "and I might be engaged right now."

She thought for sure she'd be called out when she said that, but Hans just leaned forward on the edge of his seat.

"He never told me..." Hans murmured to himself.

Anna felt it would be safer for her to say nothing.

"Well, of course he wouldn't," the singer added, musing. Then he blinked at her, as if just remembering she was in the room. "Shall I call him?"

"No!" Anna shook her head a little too emphatically. She cleared her throat and sat back, trying to remain composed. "What I mean is... we parted on somewhat awkward terms. It would just be painful for both of us..."

She was one more lie away from hyperventilating. Luckily, Hans did not push the issue.

"I understand," he said.

"You...do?" She coughed. "Thank you..."

Hans jumped up and walked off out of sight into the bedroom. Anna tried to lean over in her seat to see what he was doing. Would he disregard her wishes and call up Kristoff anyway? God, she hoped not. But Hans came back a moment later with some Japanese yen at hand. Anna breathed out in relief as she shakily accepted his offering. She counted off the numbers in her head; it was more than enough to cover the hotel, transportation to the airport and the flight home. She sniffed back the urge to cry tears of relief and instead picked up a memo pad and pen from the coffee table. She quickly scratched down her cellphone number and held it up for the singer. He raised his eyebrow as he took the pad from her.

"I still plan to pay you back. Just give me a call when you're back in Arendelle and I'll get you your money back as soon as I can."

Hans shrugged and set the memo pad back down, seemingly indifferent although Anna suspected he would give her a call to collect his money once they were both back home. He took a seat once again, glancing at her curiously.

"Don't you want to patch things up with Kris?"

Anna paled a little. "I don't think it's possible at this point." She grew nervous when Hans's face grew impatient. Why did he care so much about his friend's fake failed relationship? "I'd rather remember all the happy memories. Besides, I'm sure he's moved on." She drew from all the romantic stories she'd read and written herself. Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy. Tragedy ensues. They're unfortunately separated. It probably happened all the time, right?

"All right then..."

"Ahem... " she rose up from her seat and hastily stepped backward towards the exit. "Well, you have my number. I'll leave you be now. Thank you... really, thank you."

"Hey, I'm just doing what Kristoff probably would have wanted."

Anna gave a curt nod. "Thanks, anyway."

Hans waved a farewell from his seat, signaling that she could let herself out. Anna held her breath as she turned toward the door. She did not let it out until his door closed behind her and she was halfway down the hall.

A few days later, Anna exited into the Arendelle Airport terminal and pulled out her phone to give Rapunzel another call. She had already lit into Rapunzel and Eugene in her previous messages. This time, she found herself speechless. She hung up without leaving another scathing voicemail and found herself worrying for the first time. What if something had happened to the couple while she was gone...?

More anxious than ever to get home now, Anna hailed a cab outside and tried not to let her imagination run too wild on the ride home. Arendelle cab drivers kept more to themselves out of wanting to respect their customers' space and privacy. But this meant she was left with her thoughts for the forty-minute drive. Could something have happened to the house? Were Rapunzel and Eugene involved in some accident and was that why they hadn't answered her numerous calls? Scenario after scenario played out in her head, torturing her. By the time the taxi entered the valley and rolled up to the front of her house, Anna was actually surprised to find the residence still standing.

The driver cleared his throat to prompt Anna to pay him. Flustered, she dug through the remaining cash exchanged from what Hans had given her and handed over the fare, glad for once to know exactly how much money to give. After a quiet exchange of thank yous, Anna lugged her bag out of the passenger seat and opened the gate in the front picket fence. She dug in her purse for her house key and rushed to let herself in, eager to just plop down on her bed and take a nap before she headed over to Rapunzel's apartment to check up on her cousin.

She should have noticed the photos were missing from the foyer walls, or even that the decorative stand and vase in the far right corner were absent. But she was so winded from her "adventure" abroad that she didn't notice anything was amiss until she walked into the empty living room.

Anna gasped. Her eyes darted first left and then swept in a rightward gaze across the bare floor; no couch, no television, no coffee table, no area rug, no bookshelves, no desk up against the wall, no paintings or photographs, nothing. She let out a strangled little cry of shock and bolted for the kitchen. The refrigerator and dishwasher were left in place, but her blender, toaster and microwave were absent. Her blood rushed to her hands as she yanked open drawers and cabinets. Sure enough, silverware, dishes, glasses and teacups were missing too. The baking sheets she kept in the broiler beneath the oven were gone. Her salt and pepper shakers were gone along with all the spatulas, ladles, whisks and prongs. Not one bag of chips was left in the snack cabinet.

Bile threatened to rise up with a sudden wave of nausea as she came to the last drawer at the corner of the kitchen. This drawer was empty save for a single envelope with her name on it. She picked it up and took as much time as possible pulling out the letter within. She knew the explanation would be within, and a large part of her didn't want to know.

She almost opened it. But somehow, she managed to stuff the letter back in its envelope and toss the dreaded thing back into the drawer.

In a panic, she ran throughout the rest of the house, checking room after room on both levels. The bedrooms were empty, including hers. The bathrooms were empty. Even the closets were emptied!

She huffed as she made her way back down to the kitchen, looking around wildly. Then, she dug out her phone and did a quick search for the bank Eugene worked at. When she found the number and address, she called them up.

"Fort Wenworth Bank, this is Amelia. How can I help you?"

Anna hesitated, pacing back and forth in her kitchen. She didn't want her voice to shake when she spoke to this stranger over the phone.

"Hello?" Amelia said.

"H-hello. My name is Anna Frost. I'm looking for Eugene Fitzherbert. Could you please transfer me?"

"Eugene? Um... could you hold for one moment please?"

Relief washed through her. "Yes, of course."

There was a click and she found herself on hold with an automated spiel about the many perks of banking with Fort Wenworth. She stopped her pacing and leaned over the island counter, fiddling with the sink faucet as she waited. A few seconds later, Amelia was back on the line.

"Thanks for waiting. I'm sorry, but Eugene doesn't work here anymore."

Anna stood up straight so quickly, she nearly dropped her cellphone.

"What?!"

"I thought he might be on vacation, so I had to check, but apparently he resigned a few weeks ago... I can't give any more information, I'm afraid."

Anna let out a long, agonized sigh.

"I'm sorry!" Amelia said, sounding genuinely sympathetic. "Is there... anything else I can help you with?"

"N... on second thought... I have an account with you... if I give you my account number and information, could you let me know my balance please...?"

"Oh, of course, miss! Happy to help. Your name and account number please?"

Anna gave Amelia the requested information and waited while the clerk looked up her account. After another few excruciating seconds, Amelia let out a little gasp that made Anna raise her eyebrows.

"Um... it looks like you cleared out the account. The balance is zero."

Anna swallowed. There was only one other person who could have had access to her account. She'd given Rapunzel power of attorney after Elsa's passing. At the time, it'd been a great help to have someone to deal with lawyers, banks and funeral arrangements when she was just too broken to do it herself.

"Miss?" Amelia's voice came from the other line.

"Th-thank you, that's all I needed..." she said, somewhat in a daze.

"Okay! Thank you so much for calling today, Anna! Have a great rest of your day!"

"You too..."

Anna held the phone in place for half a minute after the conversation ended, just staring into space. When her fingers started aching, she realized how tightly she was clutching onto her mobile. She set it down on the countertop and thought of all the couple's usual haunts around Arendelle. She could run out and try to track them down.

Her stomach growled. She put her hand over it and walked over to the fridge, surprised to find that they'd left her some cheese, fruit and vegetables.

"How nice of them not to let me starve," she muttered as she pulled out a peach. She bit into it, only somewhat comforted by the sweet juice that filled her mouth as she chewed on the fruit. Her gaze wandered and settled upon that corner drawer with the letter to her. She wiped her wrist across her mouth as she stalked up to the drawer, confronting it like some archenemy before she pulled it open and took out the envelope. With impressive balancing of the fruit, she pulled out the letter again.

She still didn't really want to know. But she needed to know. Why would Rapunzel do this to her?

And Eugene...! Anna had never been anything but kind to him!

All right, so his presumptuous, laid-back nature grated on her nerves somewhat after Elsa's passing, but that was only because he seemed obliviously, consistently insensitive.

Once again, Anna found her fingers trembling as she read through the letter:

Dear Anna,

Please don't hate us. We know you'll be angry. One day, we'll explain everything. We hope you can forgive us then.

Love,

Rapunzel

That was it. Anna tossed the letter and envelope both on the counter and scoffed. That was it? No explanation, no real apology, just a plea for her not to hate them.

She glared down at the peach in her hands as her fingers dug into it, squeezing the fruit juice out to run over her hand in cool, messy rivulets. She took a deep breath and mentally counted to ten.

Then, she screamed.

"Where's all my stuff?!"

A/N: So I didn't get two chapters out this month like I'd hoped to. Sticking to a regular writing schedule at this point is going to be pretty difficult. But the next chapter is already outlined and should come out in March. Thanks for reading!