Ch 2 : A Surprise Reunion
Hannah stood paralyzed staring at the broad scene in front of her. She bit down on her bottom lip and clenched her fists to stop herself from shaking so much. She didn't know if she was shaking from the cold or pure adrenaline.
After a fifteen minute trek out of the woodland area, She had reached the highest point of a hill that overlooked the gorgeous city: Arendelle. The sun had begun to rise higher in the sky, Casting a beautiful morning light on the snow covered town. She spotted store clerks opening their doors and people rushing around the docks as the city came alive.
A single tear slid down her face, but she didn't notice. Everything. This was everything. Hannah dropped to her knees suddenly with a surprised gasp. It was so much to take in all at once.
"Hey, you alright kid?" Asked a deep yet gentle voice.
Hannah's head shot up to look at the source of the sudden break in silence. A large man sat in his single horse drawn sled, leaning one arm on the side of it, and casually holding the reign with the other. He looked to be about forty or so and his hair was beginning to gray at the ends.
Hannah looked down at her slightly shaking hands, embarrassment washing over her.
"Uh...uh huh, oh yeah I'm fine th-thanks." She stuttered awkwardly in reply.
She flashed a nervous smile, but the man wasn't convinced.
"Are ya sure, ya seem troubled? I can give you a lift to town if you need. There's plenty of room in my sled." He offered as kindly as he could. He didn't want to scare the poor girl, her face was already as white as the snow.
Hannah stood up shakily to walk closer to the brown wooden sleigh.
"Well, if it's not too much trouble, I might just take you up on that. I was going to head down there myself today."
She took his outstretched hand and climbed into the sled. Taking the seat next to him, they were on their way soon enough.
"The name's Benji, what do they call ya?" Benji asked, shooting a glance at the girl shifting uncomfortably beside him.
"I'm Hannah." She said making quick eye contact, then looking away a bit too frantically. She wasn't adept at social interactions. Sensing her discomfort, Benji sat in silence for most of the ride, until reaching the outskirts of Arendelle.
"Thank you so much for the ride sir. I'm sorry, I have no way to pay you for your trouble." Hannah said biting down on her lip once more.
"Quite alright, quite alright darlin, it was my pleasure." And with that, Benji whipped the horse's back swiftly with the reigns and started off toward the docks.
Hannah looked all around her in awe. The hand painted wooden buildings looked so much taller up close. Her mind simply could not process what she was seeing; blues and whites, reds and greens. Every vibrant color on the spectrum jumped out at her from the bakery to the docks to the firewood that lay stacked on the cobblestone. But the best thing there was to see, was the crown jewel of the city: the castle.
Every dream was coming true in this moment.
Hannah spotted the small groups of people heading toward the palace. The gates must be opening soon.
All of a sudden her eyes focused on someone. A girl, who appeared to be a little older than herself with curly brown hair was practically sprinting toward the gates. But, this wasn't just any girl. Hannah knew who it was the second she saw her.
"JJ-Jess?" Hannah said in disbelief. It was none other than her friend Jess, who she had been continents away from just hours ago. Her eyes were wide open and she found herself starting to run after her.
"Jess! Jess, hey! Hey!" Hannah called after her trying to catch Jess's attention. "Jess it's me Hannah, you know from America!" She got a few looks from the surrounding people.
A trip to America from here would take weeks, maybe months by boat, not to mention her high pitched yelling and elaborate arm waving.
Finally Jess heard some commotion happening behind her. She had thought not even wild horses could keep her from bursting through those gates into the courtyard, where she would most likely pounce on either Anna or Elsa.
Although, the yelling behind her caught her curiosity. She turned around and made eye contact with a girl, now almost at arms length from her.
"Jess!" Said the tall girl, wide eyed and out of breath.
"HANNAH?! Oh my god!" Jess screamed doing a complete 180 and bolting towards Hannah engulfing her in a mountain sized hug.
Hannah Hugged back just as hard. Not only was it it their first time meeting in real person, but right smack dab in the center of Arendelle!
"Oh my god Jess, oh my god! I literally can't, I'm FREAKING OUT!" Hannah said into Jess's shoulder, a sob threatening to erupt out of her, as well as laughter.
She could feel a whole range of emotions swirling inside her and it could not be silenced. After awhile, they finally disconnected themselves from each other.
"I can't BELIEVE this happened to us- I mean it must be meant to be to have met here!" Jess gushed jumping a little with excitement.
Hannah just stood smiling like an idiot. She wanted to say a million things all at the same time, but once again, she managed to say absolutely nothing.
Just then, the pair heard the creak of the ginormous gates swinging into motion. People started to migrate towards the now appearing courtyard. Hannah's heart skipped a beat. The gates were open now.