Rifiuto: Non Mirena

A/N: This chapter makes thirty. I should know by now that there is no such thing as a quickly concluded story with Zani. Looks like this is going to be another long one. Anyone up for it? Or should I split it into two 'books' instead?

And I'm curious, what were some of your theories?

Written: 2019 - Licia

She awoke to the feel of something cool dripping against her lips; adjusting to the harshness of light that wasn't there- for the inside of her hut was dark, with the exception of the fire in the small pit area not far away, which cast a warm, dull glow within- she soon began to realize that it wasn't light she was adjusting too, but the dull, pulsing pain in her head; pain enough to send bursts of light before her sensitive eyes.

A soft groan escaped her, and she tilted her head towards the person that held the cloth just above her lips. "H... ans..."

His green eyes met hers, and she immediately saw the worry that filled them. A flash of relief came over his features, but despite her croaked whisper, he never removed the cloth. Vanja had taught him that with an injury such as this, it was best to keep the person as immobile as possible while they were recovering; that providing a water skein would place too much strain on them, and that it was best to soak a cloth in cool water and then let the droplets drip in between their lips, that way they still received nourishment, without the worry of strain on their body.

She watched him for several minutes, unable to form the proper words, and unsure if her vocal chords would work. After a moment, she reached up, small fingers slowly wrapping around his wrist. He glanced at their hands, before turning away and releasing a shuddering breath. "Wh... at... hap..." She swallowed painfully; Gods, her throat was dry. "... wha...hap...end..."

Taking a deep breath, he turned back, meeting her gaze. She looked so small, lying among the blankets, so fragile, the finest piece of crystal, balanced precariously on the edge of a table. Her long, silky white hair framed her face, and her blue eyes stood out of her near translucent face like two gigantic pools of crushed sapphire; the few freckles she possessed presented themselves like the brightest of stars on a clear night, and he realized now that her face was far too thin, as though she hadn't been eating as of late. She looked like a child, sickly and fading fast, bound for Heaven, a snow angel sent to earth only to be called back. "Ha... Hans..."

Her voice was slowly coming back, and he moved to lean over her. Their gazes locked for the briefest of moments; he studied her, as though trying to determine if there were any cracks beneath the smooth porcelain surface, before he removed the cloth and leaned down, capturing her lips gently with his.

It was soft, gentle; the chastest of kisses, ended before it could begin.

He pulled back, meeting her gaze; to deny the surprise that filled those sapphire pools would be to deny that the sun shone, but neither spoke. They watched each other, each gauging the threat the other posed, and finding nothing. A moment passed, before he once more closed the gap between them, brushing another kiss to her mouth, this one a little braver, a tad longer, but no less chaste or tender than the one before.

Their eyes once more locked upon breaking, and the tip of Elsa's tongue darted out to nervously wet her lips. Her eyes alone, spoke volumes to what she was feeling, what she was thinking, as for once, words clogged in her throat and her brain failed her. Though, given the painful jolt she'd received that had landed her unconscious in her own hut, it wasn't surprising that her brilliant mind was having trouble. She opened her mouth to speak, but soon closed it, lips thinning into a line and eyes widening as she realized that nothing she said would sound even remotely intelligent, least of all a garbled mess of consonants and vowels that would sound more like grunts than actual words.

Finally, needing to break the silence, he spoke, his voice strained and worried. "You were thrown from the... the Nokk?" He hesitated, brow furrowing, and Elsa gave the most minuscule of nods in affirmation, before her eyes snapped shut and she grimaced in pain. Instantly, Hans grabbed another cloth, dunked it in a bowl, wrung it out, and then reached up, gently lifting her head and moving to dab the cloth against the back of her neck to relieve some of the pain. "You hit..." He stopped, swallowing thickly. "you hit the ground hard... struck your head, knocked yourself out. There was a point... a point where we weren't sure you would make it... striking your temple... Elsa, that's fatal..."

She swallowed as he brought his fingers up to gently brush her hair away from her forehead, she winced, and he quickly apologized. The strands of her hair by the spot where she'd struck were still tinged pink from the blood, and he wondered if the color would fade with time and cleaning, or if it was now permanent. A moment passed, before he spoke again, voice choked with tears. "You hit just right where it wasn't... Elsa, that was dangerous... don't you ever do that again... please..."

She didn't speak; to be honest, she was surprised by the fear she heard in his voice, and given how she felt she wasn't sure she could reply anyway. His green eyes shifted to meet hers again, and after a moment, he leaned down, nuzzling his nose against hers as he met her gaze before once more brushing his lips tenderly against hers-

"Hans, is Elsa-" The disgraced prince quickly pulled away, turning to find Ryder standing in the entrance to the hut, eyes wide in shock, mouth agape. "I... I'm gonna..." And without another word, he ducked back out, leaving them alone. With a sigh, Hans turned back to her, studying her face, but he didn't brush her mouth with his again. He shouldn't have done it in the first place, and each kiss was testing his luck more and more, plus it didn't help that she was currently bedridden, unable to stop him.

Though judging from the emotions flashing through her eyes, she didn't seem to want to stop him, even if she hadn't cheated death. With a quick shake of his head, he sat back, his healing leg stretched out, his other leg bent, elbow wrapped around his knee. A sigh escaped him, and after a moment, he turned his gaze back to her face, speaking softly.

"Ryder brought you back here. At first, the healer wasn't sure you had even survived, for no one was sure you were even breathing. It took her several minutes before she could find a pulse, and it took her resting her cheek to your neck for her to find it because she couldn't feel it with her fingers, but it was there, faint, but there." He swallowed thickly. "You were out for..." She watched him stop, saw him swallow hard. "You were out cold for four days, barely conscious for one, and... woke only once on the sixth. You mumbled something about your parents and then slipped back into unconsciousness. You've been unconscious for the the last- well, until today- two days."

She didn't move, just continued to stare at him, surprised she'd been out for so long. It had only felt like a few hours with her parents-

"Ryder tells us that our patient's awake." The flap of the hut lifted, and Hans looked up to see Yelena and Vanja enter. Instead of moving her head, Elsa's blue eyes shifted to the side; she was silent, as she lay back among the blankets. Hans shifted to move, but Vanja stopped him. "You're fine. I know it's a struggle for you to move as is with your leg still healing, and the last thing we need to do is jostle your ribs, especially when they'd finally healed; what were you thinking? Stepping in front of the water spirit like that? You're lucky all it did was bruise your ribs, not break them."

He flushed at the scolding and Elsa's brows furrowed. Hans had gotten hurt? When?

The Nokk kicked out, striking Hans as it reared back, at the same time she went flying off its back. Her body struck the ground with a sickening thud! before everything went black.

Vanja and Yelena watched as Elsa's blue eyes widened in shock, and they knew the memory of what had happened that day had come back to her. She paled, and Hans glanced quickly at her, before lowering his gaze. Yelena stayed back, watching in silence as Vanja set to work, checking Elsa over and making sure everything was okay. She quickly examined her eyes, before moving to check her head. A soft click of her tongue caused both the chief and Hans to look up. "There's a very small knot above the impact site, but that should vanish with stimulation."

Gently, she rubbed her fingers over the spot in question, and the others watched the Snow Queen wince in very obvious pain. Her lips curled and her eyes snapped shut with a near silent hiss. "I'm sorry, Spirit, but the sooner it is gone, the safer you will be." After several minutes, satisfied that the small knot had vanished, she turned her attention to the cut. "It's better. Nearly healed. Though that does not mean you will be able to- woah, easy, Spirit! What are you doing?"