Kristoff

Out in the practice yard, the familiar sound of clashing metal echoed throughout the castle grounds. Two men in leather padding were sparring, their blows heavy and fast, but it was clear that the larger blonde man had the advantage. With a few quick strokes, he disarmed his opponent and struck him in the chest, staggering him, then swept the blade under his legs and sent the man flying onto his back.

Alan sat up and pulled his helmet off. "Damn, did you really have to hit that hard?" Kristoff laughed and offered a hand. As he pulled him to his feet, Kristoff said, "Maybe if you weren't so fast, I wouldn't have to swing so hard to hit you."

"That's a fair point. Again?"

Kristoff muttered an affirmative and settled into a crouch, his eyes wide and alert, darting around for something to give him an advantage. Just as he had decided his opening move, he was distracted by a faint scream, coming from the castle. WHAM!

In his distraction, he had completely failed to notice Alan swing, and his practice sword caught Kristoff just below the temple. As Alan moved to press his advantage, Kristoff stumbled back, calling an end to the contest.

"Aw, come on, I didn't hit you that har-" Alan began, but he faltered when he saw the concern and worry on Kristoff's face. "What is it, my Lord?" With an impatient shake of the head, Kristoff strained to hear. It was faint, but it was definitely Anna's voice coming from the open doors: "Get AWAY from me, you BASTARD!" Oh god. Another attack.

Cursing, Kristoff tore off his pads and sprinted towards the castle, Alan close on his heels. Bursting through the main doors, Kristoff let out a wordless roar of anger at the sight of Prince Hans (that bastard) trying to restrain Anna- his Anna- at the end of the entrance hall. Where did he even come from? How did he get here? All thought of weapons forgotten, he charged at Hans, crashing into him, hard, and knocking him to the floor. Anna was pushed back against a wall, and seemed unharmed, but very shaken, angry red marks on her arms where Hans had been trying to restrain her. As Kristoff advanced on the Prince with murderous intent, Hans called out "Peace, peace! I'm here in peace!"

Strange of you to say that. After what you did last time... As Kristoff bent down to rip him limb from limb, he found a wall of ice growing fast, blocking his path. Surprised, he turned to see Elsa running down the hall, hand outstretched, screaming at him to stop. When Kristoff had all but decided to disobey the Queen and kill him anyway, he noticed that Hans looked different. The set of his eyes was closer together, his nose was larger, he was a little shorter... As Kristoff tried to process this development, Elsa skidded to a stop beside him.

"Do not harm this man!" she cried. "This is not Prince Hans!" As she said those words, Prince Hans melted away and was replaced with a very different man. This man bore a striking resemblance to Hans, with the same red hair and green eyes, wearing dress whites, but now, it was clear to see that it was not Hans. Kristoff's embarrassment at attacking a stranger was quickly replaced by anger once more, as this man was clearly one of Hans' many brothers. He had assumed that the visitors from the Southern Isles would just be ambassadors, not a brother to the murderous bastard that had almost killed his future wife and sister-in-law. He became aware that Queen Elsa was still speaking.

"...sincerest apologies, Prince Heins. This is a most unfortunate mistake of mine, I fear, I quite forgot to announce just exactly who the Southern Isles' ambassador is. Prince Heins, allow me to formally introduce you to Prince Kristoff,-" Kristoff nodded, irritation clear on his face"- the weapon's master's apprentice, Alan,-" no nod this time "- and of course, my sister, Princess Anna." Anna had straightened up and was advancing on the Prince, carried by her anger. "Why did you lay your filthy hands on me if you came in peace? Can you tell me that?" As Elsa started to intervene, the Prince cut her off.

"My lady, I offer my most humble apologies. I simply sought to get a chance to explain myself. I know that I do look rather like my brother. I do not hold your anger against you. What my brother did is the most vile thing I can imagine- taking advantage of a young girl and promising her his heart, only to manipulate her feelings and shatter everything she holds dear. I do not hold your anger against you- but I would humbly ask you to remember that I am not my brother. I became ambassador three years ago, hoping to eventually set right what my brother did to you, your sister, and your kingdom. But I cannot do that if you cannot look past my brother and see me for who I am."

Anna blinked, taken by surprise at his eloquence and understanding. For a moment, the surprise was again replaced by anger, then her face softened. "I appreciate that, Prince Heins. Of course, I know that you and your brother are as different as Elsa and I- more so in your case, it is true. I offer my apologies as well, but please understand that it is difficult for me to look past your brother- but I give you my word I will try."

"That is all I can ask of you, My Lady," Heins replied. After a few moments, the silence was broken by an awkward giggle.

"Oh, I'm sorry", Anna said. "I'm just not used to speaking so formally. Please, just call me Anna. 'My Lady' is so stiff and formal, I won't have it!"

"As you wish, My Lad- Anna."

"Look, Heins. I know you're not your brother. Just- please give me some space to work that out on my own, okay?"

"That's perfectly fine, Anna. I understand". Anna flashed Heins a grateful, if somewhat guarded, smile, and turned to her sister. "So…" Elsa had already turned and begun to speak to Heins It dawned on Kristoff that not once had Anna looked at him, thanked him for saving her from whom they both thought was Hans, or acknowledged him in any way. Great. She's already scared of me from the… incident in the woods, and I'm sure me charging in just now really calmed her down. Nice going, fool. Why couldn't Anna understand? He didn't want to be like this. Why couldn't she see that he was doing it all for her? He decided to take a stand, here and now, in front of company so she would have no choice but to talk to him.

"Anna, I was wondering if you would talk to me in the dining hall for a moment?" For the briefest second, there was terror in her eyes, but the moment passed and she said, "Yeah, sure," and followed him through the doorway. Kristoff walked through and closed the door. Anna had her back to him.

"Anna, will you please turn around?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I-I don't want to…" Her voice shook as she spoke. Kristoff realized she was beginning to cry.

"Anna…" She said something he couldn't hear. "What?"

She was silent for a moment. Then, "Do you enjoy it?"

"What?" Kristoff was stunned. How could she ask such a question?

"I said…. do you enjoy it?"

"I- I don't know what you mean-" She rounded on him, furious now.

"DO YOU ENJOY IT WHEN YOU KILL?"

"Anna, how could you even say-"

"You killed four men. Four! Four men who will never go home again, never see their wives again, never see their children again. You killed them! And that last one… he was surrendering! He was already defeated! You didn't have to kill him!"

"They would have killed you! Do you realize that?" Anna had no reply. "And if I show mercy, it will encourage others to try. I want everyone to know that harming you is the last and worst mistake they will ever make, so no one will dare try! Anna, you have to understand, I took no joy in taking their lives. I was just keeping yours safe."

"Kristoff-" Anna began, but Kristoff cut her off.

"No, Anna. I watched you die once. I will never go through that again. I will never allow that to happen again. I was too slow once. Never again."

Anna was quiet for a moment. "I love you more than anything else in this entire world. But Kristoff- this is changing you. And I don't know if I can continue on with someone who is so eager to kill."

"Anna-"

"Stop. Now. I don't care if I die, as long as you are there with me. But this isn't you."

"Yes it is, Anna. I do what I do to keep you safe. And even though Elsa can take care of herself, I do it for her too. I saw you sacrifice yourself for her once. If once, why not again? I hope I never have to kill again. But I will gladly kill a thousand men to keep you safe."

More silence. Kristoff waited for a response. When the silence was becoming unbearable, Anna whispered: "If the price of my safety is your soul, I don't want your love. I can't be with you anymore." She broke down sobbing and ran past Kristoff into the hall, leaving him stunned and heartbroken. Anna… no.