Chapter Nine: The Letter
Anna got up the next morning with thoughts still focused on Hans' peculiar reaction and the possible reasons for it. The idea of Hans being in love with Elsa may seem unlikely, but then again, her sister was magical and that magic was something Anna never fully grasped. Elsa can control ice and snow, but her powers were more than that. She can give life to supposedly non-living creations like Olaf and Marshmallow and even Elsa herself could not explain how she can do so. She can create things out of ice from nothing, but could not control the existing natural weather. She can turn fabrics into ice dresses, and yet somehow return them back to cotton and wool if she wants to revert her dress back into its original state. However, those were just the obvious aspects of her powers. Anna believed there was a more subtle power that Elsa yielded that she was not even conscious she possessed:
Elsa had a power over men.
It was there every time Elsa walked into a room. All men's eyes would fall on her and Anna noticed how their gazes would trail from her face to her body and would remain there. It didn't take long for them to start vying for her attention. Anna used to think men reacted that way because Elsa was queen. However, during Elsa's own engagement party when she was surrounded by kings and queens from the various neighboring states, men still looked at her that way and none of the other women who had equal rank with her received the same reception.
When Anna thought about it, Elsa always seemed to have that ethereal aura about her that draws people in and makes men in particular, shower her with favors. Even her own dear Papa seemed susceptible to Elsa's charm. Anna remembered in their early childhood several instances when he caught them doing something naughty like stealing chocolate cookies before dinner. He would immediately be stern at Anna, but Elsa would simply put herself between them, smile at him, say some clever excuse she made up on the spot and he would let them go free with a pat on the head. One time he even ended up bringing the entire cookie jar for her. It may simply be just Elsa's natural allure, but Anna was beginning to suspect there was an aspect of the supernatural to it.
What if her powers really do extend to enchanting a man from afar, even one she has never even seen? Hans' poem seems to suggest he was possessed by an unknown force. What if he really was?
Anna realized the only way to know was to ask him. However, she was unsure how to approach him after his angry outburst yesterday. She was considering her options on what to do next while she breakfasted with her co-nurses, when a piece of folded paper was slid in front of her.
"One of the patients sent this for you Anna," Marie, her friend who worked the night shift, said. It was she who handed her the note. "A Colonel Jorgenbjorgen from room 409."
The other nurses at the table immediately stopped their chatter and looked in her direction. By now, all the nurses who lived in the dormitory with her were aware she regularly visited a specific handsome patient in room 409 before and after her shifts. Except for Fria, who she trusted among all her friends to be discreet, Anna did not disclose her history with Hans with anyone as she didn't want to deal with explaining the entire sordid story to them on how she was duped into agreeing to marry a man she met on the same day. Anna may like most of the nurses she lived with but she was aware a lot of them tended to gossip. As a princess, she was conscious of the fact, she was the subject of most of the gossip that went on in the hospital. People were intrigued by her and they were even more curious of her relationship with Hans.
"Oh is it a love letter?" one of the younger girls named Sophie teased. She was one of the more shameless blabbermouths around. Anna suspected the girl was even a bit jealous of her and harbored a mean streak that barely showed on the surface of her childish bubbly countenance. "He must have fallen hard for you, Anna."
"I hope he doesn't get too disappointed when you tell him you're married," Sophie's friend Margaux added which was met with teasing giggles from the other girls.
Anna could definitely feel the mean vibe coming off Margaux and she resisted the urge to glare. Instead she laughed with them.
"It's not like that at all," she said. "He knows I'm married. He's well..." she paused, unsure of how much she wanted to reveal. Admitting to them he was her ex-fiance would open the gates to a flood of questions she wasn't sure she wanted to answer.
"He's what?" Margaux challenged as the other girls stared at her in anticipation.
"Errr... my cousin," she blurted. Technically that wasn't really a lie. Hans was most likely related to her by blood at some point in their family history as he did point out his family had intermarried with hers for quite some time.
"So he's royalty?" exclaimed Sophie excitedly.
Darn it! I should have said he was just a passing acquaintance!
"Errr... very, very distant relation. He doesn't even have a title," Anna said and hoped that would be the end of it. Hans did lose his title after all.
"He's still looks like Prince Charming to me," said the dreamy-eyed Sophie. "I used to give him his medicines but he said just looking at my face is medicine enough."
Anna couldn't stop herself from glowering at the girl. So she's the naive nurse Hans hoodwinked into disobeying doctor's orders. Can't exactly blame her as I didn't shove his meds down his throat either when I found out he wasn't taking them.
"Is he a bachelor?" Margaux asked and all the other girls looked eagerly to her.
Anna rolled her eyes at them. "Yes."
A dozen smiles answered her.
"Yes, and I have it on good authority he prefers to keep his bachelorhood much longer. He's not exactly prone to commit to a marriage," Anna grumbled. Unless he's marrying into a crown.
"Maybe he hasn't found the right girl yet," Sophie bemused.
Anna heaved a sigh. How do I warn them about Hans without revealing too much?
"Look, I know he seems charming, but he's... he's a player. So please just be careful around him."
She can tell the girls had more questions for her so she quickly excused herself and headed out of the building. It was only when she was completely alone that she opened his letter. His handwriting was neat and elegant with not a single splotch of ink or a wrong punctuation mark. It reminded her of Elsa's perfectly crafted letters.
Dear Anna,
I can't tell you how sorry I am for the way I acted last night. I was out of line and you didn't deserve my anger. What happened with us in Arendelle is something I deeply regret. I wish I could do it all over again and make it right but I can't and that eats me up every single day. I still can't come to terms with it and talking about it is difficult for me.
If you never come to see me again I will understand. I want to thank you for these days that you've cared for me. I've never had anyone do that for me before. You may not believe it, but I will cherish these moments with you.
I wish you, your sister and the rest of your family all the happiness in the world.
Sincerely,
Hans
It wasn't a letter she expected and it touched her greatly that Hans apologized without asking for anything and he even expressed gratitude to her.
Throw a little love their way and you'll bring out their best. Mama Bulda is right. Maybe there's hope for Hans yet.
She hurried to the hospital and went straight to room 409. She strode right in without ceremony.
"Hans, I forgi—"
She stopped as she saw his bed was empty. The sheets were stripped off the mattress and set aside to be taken to the laundry. Her heart pounded with dread.
No! He can't be dead! He can't! Not now! He was getting better!
Four other patients occupied the room but all were unconscious so it was no use trying to get information from them. She ran out into the hall but it was early enough that there was no nurse on duty stationed outside. She met with two of the cleaning servants but both knew nothing of Hans.
She raced down three flights of stairs with the intent of checking the tally sheet in the front lobby. If he was dead, it would have been recorded and posted almost immediately. The hospital clerks were that efficient.
She was running the halls at top speed when her peripheral vision caught a familiar shade of red in one of the rooms she passed.
Hans! Hope surged into her heart. She meant to halt but her momentum was still propelling her forward even as she craned her neck to the right to confirm if it was him. He's still alive! He's still—"Oooomphh!"
The sudden impact with something large and white caught her by surprise and suddenly she was falling backwards into the floor and was being buried alive by what seemed like a ton of heavy sheets. She flailed her arms and legs for several moments but all she accomplished was to get entangled even more into the endless web of white sheets smelling strongly of borax.
At least they're clean, she thought. But how do I get out of this?
"Anna?" a familiar voice called out. In a moment she felt someone's hand gently grab at her arm and pull her out from under the tangle of linens. "Are you alright?"
Anna felt the beginning of a blush warm her cheeks as she realized she had just collided into a cart full of bed sheets and ended up in an undignified heap in front of half a dozen staff and patients. Hans was among them and it was he who fished her out of the mess she made. Two other nurses (she assumed they were the ones bringing the sheets that she rammed headfirst into) were being pulled out of a similar tangle by three other patients.
She slowly realized there was a growing crowd of witnesses to her embarrassing mishap. Apparently, she had caused quite a racket loud enough that the other patients and nursing staff from the nearby wards began to peer out to see what was going on. To her horror, it included Sophie, Margaux and their group of gossips who had just walked into the hall to start their shifts. The eager gleam in their eyes told Anna that the hot topic at the lunch line today will be all about the princess of disaster who caused a ruckus with the sheets.
Okay this is awkward..." she blurted to no one in particular.
"I know but you're gorgeous when you're awkward," Hans said loud enough for everyone to hear. It earned him several gasps from the female nurses and a few good natured chuckles from the patients.
Anna was mortified. Is he trying to embarrass me as payback for my chamberpot antics?
Hans however, merely offered his arm to her and uttered in suave tones: "It's not everyday I get the privilege of rescuing a fair maiden from a sea of sheets. Let me help you put that back right. Did I ever tell you I adore a woman with linen folding skills?"
He made to start picking up the tangled sheets and the group of nurses nearly tripped over themselves in their haste to help him. Apparently, they were all eager to show off their linen folding skills.
Anna suddenly realized no one was paying attention to her anymore as Hans effectively diverted their interest. He flashed each nurse with a charming smile that reduced them to a bunch of giggling idiots while they continued to work on refolding the sheets. Anna scowled at him as he seemed to be enjoying the adulation too much. He met her gaze and his expression quickly turned somber. He gestured with a nod for them to meet in a corner away from the now dispersing crowd of onlookers. She followed his lead and met him in a few minutes in an empty part of the corridor away from prying eyes.
"I hope you got my letter, I'm really sorry," he said with genuine contrition. "I didn't mean to offend. In fact, I really owe you—"
"Shush!" she cut him off. "I thought you were dead! You weren't in your bed."
"I was transferred this morning to the recovery ward," he explained.
That's when Anna realized he was barefoot and slightly shivering. She realized he ran to her the moment he heard of the collision. He may have been assigned to the recovery ward but he shouldn't be out of bed yet on this cold winter morning where it was easy to catch another deadly chill.
"Ok we can talk later once you are back in bed."
She offered her arm and he took it gratefully. They slowly walked back to his room. They passed Sophie who looked like she wanted to offer herself as support to his other arm.
"I can handle him," Anna said curtly.
Sophie looked rather offended for a split-second before she beamed back into a sickly sweet smile. "I'm sure your COUSIN wouldn't mind the extra help," she said.
Anna's breath hitched as she realized Sophie just attempted to verify the truth about their relationship. She waited for Hans to react in the negative that would expose her little white lie but instead he merely flashed Sophie one of his charming grins.
"It's okay Miss Sophie, cousin Anna can get me back to bed for now. But I hope you won't be too busy for lunch. I need my daily dose of your smile."
The girl beamed like Christmas came early.
"Ahhh... and there it is... that smile. Best medicine in the morning. I will see you later," he said as he winked at her. If she was a snowman Anna bet she would have turned into a puddle by now. However, she couldn't help but wonder if maybe Hans did feel something for Sophie. Maybe I should back off for now and let her spend this time with him. Perhaps he prefers her company but he feels too guilty about yesterday to tell me to scram.
"Let's go before she catches on," Hans whispered to her.
Or maybe not.
Anna picked up their pace. It was only when they were out of earshot that she spoke to him.
"Thanks for the... uhhmmm... cover," she said sheepishly.
"Cover?" he asked with a puzzled expression.
"I can explain the cousin bit."
"No need to, I know. We're second degree cousins, once removed," he said.
"We're what?" It was Anna's turn to look puzzled.
Hans gave her an annoying grin of triumph. "Oh this just priceless! You don't actually know we're cousins, do you? But you told her anyway that I was. Why did you?"
Anna realized she was caught in the lie. "I didn't want her asking questions so I just figured I could say we're related just to shut her up. Hey, you should be thanking me for keeping it mum. News gets around fast in this place. Would you rather I tell everyone what our real relationship was and how it went sour because you tried to chop my sister's head off?"
His grin disappeared. "You're right, it's less complicated that way. I'm sorry."
Anna shrugged. "Besides, I figured you liked her. Hey, I'm not one to ruin your chances by blackening your reputation. Just don't... don't hurt her okay?"
"I'm not really..." he began somberly but it was enough for Anna to catch his meaning and it fired up her temper.
"You insensitive pig! You don't care for her one bit, do you?"
"I like her well enough..." he said half-heartedly.
"Just not enough!" Anna snapped. "If you don't care for her, don't act like you do. You think you can toy with other people's feelings and just leave it like that? If you're so blind by your ego that you haven't figured it out, let me spell it out for you: People's feelings get hurt when you do that and it's not okay!"
"Why do you even care?" he asked with a sardonic laugh. "She's not your friend, is she?"
Anna hesitated to answer. She couldn't really say she and Sophie were friends. They were civil enough but they weren't close and she suspected Sophie didn't like her very much. But she wasn't going to admit that to Hans.
"Uhhhmmm... she is a friend... sort of."
"Sort of?" he scoffed. "Meaning you're not. And believe me, if you haven't realized it yet, she's not your friend the way she talks about you."
She wasn't surprised Sophie talked about her. The girl was a chatterbox after all. But that didn't give Hans a right to use her as his plaything either.
"It doesn't matter whether or not she's my friend. She's a human being with feelings. You hurt her or any of the other girls here and you deal with me!" She shook her fist up to remind him the last time he crossed with her.
Hans pulled back with alarm. "Okay, okay I'm sorry. I'll stop leading her on."
"Be sure you do," she threatened.
They reached his assigned room and she helped him back into bed and tucked him in with extra thick blankets. There were five other patients that shared the room with him and each needed some tending as well. Anna took her time checking each one, deliberately delaying the inevitable moment of speaking to Hans. He said nothing but silently waited for her. She was aware he was observing how she interacted with the other patients and that made her a bit self-conscious. Finally, when there were no more tasks left for her to do she sided up to him.
"You're good at this," he said.
"At what?" she asked.
"Caring for people," he said in a manner that suggested he was quite impressed.
"It's my duty."
"No, it's more than that. It's your passion." He paused for a moment as if he was trying to decide what to say. "You're different. It's... crazy."
"I'm crazy?!" she cried indignantly. He's the murderous scumbag and he dares to call me crazy?
"Yes, you're crazy. For being here when you don't have to. For choosing to care for people even when they don't deserve it. It's so..."
"Idiotic?" she asked, expecting that was what he was thinking.
He shook his head and replied somberly. "Brave."
"Oh."
"You have a bravery unlike anyone I've known."
She felt an unexpected surge of warmth at his praise. "Well, I'm not anyone," she muttered shyly.
"No, you're not," he agreed. "You're just you. You heart doesn't work like the rest of us and you make the world better for it."
Anna knew she was blushing and she didn't really know what to say. The silence stretched on awkwardly between them until she decided to end it by changing the topic.
"So... you're really my cousin. Exactly how are you my cousin?"
He seemed eager to get into the subject change for he answered immediately. "Your father's grandmother and my father's mother are sisters. We share a pair of great grandparents. They have a minor dukedom in Prussia."
"Wow! I never knew that. I mean, I should. Papa used to point out the names of all our relatives but I can't remember all of them." She vividly recalled all those long hours of reading the narratives about the names of old kings and queens of Arendelle and all their important courtiers. She would forget each one as soon as she closed the book as they didn't seem to strike her as anything but a succession of boring names.
"That's just the closest link we have. I've traced our family trees and I found we have at least fourteen direct common ancestors all the way back to the thirteenth century. I found twenty-seven more indirect links to us if I add the ties through marriage and another forty-eight if I consider the ties through my father's wives. He had six, by the way, so the spread was quite wide."
Anna was astounded. "We have that many relations?"
Hans chortled good-naturedly. "Don't be surprised. Technically, if you consider it, we're related to every single ruling monarch in Europe. Except maybe for Emperor Bonaparte... that is if you don't consider his marriage to the princess of Austria who happens to be our great aunt."
Anna shook her head to clear the rather disturbing thought that the current Emperor that got them into this pickle of a war was her nephew.
"Do you spend your days just tracing your relations all across Europe?" she asked. He seemed to have made an enormous effort to come up with actual figures.
"No, just the ones related to your sister."
Anna mouth fell open in surprise at that revelation. "So you traced how you were related to Elsa? Why?"
Hans' brow furrowed in the way that told her he regretted sharing that information with her. He bit his lip self-consciously then slowly faced her.
"I guess I just wanted to get as much information on her as I could. I did plan to marry her even if I've never met her. I figured it could be a good way to start a conversation with someone you barely know. A game of 'name your common ancestor' seemed like a good way to break the ice." He chuckled forcefully, which gave him away that there was more to what he was revealing.
Anna eyed him carefully. "Hans, just be honest with me."
She noticed him swallow hard, an indication he was uneasy where this conversation was going. She decided she needed to thread carefully. She didn't want to set him off like the last time.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to. If you feel I'm being unreasonably nosy here just say so. I won't take offense."
"Okay?" he mumbled uneasily as if he was bracing himself.
"Are you… or were you… in love with Elsa?"
"I beg your pardon?" The look of bewilderment that crossed his face clued her that was one question he was not expecting but she pressed on.
"Are you in love with my sister? Or maybe you felt some kind of strange obsession with her even before you saw her on her coronation. Like something magical is forcing you to think of her endlessly and you can't get away from it until you marry her?"
Hans continued to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Uhhhmmm… no, I don't think so."
"Do you feel like you're cursed to be drawn to her?" Anna she tried a different tactic. "Are you feeling like you were wrapped in a spell and you can't stop thinking of her and it's killing you inside."
Hans rubbed his chin, the look of bewilderment on his face only seemed to grow even more. "No! Okay, Anna, what exactly are you trying to tell me here?"
"I was thinking Elsa might have… not deliberately of course… sort of maybe… magically attracted you from afar?" she muttered pathetically.
"Is that a thing about Elsa's powers?" he asked skeptically.
"Not that I know of," Anna replied.
"Then why would you think that she's has the capability of seducing me magically?"
"You said so in your poem to her!" she exclaimed as if it was obvious.
Hans rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean any of that about her."
"Wait—what?" cried indignantly. Did he just admit the poem was all a lie?
Hans shook his head and he looked gravely at her. "You asked me to be honest, so I will be. I wrote that to impress her and maybe get her to respond, but she never inspired those feelings of longing from me."
"So she was just a means to get a throne, nothing else?" Anna didn't even know why she was asking that. She had known all along Hans had courted both her and her sister for selfish reasons. And yet something about Anna just refused to believe that the poem she had spent years sighing over can be inspired by nothing more than cold ambition.
Hans didn't respond and Anna decided there was her answer.
"Thank you for being honest," Anna muttered under her breath. She needed to get away from him. "I should go, let you rest."
She stood up and walked slowly to the door.
"Anna, wait! Please."
She turned back to him but didn't have much hope of comfort. He's probably just going to try to soften it for me by providing justification for his actions.
She returned to his bedside but he didn't speak for several moments. "What?" she asked impatiently.
He looked like he was struggling to form the words. "The poem wasn't about Elsa. The one that caught me in a spell wasn't your sister."
"Then who?" Anna asked.
"It's not who, it's what." He stared at her steadily. "It's what Elsa has."
She sat on the edge of his bed. "I don't understand."
He heaved a sigh. "It's easier if I just show you something." He pointed at the small trunk at the foot of his bed. "I need you to get something for me from there. It's the small bag inside my coat."
Anna got up from the bed and went to the standard trunk where she knew the personal belongings of the patients that occupied each bed were placed. Inside, she found a few pieces of clothes, including the outer coat of his uniform. She felt for the inside pocket and found a small draw string bag. She handed it to him and he slowly took out a small worn notebook that appeared to have little pockets inside. He drew out a piece of folded yellowing paper and handed it to her.
"This holds the answer to your question," he said.
"What's this?"
"A letter to my mother. It's the only one I kept with me during the war. I've kept it always close to me for years."
"What's so important about this?" Anna asked.
He gave her a sad smile. "It's the letter that told me since I was a boy what should have been… what could have been mine. Read it and you'll understand. Come back to me when you're done and we can talk about it."
Anna nodded and understood she should read this without him present and in private.
She walked out of the room and found a quiet area of the corridor where she could be alone. She felt a strange tingle of fear course through her as she carefully unfolded the letter.
My dearest Johanna,
You know I love no other but you…
Anna dropped the letter as she placed a hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp of shock.
The words were written in what was unmistakably her beloved Papa's hand.
Author's Note: Historically, the royal families of Norway, Denmark and Sweden have always been related by blood and marriage. Arendelle, as popular theory suggests, is in Norway and the Southern Isles is in Denmark. At the time of the Napoleonic wars Norway and Denmark was one state. I imagined in this story that Arendelle and the Southern Isles are small independent states from Denmark-Norway but since the pool of royal families is quite small shouldn't Anna's and Hans' families be similarly related? So I came up with the idea that they are second degree cousins through their paternal grandmothers. Marrying your cousin was not frowned upon as incest in the 19th century. It's socially acceptable to do so at that time, especially if you're royalty and you're expected to marry someone of equal rank.
A lot of authors in the Frozen fandom have come up with the idea of Hans being enchanted which explains his sudden turn-around at the end of the movie. However, I didn't want to go in a similar path. I wanted to explore the concept of Hans being culpable of his actions and motivated by something else from his past that ties him to the Arendelle sisters. Anna, as a romantic, would immediately think that Hans was simply in love with Elsa and this was his motive for pursuing her. However, she is about to learn that the reality of his motivations is something more painfully tragic.