Rifiuto: Non Mirena

A/N: So not all of Elsa's secrets have been revealed this chapter. A major one has though- the fact that Anna is actually a troll changeling. And, Hans finally gets an official introduction to another important figure in Elsa's life...

Written: 2019 - Licia

"... the youngest princess had been stolen away after the accident, and a troll changeling left in her place. After the accident, the king and queen thought it best to keep the sisters separated, and so the oldest princess was forced into self-isolation, in the hopes of controlling her powers, but then came another worry. The changeling that had taken the younger princess's place began to develop an attachment to the older princess- a perverted, disgusting attraction of sexual nature, and realizing this, the king and queen tightened the rules on the older's isolation, now also for their oldest daughter's safety." She tried hard not to look up, for she knew the look of horror that probably crossed Hans' face.

"She was allowed out late at night and when they knew the other princess would be occupied elsewhere. Over the years, the older princess learned everything she needed to know to be able to run the kingdom when her parents finally decided to step down. But then the king and queen left on a trip; they promised to only be gone two weeks, but never returned home. Their ship went down, and the older princess was forced to take the throne her parents had left behind, at twenty-one."

He reached out, gently brushing the tears from her cheeks as she paused to gather her thoughts. The firelight danced across her face, and she smiled softly as Bruni skittered into her lap. They had returned to the camp, settling beside one of the more secluded fires, as Elsa told him of the Northuldra, the betrayal of the tribe by Arendelle, the fighting and the fall of the mist as well as her parents' escape, courtship and marriage. Elsa had chosen this area in case she needed to pace, or run, or release her magic, without the confines of her hut. Hans had listened, enraptured as she spoke of the young Northuldrian princess who had rescued the son of her enemy, fled the forest, and gone on to marry the young king.

Slowly, over the course of Elsa's tale, he'd begun to put the pieces together- the princess given as a gift to the Northuldrian princess and the Arendellian king as a thank you by the spirits for saving her enemy in the face of adversity, the accident that had forced the older princess to be given a set of gloves in hopes of helping control her magic, the accident that forced the king and queen to seek out the trolls, the thirteen years of isolation by the oldest princess, and the deaths of the king and queen and coronation of their daughter. Those were all easy to spot as real, tangible things that had happened, but something still didn't sit right.

"Els... trolls?" He raised an eyebrow, and she simply reached up, covering his hand with hers before continuing.

"You want the whole story, don't you?" Not a word was said, but the meaning clear. She sighed, accepting the cup of coffee he handed her. Elsa had turned down the coffee earlier, but soon, over the course of the story, found herself stealing sips from Hans' cup, until he finally just gave it to her and slipped off to get another one. Elsa, however, didn't touch the first mug after he returned, and with a sigh, he'd taken the little bit that was left and added it to the new mug, setting it between then so they could share it. Handing the cup back to him, she continued.

"The oldest princess was crowned queen, and and everything went well until the party. The youngest princess, desperate for the attention she wasn't getting from her sister, met a prince, from a southern kingdom, and asked for the newly-crowned queen's blessing of their marriage." Hans lowered his gaze. "She said no, and when the sister pushed, grabbing one of her gloved hands and only succeeding in pulling the glove off, the queen lashed out, exposing her powers. Horrified at what she'd done, she fled, escaping the castle only to be greeted by the townsfolk. Once more, out of fear, her powers were exposed, and she once more fled. It was only after she discovered that she could freeze the water where she stood on the fjord, did she then flee from her kingdom, headed for the North Mountain. However, in doing so, she not only froze where she stood, but the entire fjord, setting off an eternal winter in her wake."

The tears swam in her eyes, and he realized how much she regretting harming her people, even if it was accidental. "Take your time, Elsa." He stroked her cheek, and she sniffled, turning and pressing a kiss to his palm. The simple gesture warmed his heart, and he smiled softly at her.

"She escaped to the North Mountain, unaware of the conditions in her kingdom, unaware that the troll changeling masquerading as her sister had followed, leaving the southern prince in charge of her sister's kingdom. To..." She sniffled, choking out a small laugh as she lowered her head, glancing down at Bruni who rolled over in her skirt with a purr as he stared up at her. "To celebrate her freedom, so to speak, the queen decided to see what she could truly do, and built a beautiful ice palace atop the North Mountain. She discarded her cloak, remaining glove and crown, and proceeded to create a gown of ice and snow, something to signify her freedom. For the first time in her life, the young queen was happy." He smiled softly, stroking her cheek.

"Content in her isolation, away from those she loved that she could harm, the queen didn't realize that the sister was coming in search of her to bring her back to her kingdom, and that she had run into an ice harvester who agreed to take her to the mountain. It was a shock to the queen, when her sister showed up in her palace, with one of her childhood creations... a snowman, that lived and breathed as much as she herself." When she stopped, Hans scooted closer, pulling her into his arms, and allowing her to gather her thoughts. He kissed her head, relishing the feel of her before pulling away. She looked up at him, and took a deep breath, sitting up. Having dropped his hand from her cheek, Hans watched as she nervously gathered her hair over one shoulder and began plaiting and then unplaiting it. Slowly, she released a breath.

"When the sister tried to convince her to return, the queen demanded she leave, telling her she'd be safer in the kingdom, but the sister then informed the queen of the eternal winter left in her wake. Out of fear and horror, the queen lost control of her magic, and struck the sister, unknowingly freezing her heart. She created a massive snow golem to remove the sister and ice harvester. But once they returned to the kingdom, and the southern prince realized what had happened, he went to the mountain to bring the queen back himself. Two of the visiting Duke's guards snuck away during the trek and cornered the queen, attempting to kill her. She attempted to defend herself. It was only when the southern prince asked her not to become the monster they all feared she was, did she stop, but by then, one of trapped guards had aimed his crossbow, intent on killing the queen." She swallowed, meeting his gaze. "The prince, realizing what was happening, managed to knock the bow off course, aiming for the chandelier which crashed, knocking the queen unconscious."

Bruni purred in Elsa's lap, and she chuckled, reaching up and releasing flurry of snowflakes over the creature, who quickly sat up and stuck out his tongue. Her chuckle shifted into a giggle, and she sighed. Hans couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips as he watched Elsa enjoy a small break from her story. "The queen awoke hours later, unsure of how she'd gotten down from the mountain, and found she'd been placed in special chains built specifically for her by her parents in the dungeon."

He winced, remembering seeing the strange looking cuffs, clearly meant to contain her hands if her powers ever got out of control. I didn't know her parents had had them constructed.

"The southern prince begged her to stop the winter, but she replied that she couldn't, she didn't know how. She begged him to let her go, that she would return to the mountain, but he left, leaving her alone. After what seemed like hours, the queen managed to freeze the shackles about her hands, breaking them, blasting a hole through the wall, and fleeing onto the frozen fjord, intent on returning to the mountain and her isolation. The southern prince found her, and when she told him to take care of her sister, he informed her that her sister was dead of a frozen heart. Distraught," She stopped, swallowing thickly. "distraught, she collapsed on the ice, praying for death, for the one person she loved most, she'd killed. She didn't hear the unsheathing of the prince's sword, but waited, willingly, for a death that never came."

She grabbed the cup, forcing herself to take a drink, to swallow the hot liquid, despite the pain caused by the lump in her throat. Despite the years that had passed, despite the new revelation that her sister was not her sister, but a troll's changeling, the pain of that day, that moment when she crouched on the frozen fjord, waiting for death still tore at her heart, for it was then that she was at her true lowest. Her gaze shifted at Hans, who had lowered his gaze in obvious shame, and she held out the cup. A moment passed, before he took it, their fingers brushing gently. With a sigh, she continued.

"The queen didn't know that the princess had made it out of the study the prince had left her in, across the fjord, and instead of going to the ice harvester, had stepped in between her sister and the prince's sword. The magic of the princess's act of sacrifice had frozen her immediately, shattering the sword and sending the prince near unconscious. When the queen realized that she had not died at the hands of the prince, she looked up, and in heartbreak, clung to her sister's frozen form. It was this act that unfroze the sister's heart. The queen, upon realizing that love was the answer, was able to end the winter, the prince was returned to his kingdom, as well as the duke, and the gates were never closed again."

He nodded. "And?"

She met his gaze. "What do you mean?"

"What happened after?"

They studied each other for several minutes before Elsa stood; Bruni rolled off her lap into the empty cup. Thankfully, Hans had been sipping from the other one. She sighed. "You don't... really want to know what happened after... it's boring, and not important and-"

"Elsa." She stopped her pacing, turning to him. "I want to know. Please?" After a moment, she nodded, returning to her place beside him. "Take your time, Els. There's no rush."

A sigh escaped her, before she grabbed the cup out of his hands and glanced at him. He nodded, and she put the cup to her lips, tilting it back to finish the last couple gulps of coffee. Bitter and strong, it slid down the back of her throat, causing her to cough in protest when she choked. Instantly, Hans was closer, rubbing her back firmly, and setting the empty cup down as he took her chin in his grasp. "Easy, Els. Slow breaths."

Finally, she was able to catch her breath, and swallowed harshly. "Thank... you..."

He nodded, gathering up the cup. "I'll go get us a couple more. I think you're going to need it." He pressed a kiss to her head as he stood, making his way to where Yelena was speaking with Honeymaren. Elsa watched him go before turning back to the flames. A shout was heard, and she looked up in time to see one of the cups go flying; Bruni, once he hit the ground, went scampering back towards her with a yip of surprise. She chuckled softly, accepting the little salamander as he scampered up her skirt, her shoulder and into her hair.

"You're okay, Bruni, but I think you scared Hans." The salamander squeaked in response before settling down among her white locks. Once her pet was settled, Elsa glanced back at where Hans was talking with Yelena, though she couldn't hear what. Quickly, she reached into the bodice of her dress, pulling out the letter. Seeing as she'd had no other place to hide it, she'd had to hide it there, and the coolness of her skin had remarkably, kept the ice of her tunic from doing any real damage to it. Slowly, she unfolded the parchment, letting her gaze move over the messy scrawl.

This is certainly a troll's handwriting. Or... a troll changeling trying to pass as a human. And for years, I simply thought it was that Anna just had horrible penmanship and refused to learn how to write properly. Suddenly, it all makes sense.

She sighed, letting her gaze once more wander over the words that had disgusted her so. And then she forced herself to keep reading, for her eyes to move further over the writing, because it was only right, that she know what the troll truly wanted-

- to hear my name on your lips as you came, to dream of your body entwined with mine, to feel your face buried within my folds, tasting me, bringing me to the brink, as I had done to you... your milky skin against mine, your cold touch sending patterns of frost over my skin. I became aroused in ways I never thought possible, in ways no man could ever arouse me, darling sister. I awoke aching and wet for you-

Elsa swallowed thickly the bile that rose within her throat at the blatant statement. It was not proper for a woman to speak of such... carnal acts that took place within the bedroom, even less proper to speak of wanting such acts to be between sisters.

But this isn't your sister, this isn't Anna. Anna's gone, most likely trapped within the Fae realm, or the Valley of the Trolls. Has been since she was a child. Remember? She released a slow breath to control the sudden bout of disgust and continued reading.

I tore through the palace in search of you, yanking open your bedroom door, only to find your room bare, your things placed in storage, no trace of you left, as I had decreed it be. It took me minutes to remember that I had outlawed any mention of your name within the castle, removed any trace of you left behind, for it was too painful to look upon your portrait every day, that beautiful coronation portrait done after the thaw, and know that I cannot have you as I wish too.

She stopped reading at the sound of footsteps getting closer, and quickly folded the letter back up, slipping it back within her bodice before looking up, and accepting the cup of coffee he held out. She took a sip as he returned to his seat beside her. They sat in silence for several minutes, before she finally asked, "Do you really want to hear the rest of the story? Won't what I've told you suffice?" His green eyes boring into hers told her otherwise, and she sighed.

"Elsa, I do want to hear the rest, but if it's took much, we can take a break, and come back to it in an hour or two." She sighed, scooting closer and curling into his chest. He stiffened, but only briefly, before slowly reaching out and resting his hand on her hip. He set his cup beside hers, and after a few minutes, slid his other arm around her waist, pulling her until she was seated in his lap, her legs stretched out beside her. A moment passed, before she shifted until she had a leg on either side of him, and met his gaze, reaching up to caress his cheek, brushing her fingers through the hair that fell over his forehead, unkempt and wild since his exile. "What?"

She shook her head, silent, her thoughts racing. And to think, I did all I could to avoid him after he first arrived, and now... now he's stolen my first kiss, my first touch... he's kissed me deeper than I could ever dream of, wraps his arms around my waist and touches me as though he were my husband, or my lover. As though we have always been together, for years and years, not a mere few weeks- if barely even that.

It was alarming to her, just how quickly and comfortably she was becoming around Hans- that they had gone from mild animosity at their first reunion after he'd been brought to the camp and regained consciousness- barely saying two words to each other, and now, they were talking near daily, touching and kissing and unable to go a moment without speaking or being in each others' presence, all in the matter of a few short weeks. Was it really weeks? Could it have been months? How long as he been with the tribe? It's all such a blur, I can't remember.

"I just... never noticed how your hair looks like captured firelight. Or how green your eyes are, like pools of emeralds." He chuckled softly, resting his forehead to hers.

"And yours are crushed sapphires. I could drown in them, and be perfectly alright with such a death." She winced, and pulled away. "Elsa?" His brow furrowed; he'd obviously said something that brought back painful memories. "Are you all right? What did I say?"

A soft sigh escaped her throat, and she met his gaze, choosing her words carefully. He could see the wheels turning in her head, and wondered what exactly she was thinking, before she gave him a quick smile and slid her arms around his neck. "Can we take a break? Would that be all right? I promise, I'll tell you everything I have the courage too, I just..." She stopped, swallowing. "I just want to spend some time not talking right now."

"Sure, not a problem, Els." He reached up, tangling a hand in her hair. "What did you have in m-" He didn't get to finish his question as her mouth quickly found his, not that he was complaining. His hold on her waist tightened, and she tightened her arms around his neck, drinking deeply from him. When finally they parted, both gasping for air, he brushed a kiss to her forehead before nuzzling his nose against hers.

She blushed. "Sorry." A soft chuckle escaped his throat, and he nuzzled her again, lips brushing against her cheek this time.

"Was I complaining?"

"No."

"Did I stop you?"

"No, but-"

He reached up, taking her face in his hands. "Elsa." She snapped her mouth shut. "I am perfectly content to kiss you as long as you wish. It doesn't bother me, and you never need ask. I actually quite enjoy kissing you. Okay?" She nodded, nudging her nose gently against his. They shared a couple more kisses, these chaste and tender. Hans slid a hand down the length of her back, causing her to shiver, and he chuckled.

"What's so funny?" She asked, shifting under his touch.

"Nothing, just... the Snow Queen gets the chills?"

"I don't get the chills." He chuckled softly at her grumbled reply, watched her blush, and slowly moved his hand back up, trailing his fingers the length of her spine, enjoying the sight of her shifting against his touch, as though trying to shake a chill away.

"Oh, you do. I'm watching you now." She glared at him, and he did it one more time, slightly firmer this time. With a grunt, she arched her back and shifted in attempt to get away from his fingers, inadvertently pressing herself against him. He instantly stopped, feeling that very feminine, private area of hers brush against him, and cleared his throat. "Um... Els."

Her blue eyes widened as she realized the position they were in, but she couldn't bring herself to move. Shock, surprise, and something he couldn't quite recognize filled her blue gaze, and she swallowed thickly. They stayed silent for several minutes, before she leaned close, closing the gap between them. They drank hungrily from each other, until a squeak caused them to part, and Elsa, still catching her breath, watched Hans' gaze move slowly upward. "What is it?"

A pair of big, curious eyes were watching him from the chaotic curls that made up Elsa's hair. He opened his mouth to speak, but the head that the eyes resided in tilted to the side; the unblinking stare unnerved him. "There's... is that... little... lizard in your hair?"

"Lizard?" Elsa pulled back, shifting away from him, and reaching up, unaware of the sigh of relief he released as they parted. A moment passed, as he watched her feel around, before her fingers finally poked the creature in question. "Bruni!" Her exacerbated cry startled the small salamander, and on instinct, it lit, but only enough to burn her finger, and Elsa pulled away. "Ouch!" She pulled away, studying her finger before sticking it between her lips and sucking gently. Hans would have spent him time telling himself that the sight of her sucking on her finger didn't arouse him if his gaze hadn't been locked on the... creature still in her hair. Once the pain in her finger had lessened to a dull ache, she removed it, sighing. "I forgot he was up there."

An eyebrow rose. "You... forgot... that there's a little lizard hiding in your hair?" He quickly shook his head. "I'm... I'm sorry, Els, but... how do you forget something like that? And what is it anyway?"

She sighed in exasperation, glaring at him, before reaching up and gently removing the little lizard. "It's easy to do when he spends the majority of his time there. He likes that my scalp is relatively cool." The creature squeaked as if in affirmation as Elsa set him into her palm. Slowly, Hans leaned close to look at it. Light blue in color, there were three diamonds patterned on its back, a small one on its head and at the base of its tale, and a larger one in the center, all a light pinkish-fuchsia. If Hans hadn't been so unnerved by its unwavering gaze and the fact that it had briefly lit Elsa's hair on fire without doing damage, he would have grinned.

It was cute, as it stood in Elsa's palm, staring up at him. In a... could-apparently-light-itself-on-fire sort of way. He'd give it that, at least. But that still didn't answer the big question he had yet to voice- "What is it? Your pet?"

Elsa chuckled softly, glancing down at the lizard. "First off, what it is, is a salamander. And I wouldn't necessarily call it my pet. It does tend to spend a lot of time with me-"

"That makes it a pet, Els."

She wrinkled her nose. "But a pet implies ownership, and I don't have ownership."

"So it's an unofficial pet?" It was her turn to stare at him with a unblinking gaze. A moment passed, before she shook her head, casting the thought aside.

"Well, since we're all here, I guess I should introduce you. I mean, you've met before, but only briefly, and even then, you didn't officially meet." Hans opened his mouth to speak but she beat him too it. "Bruni, this is Hans Westergård, former Prince of the Southern Isles."

Hans opened his mouth, and then quickly shut it again. Well, this is strange. Though I've encountered stranger.

The salamander turned to glance at Elsa before turning back to him still wearing the same look. She met his gaze, smiling softly as she spoke next, her voice gentle and full of warmth, tenderness and love; a single mother, introducing her child to the new man in her life. "Hans, this is Bruni, Third Elemental of the Enchanted Forest, and the Spirit of Fire."