Elsa had a migraine coming on. She had come close- so, so close.
But nothing in this world, or any other, was ever going to get Anna and Hans to abide one another- especially when she was involved. It was a cat and dog fight that would never end.
Oh, they pretended to like one another, smiled, and did everything they thought to win her favor, but secretly, they were fighting all-out war.
It was the little things. Small, almost ephemeral little attacks on one another; shutting the door a bit too quickly, stepping on the edge of the other's foot, and a dozen subtle insults whispered between teeth.
"Why Anna, it's so nice to see a girl with your appetite! Most ladies in polite society eat smaller portions. And they tend not to inhale them."
"Why thank you Hans. I'm not surprised to find you paying more attention to a lady's gluttony, than that of men."
"A real lady would already know."
"Oh, Hans, you're so full of," She wrinkled her nose as if detecting a foul odor, "insight."
"Never underestimate my," He cracked his knuckle, "potent amount of insight."
"And all this time I've been overestimating you!" She shook her head, "Man is my face red."
"No, that's your hair. I'm surprised you never learned the difference," He smiled warmly.
"What can I say? All of me looks good. Unlike some people who only have good looks."
"Well at least there's no possible way you could be overestimating yourself," Came his sarcastic reply.
"Okay! Anna!" Elsa interrupted, "Why don't you tell me about the meeting,"
"It was pointless and boring," Her eyes narrowed on her male opponent, "Like someone I know."
"A real lady would be able to glean more than that, right, my queen?" Hans leaned forward, trying to steal away the conversation.
"A real man doesn't interrupt a lady," Elsa said, trying to be gentle, but spending what felt like eternity cooped up with the two of them…
"I'll keep my eyes open and tell you when a real man shows up," Anna said sweetly, putting her hand over her sister's, "Until then, let's go over our list of our least favorite people. As always, I am starting with my ex…"
"My queen," Hans said, kissing her other hand, "I am sure that I can give you my insight on the matter. I am after all," He twitched a bit, "Full of it."
The two stared at each other. The tension was palpable.
"You know what the best thing about you Hans?"
"There's so many choices…" He smirked.
"You don't even know," Anna tried to make it sound sweet, but she looked like she was suppressing the urge to throw up, "I guess that's the point. I could ask you to name one good quality you have, just one, and you can't even do that."
"You'll never know," He said, menacingly, "The best parts of me, ever."
She gave a wry grin, "I've seen the worst."
Eyes dead, he answered her without any venom, "No, you haven't."
They kept it up, both too proud to bow to the other, or snap and lose their prize. It was not terribly surprising. Both of them wanted Elsa, and both of them wanted the other out of the way. It was, in a way, the queen's duplicity brought to life.
Hans was her lover. She could deal with that in the privacy of her own bedroom, or tease the thought in a room full of duplicitous councilors. Either way, he was an important part of her life. She would admit to respecting him, and perhaps liking him occasionally. But loving him was simply unthinkable. It would crush Anna if that were to happen.
Speaking of her sister, Anna was the other half of the dilemma. Whereas publically Hans was a benefit to keep around, and privately a scandal, Anna was the complete opposite. She loved her sister, and would do anything to keep her relationship with her. But publically Elsa simply lacked the political power to have her sister exonerated. Not only had she murdered a fellow royal (her fiancée no less) but she had done so in front of his brother Hans, and his fanboys at the International Consortium.
But she cared for them both.
Hans was strict, direct, and honest. He had a deep sense of honor and commitment. If she had been keeping a better eye on him when he first came to Arrendelle, she could have seen those qualities in him.
Anna was his opposite; fun, loopy, and loving. Her qualities made her special to Elsa, almost as necessary as Hans. Without her, life wouldn't be worth living.
And the irony was, if they got along, there wouldn't be a problem. Hans was her jailer. And as such, Anna was only allowed out of her cell when at his leisure. (A fact he reminded his queen of often.) Whenever Elsa felt the desire to go for a walk with her sister, share a meal, or doing anything away from that dreadful dungeon, Hans was the only person with the authority to excuse her.
This lunch was more than a lunch. If Hans could forgive Anna, and Anna could come to terms with Hans… just maybe the three of them stood a chance. But instead they were both fighting over her like a toy.
Elsa rose, and they quieted down.
"I'm coming down with a headache. I need to go to my room."
Both stood.
"Alone."
They both sat down. Elsa left, alone, angry and tired, feeling stupid for trying to unite the people closest to her.