A/N: This is the official fic compilation to my prompt collection for 2020's "Hansanna for the Holidays" tumblr event. It is a post-sequel AU that includes ideas from Frozen II's deleted scenes, as well as some of my own personal ideas of how the film could/should have ended.

Full Summary: The mist has been lifted. Arendelle has been saved, but everything couldn't have gone more wrong. Weeks of dealing with the aftermath of the Enchanted Forest have taken their toll on Arendelle's new queen. In order to escape what would become a very difficult holiday season, Anna travels to the Southern Isles on Queen Charlotte's invitation. But the visit takes more of an emotional toll when she's unexpectedly reunited with Prince Hans, and she finds herself more conflicted than ever before.

Three Years and a Horse Bump Later/ The Meet-Again-Cute

Anna of Arendelle always enjoyed Christmastime. There was a sense of charm to the holiday and the season in general, and not just because of her magical sister. Even in the years growing up apart from Elsa, King Agnarr and Queen Iduna always found a way to bring so much joy and excitement to Christmas. For her own part, she made sure Elsa had something to look forward to. Olaf was their pride and joy, and he was the subject of sisterly gift-giving for thirteen years.

Naturally, after the gates reopened, she and Elsa had even more to look forward to. Their first Christmas together brought forth some tough challenges, but also some wonderful new traditions. The simple return of the Yule Bell for the kingdom of Arendelle turned into a kingdom-wide venture to the forest where everyone got to take part in ice skating, caroling, hot chocolate, dancing and even decorating a massive magical Christmas tree. It was a fun, fantastic new way of bonding with not only Elsa, but with Kristoff, Olaf and Sven as their relationships grew over the years. They all became her new family, and she found herself in a special kind of high that she never thought she could possibly lose.

Until this year.

The autumn months brought forth so many challenges for Anna. A venturing into a northern enchanted forest destroyed everything that she considered wonderful and safe. Kristoff, her best friend and long-time suitor forcibly broke down and admitted a terrible truth to her—that aside from his feelings towards her, everything about his life—no, their life at the castle made him absolutely miserable, and that all he desired more than anything, more than her, was to escape back to the mountains with his reindeer. If that emotional blow wasn't hard enough, she had also lost Elsa—gone off on her own personal mission only to ultimately sacrifice herself to save all of Arendelle. With Elsa gone, Olaf had flurried away with no magic left to maintain him any longer. Of the five of them to enter the forest, only three went home, but in reality, she returned alone.

Thrust into a new position without warning did nothing to help the situation. Kingdom stress did nothing to ease her grief or the pressure brought on by taking on the crown.

'Long live the Queen', they say…. Anna had sighed to herself on so many occasions. I used to be the queen of tripping over her own feet. Of breaking things. Of rambling on. Of awkwardness and impatience. Of tardiness. Of impulsive behavior. Now I'm the Queen of all of Arendelle. Of the people. Of courtiers with little confidence. No spares. No friends. No consort. No support.

Just me.

God save the Queen. Heaven knows she's gonna need it.

Once December hit, the Arendelle castle never felt colder. Emptier. Lonelier. She may have gained a confidant in Lieutenant-now-General Mattias, her father's former bodyguard and a man who she freed from the confines of the Enchanted Forest, but even his ear and wisdom didn't fill the gaping holes left in her heart.

That's why this year, Anna decided that she couldn't stay in Arendelle for the holiday. It would be far too painful. In the many letters of condolences sent from all over the realm, one stood out further than the others. Representing the Southern Isles and their royal family, Queen Charlotte had been one of the first to send correspondence and offered for Anna to travel to the islands for Christmas. The two women had been friends since the Arendelle gates opened years prior and Anna didn't hesitate to jump at the opportunity to see a new land, get her mind off of her troubles, and maybe even learn some new cultural traditions to boot.

The Yule Bell rang at noon, and by sundown the following night, Anna was on a ship headed for the southern waters.

It didn't even dawn on her until hours before docking what staying in the Southern Isles would really mean. The Westergaard family was a large, intimidating clan—with the exception of their queen… and maybe even a princess or two, depending on how many of the princes had married. If any.

Several days of her visit had come and gone, and she concluded that the Southern Isles was not quite what she expected it to be. It was a lot colder than she anticipated, and not just in temperature. Several of the royal princes were rather unkind. Being a queen, they of course treated her with respect, or at least, enough to scrape the bottom barrel of regal deference. But to each other? There was so much antagonistic behavior that she couldn't fathom how the family unit functioned at all. King Frederick, the eldest brother, managed to rein them all under control when he was around, but she could tell that Queen Charlotte was quite worn down with dealing with some of their behavior. There were some good ones, though. Viktor and Georg, the older set of twins, seemed to enjoy harmless pranks, but even they knew when enough was enough, and when to act mature. They even managed to get quite a few hearty laughs out of her. Astor and Alexei, the Royal Ambassador and Naval Admiral respectively, were the most composed and mature out of the whole clan. But the youngest four in attendance: Tomas, Lars, Dirk and Derrick… they alone could give ruin to the entire family if given the chance.

Not that they really needed to. Someone already claimed that prize three years prior. The youngest Westergaard, and the one clearly not anywhere to be found.

Hans.

She was assured by Frederick that she would not be seeing Hans at all during her stay. There were no explanations of where he was or what he was doing. In a way, she felt better off not knowing. She really didn't care to see him anyway. With the current state of affairs, her life couldn't really get any lower. The last thing she needed was a reminder of more loss.

It was bad enough that just being around the Westergaard family showed her that while this unit was clearly dysfunctional, deep down they still had each other for support. It only further reminded her that she was alone. For the most part, she had a handle on her emotions and didn't let the feelings overwhelm her. On this particular morning, only a week before Christmas, the loss really hit her hard. With the knowledge that she would be spending the evening attending a concert in the city with the entire Westergaard family, she decided to spend the first half of her day alone to air some of her grievances privately and get it out of her system.

It had snowed the night before, and she was surprised to see how much had accumulated on the ground when she glanced out her window. The sight of it brought forth a sense of warmth, a sense of home. For a brief moment, she was back in Arendelle among the wooded grounds beyond the main city where everyone gathered for the first evening Christmas celebration. She felt compelled to walk through the freshly packed snow, and properly dressed for the outdoors.

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Your Majesty?" General Mattias had asked as he escorted her towards the castle's southern entrance. "I can keep you company if you wish."

As the snow crunched underneath her new boots, she turned to look over her shoulder. Mattias was still standing at the top of the steps with his hands clasped behind his back. His offer was politely declined. This was only going to be a private walk, she told herself. Something that simple, she could easily handle on her own.

She hoped.

Another glance behind her later showed Mattias had ventured back inside the warm castle. Now left to her thoughts, she ventured further off the path and tucked her hands up under her cloak. It didn't take long for all of the pain she was suppressing to start bubbling to the surface. How she would manage to maintain any sense of composure later was beyond her. Still, she wiped some stray tears with her sleeve and kept walking.

"—'tron, come back here. Where are you going?!"

She barely heard a voice shouting in the distance as she trudged her way through the snow. It wasn't until she saw something advancing fast in her peripherals that she stopped walking. It was too late, though. Before she could even react, a large mass crashed right into her. Anna stumbled her way through the snow before ultimately falling flat on her back.

"H-hey!" She cried out at her chilly impact on the ground. When she tried to sit up, she was met with a lemon horse nuzzling its face right into hers. There was something strangely familiar about this horse, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"What on earth has gotten into you, Sitron?" The voice from before was much louder now as the sound of snow crunching under quickened footsteps approached. "I'm so so sorry, Miss." The man apologized profusely as he dragged the animal off of her. "Are you hurt? I certainly hope not. I swear he's never done this to anyone before—"

He kept rambling one apology after another in rapid succession, but she had stopped listening. She knew that voice. It was one that used to haunt her dreams for well over a year.

Hans?

Once the horse no longer obstructed her view, she tried her hardest to suppress her gasp. It was as if she was taken back three years to that fateful morning at the docks. He looked exactly as she remembered: auburn hair, the sloped nose, the freckled cheeks, the sideburns…. Still absolutely gorgeous. He donned a much warmer, chocolate brown greatcoat today versus the lighter grey one he wore in Arendelle, and he had thick black gloves over his hands, but overall, he was exactly the same. He had yet to actually lay eyes on her, so she took the opportunity to really observe him. From what she could tell from his profile, the three years hadn't really taken a toll on him.

She got a better view of his horse as well, and instantly she got a sense of deja vu. Getting knocked off her feet was how she and Hans first met, and Sitron was now the culprit both times. She was starting to doubt whether the first instance was really an accident or the horse's doing.

"I suppose I wasn't looking where I was going…" she said. "But I'm fine." The words were out of her mouth before she even registered saying them. What was she thinking? Those were the same things she blabbered to him the first time. It wasn't her intention to make this awful moment even more awkward, but as usual she was succeeding.

"Oh, thank goodness." There was immense relief in his voice. "Again, I'm terribly so—" His voice immediately cut off when his eyes finally left his steed and landed on hers. They widened like saucers as they fixated on her face for far longer than either of them would consider comfortable or appropriate. "A-Anna?"

The way he stared at her made her heart ache. Sure, there was the immediate shock—clearly, he wasn't expecting to run into her. But there was something else, too. Wonder and awe, just like their first meet. She thought herself such a normal, ordinary girl then, and while she had dreams of meeting a handsome stranger tall and fair, she didn't quite expect to crash into him so soon into the day. Yet there he was, standing over her in a rickety row boat, completely captivated by her. He even stumbled over his own name. It was cute and absolutely adorable. Those eyes, that memory of Hans, seemed to be staring at her now.

"H-Hi." She said shyly and tucked a loosened strand of her copper locks behind her ear. The one corner of his mouth slowly started to curve upwards as his eyes scanned over her face, taking in every detail, every freckle peppering her cheeks. Eventually, they locked back onto her own eyes. It seemed her presence rendered him speechless all over again. Three years gone by, and a similarly chanced meeting still produced the same results. She couldn't see why. Surely he knew that she had been staying in his home for the last several days. Was her appearance really that shocking?

Suddenly his head shook quickly, snapping him out of his daze. He reached down to gently take her arms and pull her to her feet. "A-Are you sure you're alright?" His tone had drastically changed from when he first arrived at her side. He was far more cautious now. This was the Hans she was expecting to see, should she have encountered him. The Hans that was not only handsome and charming, but dangerous and conniving, too. Or at least, was dangerous. Was conniving. It's been years. Perhaps he learned his lesson. He didn't seem like the same man who donned the face of a heartless killer or of a cruel emotional manipulator. He looked… broken. And if she didn't know better, almost fearful for being in her presence. Perhaps he thought Elsa would just pop out from behind a tree and freeze him to death. Maybe that's why he was conveniently absent throughout her visit.

Well… if it had been Elsa… yeesh. What a nightmare that would be for him. But Elsa's gone. It's just me. It was always, and will always be… just me.

"I'm ok, really." Anna tried to reassure him, and once he let go of her arms, she tried to brush the snow from her pleated skirts. "Um, are you?"

"I think I will be, once the shock wears off." He offered a polite bow of the head. "P-princess Anna. It's… it's good to see you again."

Anna bit her lip. "It's um… it's Queen Anna, actually. That's… that's a thing that happened."

"Queen?" It took Hans a moment to fully register what that meant. When the weight of it sunk in, his eyes immediately widened and he dropped to one knee in a deep bow. "Y-Your Majesty!" Sitron, who had moved to stand right behind his master, also dropped to a respectful bow as well. His head had roughly bumped into Hans just as the prince was in the process of standing back up. Hans was forced to stumble forward to catch his footing, but his boot also slipped in the snow. Down he went, and since Anna tried to catch his fall, she ended up getting pushed back down into the snow as well.

"O-oh!" She gasped once her back hit the cold powder again and she glanced up to Hans. He had landed more-or-less on top of her. His arms braced around both sides of her head, and luckily he was somewhat propped on his knees or else he'd smother her completely. Her face was completely flushed now at their proximity. It was all an accident, of course, but it still sent a different chill coursing through her. Why was everything happening as it did before?

"Hi-again." She managed to get out and tried not to cry at the ridiculousness of it all. Oh, if only she could be privy to what was going through his mind right now?

"Ann-er-Your Majesty-" he stumbled over his formalities as he quickly got off of her and helped her once more to her feet. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen. And I apologize once again for my horse-"

"Hans!" She quickly waved her hands out to silence him. "Please. It's okay. You don't have to apologize any more. Really. I'm not upset."

"But…" he quickly shot Sitron a dirty look before softening his gaze to her again. "...there's so much I have to atone for."

She shook her head slightly. It was only a matter of time before one of them brought up their dirty laundry. She understood the reasoning, of course. Naturally, he would want to apologize for his misdeeds in Arendelle. But that was in the past. Right now, she didn't want to dwell on it.

"I'm sorry-" he said again before she could even get a word in, "-not just about us- I mean for you. If you're Arendelle's Queen… I suppose Queen Elsa is-"

"-yes." Anna replied softly and quickly averted her eyes.

He sighed with a drooping of his shoulders and extended his hand towards her. It stopped just inches from her hand, as if he wasn't sure if he should even try an act of consolation. In the end, he braved placing his hand gently on her forearm but kept his gaze on her face to gauge her expressions. "I'm sorry. Really, I am. Despite what happened between us back then… what I almost…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. "I know how much she meant to you. I think I might be the only person in this castle who truly does. And for that, I offer my sincerest condolences. You deserve to hear it from someone who actually cares."

Anna bit her lip and tried to hold back a set of tears that were forcing themselves to the surface. A former version of herself wouldn't want his pities. His sympathies. She would want nothing to do with him whatsoever, and after their tumble in the snow, she'd probably slap him for good measure and storm back to the castle with a ruined disposition that would last long after Christmas would end.

But… that version of herself died long ago; it withered at her and Kristoff's break-up. It officially died along with Elsa. She was forced to pick up the pieces of her broken heart alone, and reevaluate a lot of herself in the process.

Standing here, hearing his heartfelt consolation really meant something. He was right. While Hans didn't know Elsa very well in person, he learned a lot about the elder sister through her. Anna talked a great deal the night of the coronation about her and Elsa, their bond as children; and then there was the matter of the frozen summer in the first place… an unfortunate after-effect of a sisterly spat. And it wasn't as if Hans really needed words alone to understand how important Elsa was. Anna's own actions to go off on some impulsive quest to bring Elsa home, and even her ultimate decision to jump into the path of death just to save her spoke volumes in itself. All of that took place in a span of days. With an extra three years under their belts, it was natural for him to assume how much their bond as sisters would have grown.

And how much such a tragic loss would hurt.

"Thank you." She replied softly. There was an awkward silence between them again. He was gazing at her once more, though this time he seemed more awestruck than surprised. She wasn't sure what had captivated him so. She was still the same ol' Anna. Sure, there was her title change, but it wasn't as if she stood before him dripping in diamonds and jewels. "Um, why are you staring? Is there something wrong?"

"N-no." Hans immediately shook his head. "I'm sorry. It's just…" he shrugged as he struggled to come up with the right words. "I've never seen you with your hair down before. It's beautiful."

Her hands instinctively went up to run through her long locks. "Y...you think so?" He nodded, and she fought her hardest not to let heat rise to her cheeks. She had to keep a level head. "Well…I should warn you that flattering me won't get you anywhere-"

"It wasn't flattery, Ann-Your Majesty-" he corrected himself, "It was merely the truth. You were beautiful to me then, and even more so now." His eyes softened as he tried to smile. "The last few years have been kind to you in that regard."

She eyed him carefully. "You don't seem to have changed much."

"I have." He replied. "It's just something I doubt you would believe if I told you." Hans cleared his throat and reached behind him to grab hold of Sitron's reins. "Well. I suppose I'll take my leave. I'm sure you'd rather spend your time in anyone's company but mine." He bowed once more from the neck. "Take care, Your Majesty. I'm... glad I got to see you again."

She watched him start to tug his horse down the path back towards the castle, and before she could stop herself, she blurted out a 'wait!' He immediately stopped and turned around towards her with a puzzled look on his face as she crunched through the snow to reach him. "Where are you going?"

"My chambers… once I get Sitron back to his stall."

She frowned. "Is that where you've been hiding all this time? Why haven't I gotten a glimpse of you until now?"

He nodded. "Frederick told me to stay out of the Queen of Arendelle's way. I had assumed you were your sister, not that it really mattered in the end. I planned on staying in my rooms anyway." His cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink, and she wasn't sure if it was from the cold or embarrassment. "You see… you weren't the only person I've been avoiding."

"Oh?"

"...if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not get into it. At least not right now."

Anna shook head slightly. "O-Okay, then." She subtly bit her lip as her mind raced to come up with something to say. For whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to watch him leave. "I don't suppose you'd be coming to the concert tonight then?"

"No. I'm not going."

"Why not?" She asked and stepped over to Sitron to rub under his chin. The horse seemed to enjoy it and leaned to rub his face into her hands.

Hans' head tilted curiously to the side. "There's the delicate matter of staying out of your way. But even if you weren't here… the family's going. That's reason enough to stay in."

Her eyes widened a bit in surprise. "So... what? You don't go out anywhere then?"

He shook his head. "Not if they're there."

There was more that he clearly wasn't telling her, but she didn't want to pry. Yet. "Doesn't that get rather lonely? Hiding away in your rooms all day and night?"

"Believe me, I'd rather spend my days alone after what I went through coming home."

Anna swallowed. She wasn't privy to his punishments, but she had her own personal experiences to go from. Up until this point, she could say with certainty that the three years between losing her parents and Elsa's coronation were the absolute worst in her life. She had no one, and it felt as if she were a ghost in her own home. Castle courtiers were busy preparing Elsa for her role as queen, and she was left behind to her own devices.

Her mind flashed back to their night during the Coronation ball, when they bonded over their shared periods of loneliness; how he said some of his brothers ignored him for a few years. Now that she's met the clan, she could see where that resentment came from. And she could also picture which brothers were the ones giving Hans a hard time growing up.

"You've met them." He said suddenly, as if reading her thoughts. "My brothers. Surely you can understand why I want nothing to do with them."

"Some of them are jerks…" She admitted. "But are they really worth isolating yourself for the rest of your life?"

"It's what I deserve."

When he made to leave again, she reached out and grabbed his arm. "Please don't say that. No one…" she paused, and tried to keep her composure. "No one deserves to be alone. Nobody wants to be alone. Not even you."

"You don't really believe that."

"Yes, I do." She insisted with a trembling voice. "I know more about loneliness than you could ever imagine. My sister is dead. My most promising courtship ended in a disaster. And my best friend in the entire world literally faded away in my own arms." She felt a few tears slide down her cheeks, and before she could bring her arm up to wipe them away, Hans had patted down his coat and pulled out a handkerchief from one of the pockets. "I would give anything in the world to have what you-"."

"-You don't want my life, Anna-."

"-You have a family!" She cried out, snatching the cloth from him to dab her eyes. "For better or worse, you have people to fall back on! Brothers to support you! I know at least one of them would actually listen to you, so don't go and give me that nonsense. Who do I have left? A bunch of old men who will remind me to no end how I need to find a husband and marry sooner rather than later for the sake and future of the crown; how much better Elsa was at being a queen; how I'm doing everything wrong! That's not what I imagined! That's not what I want."

"What do you want then?"

"Happiness! I want my life back!" Anna exclaimed and threw the handkerchief into the snow in grief. "I want to be loved! I want someone to love!" She trembled and hugged her arms close to her chest. "I can't live like this anymore."

She remembered the last time she uttered those pleading words. It was to Elsa at the thought of her life returning to the mundane day-to-day; a sister on the other side of a locked door; an empty castle; a sense of entrapment with locked gates. On that day more than ever, she sought out people. Friendship. Companionship. Even love.

A chill went down her spine as she realized she was right back to where she started. If she erased the last three years of her life, there wouldn't have been much that changed. Yes, she would be the queen now versus Elsa, and there was no sister hiding in the castle, but what difference did it make between a physically and emotionally absent sister and not having one at all? No family, no friends. Just a young naive girl not at all prepared for what life would throw her way.

Before she could even register what was happening, she found herself being pulled to him. His arms wrapped around her tightly as she pressed her face into his chest. Her hands slid up to clutch the outer lapels of his coat as she quietly sobbed into him. This was definitely not part of her plan. Sher came out here to air her grievances to the snow and the trees. To get a grip on her emotions and not appear weak in front of any of the Westergaards. Instead, she not only crashed into the one prince that shared an uncomfortable history with her, but she ended up breaking down and leaving herself completely vulnerable to him all over again, so soon after reuniting. He probably pegged her for being hysterical now.

"Oh Anna…" he whispered softly as his hands rubbed up and down her back. "Please don't do this. Don't cry…"

"Why not?" Her muffled voice broke through her sobs. She could feel the weight of his head resting on hers.

"You're supposed to be the strong one." Hans said softly. "Brave. Determined. Fearless. I can't bear to see you so broken like this. Like… like me."

"...who broke you?"

"You did."

Confused, Anna blinked and pulled back slightly to glance up at his face. She expected him to name off at least one of his brothers. But her? She didn't break people. She loved people. There was a big difference. "I don't understand…" she said as she quickly wiped her wet cheeks dry with her sleeve.

"You punched me in the face." He clarified with the faintest hint of a smile on his lips. "It was a while before my nose felt like normal again." At her brief attempt at a chuckle, he removed his arms from her and bent down to retrieve the cloth from the snow. He wrung it about in his hands as he chose his next words carefully. "You know… I was always so sure about what I wanted in life. And then I crashed into you and everything changed." He sighed, "You were the best thing to ever happen to me, and my selfishness just got in the way. I've been regretting every terrible decision I made back then for the last three years. I learned what love was through you, and because I carelessly tossed you aside, it's something I'll never experience ever again. That's… that's why I lock myself away in my room. Yes, I'm avoiding my brothers, but I'm also owning up to what I've done. I don't want to risk the chance of meeting someone new. It would be a terrible dishonor to you. And… I don't think any other girl in this entire realm could ever replace what you were to me."

She was rendered speechless. "I… Hans…"

"Look, you don't have to say anything. To be honest, I don't expect you to understand." He said dejectedly, "I always hoped that our reunion would be on much better terms. It really does break what's left of my heart knowing how much you're hurting like this."

She turned away and opted to give some more affection to Sitron. "I thought coming here would help. You know… being around people. I'm friends with Queen Charlotte. But even she's been so busy with the holidays and the kingdom, and most of your brothers are off doing their own things. This almost feels like I'm back home. Quiet castle, me just roaming the empty halls. I didn't expect the loneliness to follow me wherever I went." She wiped her eyes again. "It's unnerving."

"I can't speak for what will happen when you return home, but while you're here, you're not alone. Should all else fail, you'll always have me." He reached out to gently take her hand in his. "I'll never shut you out."

"...do you really mean that?" Anna asked, glancing briefly at their joined hands. "That's what you said the last time, too. Things… things aren't what they used to be."

"I know." Hans replied. "As much as I'd dream of you loving me again, I know it's impossible, and I won't force anything on you. I'll gladly settle for being your friend."

She forced a smile at the thought. He seemed sincere enough, and she couldn't help but feel a new wave of nostalgia at the offer. There was a sense of coming full circle. For the second time now, Hans seemed to be a sort of savior. Before, he appeared out of nowhere when her heart was full of hope and let her believe any, even all of her dreams could come true. He was her beacon of light in a very dark world and she clung to him for all it was worth. Now that she found herself in a new dark chapter, he offered a glimmering escape and a strange chance of rekindling some of what was lost so long ago. What were the odds that the very man she hoped to avoid would become her greatest reprieve?

And maybe… just maybe… spending time with Hans would help him heal, too.

"I'd like that." She said softly as she looked into his eyes. They lit up at her response, and for a brief moment, it looked like a tremendous weight was suddenly lifted from his shoulders. Even Sitron looked pleased at their exchange and whinnied as he gently shook his mane. "I suppose I should let you go now. It's getting late, and I'll have to prepare for the concert soon."

Hans nodded. "And I should get this troublemaker back to the stables before he tries to run over any other beautiful women."

Anna stepped aside so he could pass. "Do… do you think it was fate that made us meet like this?"

"If fate's other name is 'Sitron', then yes." He said in a teasing tone. "I think he likes you. It's two strikes now that he's knocked me on top of you. It's becoming a bit of a problem."

She felt her cheeks redden. "What happens at strike three?"

"Then I'll have to marry you."

Her blush immediately deepened as her eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"I'm kidding." He chuckled, though there was something in his eyes, his facial expression, that made her doubt if he really was joking or not. Especially considering his next move was to take her hand and lay a tender kiss to the back of hers. "Good bye, Your Majesty."

"A-Anna." She said softly as his eyes locked onto hers. "Please. It's just me."

"Just you…" he echoed with the slightly shaking of his head. "Until we meet again." He released her and tugged Sitron back onto the path in the other direction..

She watched them with a fond smile forming across her face. "We will, won't we?" She called after him. "See each other, I mean? You won't hide away forever? No locked doors?"

He half turned to smile at her over his shoulder, "Oh I'll be tucked away, but should you need me, you'll find me. You'll always find me. For you, darling, the door will always be open."

As Anna crunched through the snow back to the castle, she couldn't help but feel a strange warmth in her- something that she hadn't felt in a long time. She didn't know what to call it, but she knew that this wouldn't be the only time she would feel it during her stay. If Hans was the cause, then she would have to seek him out.

She would look forward to it.