Snow Games/ Winter Wonderland & Outdoor Activities

Summary: Queen Charlotte finally gets to spend some quality time with Anna, and they have a heartfelt chat on lost love. And, in an attempt to help cheer Anna up, she rallies the Westergaard men into participating in some harmless outdoor fun, but not everything goes according to plan.

"Did you know that I woke up to flowers at my bedside table this morning?" Anna asked. "They were gorgeous! It was such a lovely surprise. You wouldn't happen to know where they came from… would you?"

Queen Charlotte shook her head, but there was the briefest glimpse of a knowing smile on her face just before she answered. "Can't say I do."

Anna raised her brow. "Why don't I believe you?"

Charlotte laughed, "Because deep down, you know who it was from." She tugged the blanket tighter over her lap. "And I was sworn to secrecy, so you won't get any real answers out of me, anyway."

The two queens were lounging on large outdoor chairs outside the castle's south entrance. Servants cleaned off the furniture from the recent heavy snowfall and cleared away the stone deck overlooking the yard just beyond the steps. It was cold outside, but the women were kept warm wrapped in their cloaks, gloves, bonnets, and all snuggled under warm blankets. Agatha, Queen Charlotte's lady's maid and all-around right hand, had even brought out warm mugs of cider for them to drink. This was the first real chance since Anna arrived to spend some decent time with Charlotte. Though why the queen chose such a strange setting was beyond her. They could have easily found a quiet part of the castle to chat instead of the cold. But the sun was shining, and the breeze was light. In all, it was a lovely day, and Anna did enjoy the fresh air. Better than constantly being cooped up in the castle.

"So… what's going on?" Anna asked as Agatha refilled her mug. "I know you're up to something."

Charlotte laughed, and before she was given much chance to respond, there was the sound of the castle doors bursting open and several footsteps approaching. The Westergaard princes had all filed out and moved to stand against the short stone wall overlooking the grounds. As Anna glanced at the men's faces, she could see that a good half of them did not seem pleased about being outside.

Are they all in on it too? She wondered.

"Oh wonderful! You're all here." Charlotte briefly handed her mug to Agatha and unbundled herself from her cozy seat. "Shall we get started?"

"Not all of us are present." Tomas sighed. "Astor won't be coming."

"What? Why not?" Charlotte asked, clearly disappointed.

"Freddie needed him, last I heard." Alexei said. "Something about matters of state."

"Everything is a matter of state with that man." Charlotte sighed. "Oh, very well. We'll just have to make do without him."

"Well, if Astor could get out, then I want to go back inside." Lars complained as he shoved on his gloves. "It's freezing out here!"

"Maybe if you had some meat on your bones you wouldn't freeze to death." Derrick grumbled.

"Oh gentlemen, don't start whining." Charlotte said sternly with her hands on her hips. "No one is going back inside. It's a beautiful day, and we're all going to have some harmless fun." She turned to Anna with a smile on her face. "In honor of our lovely holiday guest, we're going to have a snowman-building-contest!"

Anna's eyes immediately went wide as excitement started to grow within. "Wait, what? Really?"

"…Really." Dirk deadpanned.

"To encourage cooperation and teamwork." Charlotte explained with emphasis. "Now go on down there and split off into teams. I think pairs would work best. The more creations to judge, the better!"

Dirk groaned loudly. "What's in it for us?"

"Yeah!" Tomas chimed in. "What does the winner get?"

"It'll be a surprise given out by Frederick."

Anna's eyed widened as she leaned over to tug on Charlotte's arm. "Really?"

Charlotte sat back down and whispered as quietly as she could. "No. I completely made that up. But don't tell them. It was hard enough just to get them all out here."

Anna tried to stiffen her giggles and straightened back up in her seat. The princes hadn't really moved or bothered to join pairs—well, the older twins, Viktor and Georg now stood a bit closer together, but they seemed like the only ones.

"There's an odd number." Anna frowned as she silently counted Westergaard heads.

"What? That can't be!" Charlotte eyed all the brothers in attendance. "I planned this perfectly—"

"Astor." Alexei reminded her and glanced to his brothers. "It's alright, Charlotte. I don't mind joining into a trio."

Anna's fingers tapped against her mug. Astor couldn't come play, but he wasn't the only Westergaard absent. "What about Hans?"

Charlotte turned to her with a mixed expression on her face. "I proposed the idea yesterday. He politely declined."

Because of his brothers…. Anna thought. He's avoiding them like the plague. She recalled the last several days and how she spent a good deal of time up in the west wing, enjoying his company. They talked, joked around, he even showed her one of his latest paintings that he was working on. He was completely at ease with her, and it made her wonder if he would reconsider coming down. Perhaps he didn't know she was out here, too. "What if I asked him?" she suggested. "I could run upstairs—"

"—Oh no. You stay here." Charlotte said and turned to her maid, "Agatha, if you wouldn't mind making the journey to the west wing? Please inform Prince Hans that the Queen of Arendelle insists on his presence outside." Agatha nodded and hurried back inside. Once she was gone, Charlotte bundled herself back up under her blanket. "And now we wait."

Anna took a long sip of her cider and smiled as she felt the warmth slide down her insides. "So… what brought all this on, anyway?"

Charlotte shot her a sympathetic smile, "I remember the fun we used to get up to during your visits to Vallacia. You held such a carefree, fun aura… quite different to every other visiting royal to grace our kingdom. I suppose I miss that side of you. I miss your smile." She said softly, "This is a difficult time, of course, and I just thought this might cheer you up some and get your mind off your troubles. At least, for a short while."

Anna reached over to place her hand over Charlotte's. "That's really sweet of you. And I love the idea!" Her smile waned a bit as she thought of Elsa. "I always loved snowmen. Elsa and I would build them as kids all the time. We had a special one, Olaf, that she brought to life. He was probably the closest friend I've ever had." She took a deep breath, "he's gone, too… the whole magic thing—" Anna took a moment to compose herself. "Anyway, I bet this should be entertaining to say the least. I didn't peg this to be something that Westergaard men do."

Charlotte laughed, "it really isn't. But I suppose this is my way of getting back at them for giving me a hard time."

"How'd you manage to get them out here? Especially the younger ones?" She was referring to Tomas, Lars, Dirk and Derrick. "They're never eager to do much of anything."

Charlotte snickered, "Are you familiar with the family concept that there's one parent that's fun and easy-going, and the other essentially puts the fear of God into their children?"

Anna thought back to her own parents. Both her mother and father hard their strict moments, as well as their times of spoiling her and Elsa—at least before the isolation. "I'm not sure if my parents fit that mold, but I can imagine such a thing."

"Well, think of me as the nice one. The fun one." Charlotte said. "Frederick is the terrifying one."

"But they're just your-well, his brothers."

"As King and Queen, we're the head of the family. It's close enough. He more or less coerced them to—"

The castle doors suddenly swung open as someone else joined the masses on the deck. It didn't take long to figure out who it was. Several of the princes suddenly seemed far more put out than they were before."

"As If this ridiculous activity couldn't get any worse." Derrick grumbled. "What's he doing here?"

"That's it. I'm out." Lars declared, but only made it two steps back to the castle before Viktor grabbed onto the back collar of his coat to keep him in place.

Anna was on the verge of shooting the complainers dirty looks but then Hans came into her view. All bundled up in his warm chocolate brown greatcoat and black gloves, he stopped at Charlotte's chair first to greet her with a simple nod-bow and kiss on the cheek. When he moved to stand before her, his display of deference was much more involved. He bowed deep at the neck and then knelt briefly before her to kiss her hand. Anna was thankful that her cheeks were already pinkened from the cold air. It made for a good cover to hide her blushes working their way out.

And besides, she didn't want to catch herself all flustered in front of his brothers. Ugh.

"Your Majesty," Hans said softly as he released her hand and straightened back up to his full height. "You summoned me?"

"Yes, Hans!" Charlotte said with a kind smile, "We were hoping you would even out the numbers for our game."

Hans didn't even bother trying to hide the disappointed look in his eyes as he sighed and glanced to the congregation of brothers. "I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you."

"But Alexei needs a partner."

"I'm sorr—"

"-Please, Hans." Anna pleaded, and she could feel her heart skip a beat when he looked back at her. Oh, how she wished his mere gaze would stop getting such a reaction out of her. "Would you do it for me? Please."

He shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "You wound me, My Lady. and here I thought we were friends."

Anna tried to reassure him with a warm smile. "We are. That hasn't changed. But I know how artistic and creative you are. I'm merely hoping you'll accept the challenge of a new medium." It felt weird to speak to him in such a formal fashion. During all the private times they spent sharing each other's company, he was simply Hans and she merely Anna. No titles. No deference. Out here among the family, she didn't want to get him in trouble for them being too lax. Her eyes locked on his, and immediately she felt a tad guilty. She knew he didn't want to be here at all, but this entire activity was designed for her own pleasure. Just once, she wanted something to go her way. And her way wanted Hans to play, too.

"Well," his shoulders slumped a bit as he bowed his head in defeat, "If that is the Queen of Arendelle's wish, I suppose I have no right to refuse." He dragged himself down the stairs to join up with Alexei—a brother who at least looked both interested in the game and delighted to have Hans as his partner.

Charlotte announced the formal rules of the contest, and then the princes all split off around the open yard so that each pair had their own space to work. Viktor and Georg paired together, then there was Alexei and Hans, Tomas and Lars, and finally Dirk and Derrick made the last team.

It took several minutes after the contest formally began for any of the men to even start digging their gloved hands into the snow. To Anna's amusement, the field was generally split down the middle; two teams participating, two dragging their feet.

"How do you think these will turn out?" Anna asked her companion.

Charlotte shrugged slightly, "to be honest, I anticipate Viktor and Georg to have the best one. When I told them all about this, they seemed the most excited. I mean, they're all grown men, and those two especially are the oldest ones out here, but they're also the most childish at heart." She smiled. "Dirk and Derrick, Tomas and Lars… I'll honestly be surprised if they come up with anything resembling a snowman." She eyed Anna carefully. The younger queen's soft gaze was on the men in the snow. She tried to trace exactly where Anna was looking and couldn't help but smile fondly. "I don't suppose I need to guess the team that's caught your eye."

It took a lot for Anna to pry her eyes away to look at Charlotte, and when she saw the knowing look the woman was giving her, she blushed. Again. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

"Anna, darling, you know that you can talk to me. You have my confidence."

Anna took a deep breath and glanced down to her hands as they stroked the edge of the blanket. "I know he wasn't supposed to see me… but I've been spending a lot of time with Hans."

"Yes, I know."

Her eyes widened as she looked back to her friend. "…how?" Her heart started thumping in her chest. She was so sure that she was being discreet—not as if anything truly terrible happened. Nothing illicit ever occurred between her and Hans. The only forbidden aspect to their company was the company itself.

Charlotte smiled to her, "This is my castle. I know everything that goes on. That and the kitchen maids found it odd that Prince Hans was suddenly consuming twice as much cocoa every time he came down to ask for it. It didn't take long to put two and two together."

"Oh." Anna bit her lip, "Frederick must be livid."

"He doesn't know. He doesn't need to know." Charlotte replied, "And should my husband find out, it won't make any difference. Hans was warned to stay away because we believed there to be bad blood between you two. You're grieving, and the last thing we wanted was for Hans to be unkind and upset you further. Since that's clearly not the case, then there's nothing to worry about."

Anna let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness. I promise though, nothing has ever happened between us. Mostly we just talk. Sometimes we play chess. I'm terrible at it and usually lose, but it passes the time and gets my mind off things." Her gaze shifted back to the yard. Hans was standing off to the side of his and Alexei's creation, trying to clump a bit of snow in his hands. She had a good view of his profile and let herself admire his handsome features. The corners of her mouth turned upwards. From what she could tell, he didn't seem terribly upset about being outside anymore. She wondered what he was thinking, and what part of the creation he was working on. "I got to see some of his paintings, too." She added after a long pause, "he has such a marvelous talent. Does he have pieces hanging all over the castle?"

"Oh no. Just in his rooms and the adjoining corridor. That's his space."

"But why not?" Anna asked. "I'm surprised he doesn't want to display them. They're marvelous!"

"I'm surprised he hasn't told you, considering the hours spent in your company." Charlotte sighed and glanced to the yard for a moment. "It's—"

"—let me guess." Anna interrupted. "Something to do with his brothers?"

"Unfortunately, most things wrong with Hans have everything to do with them—mostly his immediate older ones"

Anna's brow furrowed. "Are they the reason he's also living in a private suite on the opposite end of the castle?"

"They tried to kill him."

Anna could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes could only widen with horror as she stared hard at her friend. "Wait, what?I Why? When?"

"Upon his return from Arendelle." Charlotte said solemnly. "I can't tell you everything. Most of the abuse he's endured at their hands occurred before I married Frederick. But I remember just over a year ago, Frederick and I were taking a stroll through the grounds when we caught sight of Dirk and Derrick attacking him with swords." She paused at Anna's horrified gasp. "Hans held his own for quite a while, but Frederick ultimately stepped in once Dirk got Hans in the shoulder and it didn't appear either of them were going to stand down."

"They're brothers!" Anna whispered. Her hand moved to cover her mouth as she eyed Dirk and Derrick. They were not putting much effort into their project. Instead, they were rolling snow and staring off in Hans and Alexei's direction.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now, there's not many members of this family that are genuinely kind."

"…I have." Anna shook her head. It was no wonder Hans behaved as he did now. If members of his own family were willing to end him for what he did in Arendelle, why should he bother forgiving himself. Her own heart suddenly broke for Hans. She had no idea this had transpired. Not even Elsa desired the man dead, and he tried to kill her. What was it like for him, to have to share a roof with such terrible people? It explained why he avoided his family… why he essentially lived alone. Who would want to have to look over their shoulder at every turn to be sure someone wasn't after him with a weapon? The mere thought made her shudder.

"You'll keep that to yourself, of course." Charlotte said, "I doubt Hans would want you to know the truth."

Anna nodded. "I can see why he spends his days painting, and now I'm glad to have visited him in his solitude so much. He's been so hard on himself over what's happened between us. I wish…" she sighed, "I wish he could find a way to heal. He's helped me immensely. On my worst days, I've gone up to see him and even just sitting next to him had taken some of my pain away. It's strange. He's the last person I would have thought to desire for company. I just… I feel a warmth that I haven't felt in a long time."

Charlotte reached over to gently take Anna's hand. "I'm glad you found solace. I know what's it's like to lose a sibling. My oldest brother died years ago. We were awfully close, and his death hit me just as hard as Elsa's did for you. It took a long time to move past it. The support in someone really does make a difference. I had hoped that we would have more of a chance to connect since I had concerns that the princes and their… less than stellar behavior might make things worse. But you seem to have found your support. If Hans is helping, then I couldn't be happier."

Anna smiled briefly before returning her gaze to her prince. "He reminds me of happier times when there were no cares. No troubles. Just a pair of childish adults having the time of our lives." She squeezed Charlotte's hand. "I miss that between me and Hans. I… I loved him then. I really did. And being here, reunited with him… it's nice, but it's hard too. I desperately wish he could be the man I fell in love with. Things are different now. I understand that." Anna frowned, "We have our issues. It's like… we broke each other, and neither of us know how to fix us."

"Perhaps you just have to give it time. You're dealing with a great deal of stress right now. Take one challenge at a time, and maybe then everything will fall into place."

Anna nodded slowly, "Do you think Hans and I would ever have a real chance?"

"I think that all depends on you two, dear. If you want something strong enough, you'll do whatever it takes to make it happen."

Yeah… but that's what got him in trouble in the first place.

"I will say though," Charlotte added, "he'd wait for you. For as long as it takes."

This certainly gave Anna a lot to think about. She and Hans certainly had their share of problems, both as a pair and on their own. If there was any chance or desire to share something with him that went beyond friendship, she would have to find a way past her broken heart, her grief, and her anxiety of suddenly becoming queen. And he… he would have to finally forgive himself for his past.

But she also had to ask herself if this would be what she really wanted. Three years ago, she rushed into an arrangement with Hans because he seemed to be the immediate solution to all of her problems. In a way, Elsa had been right—it was rather foolish to accept a marriage proposal from a man she barely knew. The last thing she wanted to do now was make the same mistake. She was the queen, now. There would be no room for rash decisions without considering consequences. She didn't need to give her courtiers yet another reason to think she incapable of properly ruling.

"Ten more minutes!" Charlotte's voice called out to the princes below and pulled Anna out of her thoughts. "It looks like some of you could use a bit more motivation!"

Anna fluttered her eyes to refocus and surveyed each of the works in progress. Viktor and Georg's looked to be about finished. Georg was attempting to mold a fashionable hat out of snow while Viktor used his fingers to draw a face. Hans and Alexei's appeared in a similar state of completion. Alexei found some twigs and stones from the nearby landscaping and created arms and buttons for theirs. Tomas and Lars' at least had the height of a snowman. That was about all she could give them credit for. Dirk and Derrick's….

What is that?

"Agatha!" Charlotte called to her maid loud enough so the princes could hear. "Could you go inside and fetch the King? I'm sure he would love to become a third judge and marvel at everyone's hard work?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Before Agatha could turn back to the castle, Charlotte reached out to gently grasp the woman's arm. "If you could really just bring us another round of that delicious cider, I would appreciate it." Charlotte said with a wink, her voice much softer this time.

It didn't escape Anna's notice how as soon as Charlotte made that announcement, the two pairs bringing up the rear suddenly got to work improving, or in Dirk and Derrick's case, buildingtheir snowman.

"He's not really coming, is he?" When Charlotte shook her head, Anna couldn't resist snickering. "That was sly!"

Charlotte burst into giggles. "Wasn't it? I wish I thought of it ten minutes ago! It's amazing how far a threat of the king's presence goes."

"But… this was supposed to be a fun activity."

"It is, darling. For us!" Charlotte grinned. "Those men have been getting on my nerves lately. It's long overdue that I really get to push my authority around."

Anna smiled. "Some of them are rather rude."

"Yes, unfortunately the good ones had to be lumped in with the bad, today. But at least they're the ones enjoying themselves out there."

"What the hell was that for?!" Hans' angry voice broke the otherwise silence from the yard. Charlotte and Anna exchanged puzzled looks before unburying themselves from their blankets and heading to the short wall to take a better look.

Anna's heart immediately sank. Alexei and Hans' hard work was completely destroyed. The base of their snowman was still standing, but the center body and above were knocked away by a huge snowball with a concealed rock inside. Alexei was busy trying to reconstruct their project by himself at the last minute while Hans glared venomously at Dirk and Derrick.

Oh no… Theirs was naturally her favorite.

"Really guys? Can't you play fair for once in your lives?" Georg groaned. "That was completely uncalled for!"

"No. This is." Dirk smirked as he produced another rock-infused snowball and launched it right at the twins' project. It collided with the head and knocked the entire mass askew. Everyone watched as it slow motioned slid down the curve of the body before splatting on the ground.

"Wow." Lars uttered.

Viktor and Georg exchanged glances that quickly morphed into mischievous grins of their own.

"Well… if that's how you want to play," Viktor said as he bent down to quickly scoop a mound of snow into a decent ball, "…take this!" He launched it at Dirk as hard as he could, but the younger brother grabbed Lars' arm and dragged him into the line of fire. The snowball hit the lankiest Westergaard square in the chest and knocked him down to the ground.

"Oops…"

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!"

Anna wasn't sure exactly who yelled that, but within seconds, snow was flying everywhere. All of the princes began scattering, slipping, sliding, and flailing into the snow as they made mad attempts to take each other out. No one was left unscathed. Even the remains of everyone's snowmen were ripped apart for ammo.

The two queens exchanged both shocked and amused glances. This certainly wasn't how either of them anticipated the afternoon to play out.

When Anna looked back to the yard, she found herself only counting seven princes. Wait, where did Hans go? Her eyes searched wildly for her prince only to eventually catch sight of someone practically crawling on their stomachs behind the shrubbery. In-between plants, she caught a flash of auburn hair. It was Hans, and she kept her eyes on him as he maneuvered a safe path to the back stairwell of the deck. He hugged the wall of the castle as he climbed up the steps. His once crisp and clean brown coat were now completely covered in the front with clumps of snow. The powder was even in his hair. After a quick stomping of his boots, he approached Anna with an annoyed frown on his face.

"I'll get back at you for this, Your Majesty."

Anna winced. "I'm sorry!" She whispered quickly to him and would have tried to help brush some of the snow out of his hair, but he latched onto her hand instead. His eyes never left hers as his head lowered to place a kiss against the back of her hand. She could feel her cheeks reddening, and her eyes widened when he appeared to wink at her. It all happened so fast. She was released, and Hans immediately retreated back inside before any of his brothers could spot him.

Perhaps he's not so angry after all. I'll go visit him later… and accept whatever he's going to do to me. Probably hit me with a snowball he's got hidden in his pocket. Or he'll have Sitron run me over at the soonest opportunity….

"Get Derrick!"

Anna's gaze quickly went back to see everyone trying to take shots at the youngest Westergaard left. He was making a run for some of the trees. He barely managed to touch the nearest tree trunk when his back got pelted all at once.

"…Do you think we should stop them?" Anna asked, then couldn't help but chuckle at Charlotte's amused smile.

"Oh no. Granted, this is not how I envisioned the afternoon to go, but it's certainly better than I expected!"

The castle doors opened once more, and Agatha returned with fresh cider. "My heavens!" She exclaimed. "What happened to the snowmen?"

"The contest was abandoned for a more preferrable activity." Charlotte said, "This works quite well. Let them tire themselves out and now we'll all be rewarded with a calm dinner tonight. Oh, won't Frederick be upset to have missed this."

"Shall I fetch him, Milady?"

Charlotte thought it over. "Please do! And Astor as well. I'm sure they could use a good laugh."

The queens moved their chairs closer for a better view, then resettled with their blankets and cider. "Cheers!" They giggled and tapped their mugs together.

Anna clutched the mug to her chest as she let the cider delight her senses. Charlotte certainly had the right idea.

A fun afternoon indeed.