Angel in the Snow, Demon in the Shadows 4: Strike for Love and Strike for Fear
(A/N: So finally got this story written up and can start posting it. The story prior to this, 'Three Days', can be found under the M category for one or two chapter's having older teen/adult level subject matter. Now, this story is where Hans and Elsa's relationship begins to really evolve in these little suitor games. Not entirely happy with this story up until near the end, which has a good bit for Helsa shippers. There's a lot of time skips in this story in the meantime, though, which I feel kills the flow a bit, but I might be wrong; and as I'm editing it, I might be able to smooth the whole thing up a bit so it flows better anyway, so here's hoping. References in the following letters to a love interest of Olaf's comes from the rumors that in Frozen 2 Olaf might get a love interest. Might happen, might not, but we'll see. It's been brought to my attention that there is a distinct lack of genuine tragedy in this series, but for those of you who are waiting to see something like that, I can guarantee you the next half of the series [after I get through the six stories of the first half, though one or two things will happen in this half] will have a lot more of that kind of thing. Even some character deaths, more likely than not. However, that isn't until later on. For now...)
Questions of Courtship
Elsa,
I write you for no particular reason this time. Only for the sole purpose I feel the need to. There is no news to report, no proposals to pass on. It simply seems strange, now, to not receive letters from you or write them. Empty, in an odd sort of way.
Since Weselton pulled from this war, it seems the two of us have felt like there is no need to contact one another further. I almost do not expect this letter to be replied to, to be entirely truthful, but it is my hope you see fit to answer.
How are you faring, Your Majesty? What is the news on Anna and Kristoff's pending engagement, and what of Olaf's little lady friend? I trust they are all well. I haven't heard anything to imply otherwise.
It feels empty, on these seas. With no pirate to worry about, and a temporary lull of battle in progress, it's rather dull. I like it, though. It gives one time to think, and grants me hours upon hours of time to write.
Sincerely,
Hans
…
Hans,
I have missed receiving letters from you, Your Grace. I too have found it strange, our lull in correspondence.
I fare well, thank you. As does everyone else. Olaf and his love are together. I am reluctant to say mated, as they are not animals, but also cannot say they married, as snow people do not exactly marry. In terms you and I can associate with, they are with one another for better or worse.
Anna and Kristoff's pending engagement is taking its toll. They are both becoming restless. I fear there may be scandal, if something is not done soon. I wish it were easier to smooth over all the issues that prevent them from wedding. Otherwise, however, they are as strong and in love as ever before.
You say you have found time to write. Will you send them to me, the stories you pen? I like to read them. They are beautiful and unique in their own ways, and the depth and symbolism found in them is unlike anything I have ever known before. I know I have only read two, your drafts of both The Little Mermaid and The Shadow, but I find myself enraptured in your prose.
Sincerely,
Elsa
…
Elsa,
It pleases me to hear Olaf and his love are well off. I cannot think of the term to use either, to be honest. Perhaps snow groom and snow bride will have to do, or some other such thing. I wish them well.
I can understand your fear. The temptation in such situations as that can be great, but I trust Kristoff to be honorable in the matter. I am not as well acquainted with him as you and Anna, perhaps, but what I have gleaned in the time I have spent with him is that he is a man of upstanding character. He would not scandalize the throne of Arendelle. However, I agree it is a matter of concern.
If you fear for them, Elsa, send them to the Southern Isles or the trolls. Kristoff may be honorable, but who is to say he will be entirely honest? Away from your land, they might dare elope on the shores of my own, or in the Valley of the Living Rock. Any of my brothers would happily send them to the chapel and have the priest give a ceremony. The rock trolls also would marry them gladly, and you would not have to fear scandal then. At that point, you could take all the time needed to make it official in the eyes of your own people.
I will send you all I write, your majesty, if you are truly so interested in my tales and books. I am flattered that you seem to like them so well. I confess I am not entirely happy with them myself, but then I suppose no sort of writer or artist or musician or composer is ever completely satisfied with his work.
Sincerely,
Hans
…
Hans,
Do you ever wonder why we do not begin our letters to one another with 'Dear'? It seems so cold and unfeeling not to. Impolite and aloof. Is it that we find it too intimate? Is it that we fear to grant each other that boon? Perhaps it doesn't matter, but it is a thought.
Thank you for your offer to allow them to elope. I will consider giving them the opportunity to take that chance, if only to ensure my sister is not hurt and scandal does not ensue. There is talk already. Anna tends to be too improper in public. I need to speak to her about displays of affection in town, and wandering off with him when no chaperone is present.
I suppose it is true, that no artist truly knows the power or craft of his or her own work. If that is the case it will do little good to tell you this, but your stories are wonderful, as deep and unique as you are. They will last throughout the ages, I think. Long after you and I are both dead, generations of children and adults both will still honor them. I look forward to receiving your latest works.
Sincerely,
Elsa
…
Dear Elsa,
If it pleases you, I will begin all my letters with 'Dear' from this one forth. It would be my honor, to be granted that undeserved allowance. Given all I had done in the past, I could hardly have imagined you would fancy such a greeting line from me.
I send you, with this letter, my story entitled The Little Match Girl. I must warn, however, that it is not a story that ends happily. Perhaps my next shall be, to make up for this one. I know you prefer happy endings. Any feedback you can offer would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Hans
…
Dear Hans,
I would like this very much. As to that past, please, let us stop looking back on it now. Let us move forward. Perhaps you will forever live with the knowledge of the sins of your past, but that is just what it is. The past. Do not let it forever define you for who you are now.
I have read the story. Admittedly, it very nearly brought me to tears. It was a wonderful tale. I may prefer happy endings, and I wish you would write more of them, but then again the emotion you pen into the pages of those with tragic or bittersweet finishes strikes you to the core. Of course, even those stories you write with happy endings can strike you to the core. Never stop.
Sincerely,
Elsa
Frozen
Elsa folded the letter with a soft smile on her lips, then rose to give it to Kai to have delivered. She found her servant in the hallway. He saw her coming and paused, smiling at her. "Good day, Kai. I have a letter for you to send away. Have this ready to be delivered to Prince Hans within the hour, please," Elsa said in greeting, handing it to him.
"Yes, your majesty," Kai answered, taking it and looking it over as was his custom. He always looked over the letters Elsa and Hans sent one another to be sure nothing became too threatening or intimate, and to be sure nothing revealed too much. He read over this one and frowned slightly. "Queen Elsa, if I may be so bold?" he asked as she was heading away.
"What is it?" Elsa asked, looking back.
"Forgive me my asking this, my lady, but I feel I must, for the sake of my peace of mind," Kai said.
"It's alright, Kai. Just tell me," Elsa said, smiling reassuringly at him.
"My lady, are you and the prince… Is he courting you, Queen Elsa?" Kai asked.
Elsa's smile fled, becoming a look of surprise. She blinked. "Excuse me?" she finally asked.
"Have you and the prince started up a courtship?" Kai questioned again, slightly bolder this time.
"Have we…? Surely the letters aren't that intimate," Elsa said, visibly disturbed and thrown off at the thought.
"No, my lady, they aren't. In fact they are some of the most cordial and chaste messages I have ever seen sent between a man and woman to date. It is just… Forgive me my question, my Queen. It is apparent I was wrong in my assumption," Kai said, bowing.
"No, please. I want to hear. Tell me. What made you think we were starting up a courtship?" Elsa questioned, uneasy now.
"The tone, Queen Elsa. The way the letters have evolved since you and he first began exchanging them. In the beginning they were curt and to the point. News was exchanged, proposals were sent, full titles were used, and the closing of said letters was impersonal. Yet over time titles were dropped, until it became the basic Queen Elsa and Prince Hans opening. That in itself wasn't strange, the rest of the letters were as they had always been, but gradually they began to grow warmer. It wasn't so curt anymore, or to the point. Feelings and thoughts were shared, news seemed to be a bother to exchange as if it got in the way of what you two really wanted to focus on. Then news was hardly there at all, and the letters were suddenly not so much business anymore as they were personal. Now these. They are personal in every respect, no mention of political news and such, simply about each other. Now you and he are starting to greet each other with 'Dear'. The letters themselves are not intimate, your majesty, just the way they have become more personal over time… I thought that perhaps you and he might have come to some sort of arrangement." Elsa was silent, blinking. "Queen Elsa?" Kai asked after a moment.
She snapped out of it and looked at him. "May I have the letter, please? I… I want to ask Gerda about it," Elsa finally replied.
An understanding look came to Kai's eyes and he nodded, handing it over. "I worry for you. Be careful, Elsa," he murmured.
"I will," Elsa answered, walking away quickly and worriedly reading over the words she'd written. Kai was right, she realized. They had become so much more personal… She didn't understand why she wasn't more uncomfortable with that realization than she was.
Frozen
"Read these, Gerda, please," Elsa said, giving Gerda the latest batch of letters, as well as drafts of her own recent ones.
Gerda, looking confused and concerned, took them and began reading the letters through. After a time, she handed them back. "Why did you show me these?" she questioned.
"Because I have to ask you something," Elsa said.
"What is it, Your Majesty?" Gerda asked.
"What do you think of them? The tone?" Elsa asked.
Gerda was quiet. "They are very well written," she finally answered. "My dear Elsa, it is not my place to comment on what you and he share."
"Just answer," Elsa said.
Gerda looked at them and sighed. She turned to Elsa once more. "They are personal," she replied. "But then that is how letters are supposed to be, between friends."
"Friends?" Elsa asked. She had never thought to call him that before. Gerda bit her tongue but said nothing. "I need you to be honest with me, Gerda. Were you an outsider looking in, if you had had no knowledge of the past between us and the princes, what would you believe, reading these?"
Gerda sighed through the nose, closing her eyes and looking down. After a moment she looked to Elsa again. "I would believe the prince was courting her Majesty," she answered. "Albeit courting you in a most chaste and subtle manner… And I would believe her Majesty was reciprocating his advances…" Elsa seemed torn between devastated and something else. Gerda almost wanted to say hopeful, but it wasn't exactly that. More a sort of mix of emotions she couldn't understand or read in Elsa. Confusion mostly, perhaps, and a sort of fear but also hope, were among them. "Forgive me my question, my lady, but is he courting your Majesty?"
"No," Elsa immediately replied. "No, he isn't, I promise he isn't. At least, I don't think… Why would he?"
Gerda cringed then looked at Elsa again. "He wouldn't, I suppose, and really the tone of the letters is more intimate friendship than romance, but… but if he were, I would not be upset by it," she tentatively added. Elsa looked quickly to her, eyes wide and vulnerable. "You well know I am a good judge of character, your Majesty. When first the prince of the Southern Isles came, I was terrified of him. He frightened me. Even wearing his all his masks and showing such benevolence, I did not trust him. I did not trust him because every time I saw him my stomach twisted in unease. I used to fear him so horribly… Every time he set foot into this palace, the air seemed to chill… And then it didn't… And then fear began to fade, and wonder came. Then familiarity. Then affection. Each time he returned to Arendelle after, it was like more and more of the darkness left him, and I began to see a man beneath the monster I had been so frightened of. I feel no fear towards him, anymore… He is, in the depths of his heart, a good man, Queen Elsa. He wasn't always, but he has become one now. A good man; and so were he courting you, I will tell you I would be very pleased. I would be happy, in fact, because every time he returned, and every time you crossed his path offshore then came back to us, a part of you seemed to emerge as well, growing and changing with him. It was as if each other's presence completed one another, helped one another, nourished within each other the things you both had hidden away or had fled from," Gerda said.
"What are you saying?" Elsa asked.
"I am saying that I believe he has come to care deeply for you. More deeply than he even knows, or you… It may not be love, per say, like you read about in fairy tales or see between romantic partners, but is it something… Something perhaps even more than that. You are not friends, nor are you lovers, nor are you like family, but you are something," Gerda said. "And I fear again, because I know that should ever he realize it, he will become more dangerous and volatile and wicked than he was even at the beginning."
"What?" Elsa whispered. "But-but why? If he loved, cared…" she began.
"Because he is afraid," Gerda cut off. "More than afraid, mortified. He was raised in an environment where love was not a virtue, but a curse; where it was not a good or happy thing, but a source of pain and sorrow. He does not understand it, he does not trust it, and he is more frightened of the notion of it than of anything else, and so he will run. He will run as fast and far away from it as possible, and he will do all in his power to abolish it, to make it as if it never existed. If it means making you hate him again, so be it, because he believes hatred is stronger than love and that to love is to hurt. Twisted. Corrupt. That is what love has been to him, and now that he may be starting to see what it truly is… He doesn't recognize it yet, you know. When he does, though… When he does, you will be hurt more than ever before, and so will he. It takes more than mere love to thaw a heart that has been as solidly and deeply frozen for as long a time as his. It will be a fight. A war unlike anything you have ever faced. A challenge that will never have an equal for as long as you and he both shall live… But if you should reach victory, the rewards will be something unlike anything you could have ever imagined before in your life… But a battle like that is not one most will stand by, or can, and so men like Hans do not find happiness because the treasure hidden beneath… It is too hard to reach."
Frozen
Elsa was quiet, looking at Gerda. After a moment she took back the letters and walked away in silence. She gave her own to Kai once more, without a word, and retreated immediately to her room, breaking into a jog. She shut the door behind her and leaned against it, suddenly finding it harder to breathe. Reacting to her borderline panic, ice began to spread over the doors as she sank down them, still stunned and trying to process this. "It-it isn't love," Elsa said out loud to nothing. "Not like that. We have an understanding and that's it. He needs me and I need him, but that doesn't mean I love him! God no. It's Hans. For god's sake, he nearly murdered my sister. He nearly cut my head off! I don't and never will love him," she said, standing again with resolve renewed. Whatever this was, it wasn't love.
Did you not just tell him in your letter to stop looking back on the past?
She held her breath, thinking this through carefully. She had… She had because the past was in the past. Everyone made mistakes, but those mistakes shouldn't be used to define yourself. The mistakes you made, the wrongs you'd done, shouldn't solely be used by others to define who you were either... So she forgave him. So what? Everyone deserved a second chance. Again, it wasn't a sign of affection. It was a sign that she was a merciful and good person. Yes, the letters had gotten intimate, but they weren't written in the tone of a lover.
It is something perhaps even more than that…
She shivered as those words of Gerda's returned to her. What was more than love?
Devotion.
But without love there could be no devotion. So much hinged on love.
Necessity.
Necessity sounded wrong, though, almost obsessive, like they were each other's crutches. They weren't. It wasn't like she needed him more than she needed air.
But perhaps part of you wants to need him that much.
Something more than love… Perhaps Gerda had meant love, but a greater sort than was commonly seen and associated with that word. A deeper sort of love. A connection, perhaps? She didn't understand. She couldn't… Maybe that is what she meant… A love and understanding so complex and finely nuanced that it couldn't be described in mere words or even expressed. A love so intense and devout that only those who experienced it could ever truly understand, and yet could never hope to describe. So that she couldn't understand it meant that Gerda was wrong. There was nothing of that sort going on between them.
But you do understand, don't you?
Immediately she banished that thought with a scoff. It was Hans Westergaard. Enough said. What she felt for him was close friendship, if anything, and that was it. Huffing, she pushed open the door to her room, now composed, and marched out to tend to court.
Frozen
About halfway through court, and about the fourth person that came to see her and was asked to repeat things at least three times, she realized that she just wasn't focused enough to keep it up. She sighed frustratedly. She hated to do this, but if she wasn't focused she was of no help to her people. As the latest subject left, she turned to Kai. "I'll see one more, then please inform the others, gently, that I don't feel well and can't see them today. Take their names and promise them that they will be the first ones to see me tomorrow," she commanded.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Kai answered. "Shall I fill you in on the hunt for a steward and ambassador, amongst other staff?"
"Is it good news?" Elsa asked.
"I'm afraid not, my lady," Kai answered.
"Then don't bother," Elsa answered sadly. Kai nodded and bowed before going out to give the news to her people.
Elsa sighed, leaning back in her throne. She had to get her mind off of things somehow. Off of Hans and the Princes of the Southern Isles, namely. "Your Majesty, I announce the Duke of Weaseltown," Kai said, coming back in.
Elsa sat bolt upright, looking ahead. "It's Weselton!" the chagrined Duke shot at Kai as he entered with his two bodyguards. He harrumphed and turned to Elsa. "Majesty," he said, bowing to her. His guards followed suit.
"Dear Duke! What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you. Nothing's ready, I…" Elsa began.
"Tut, tut, tut, tut, tut, none of that matters now," the Duke cut off, waving his hand in the air.
"W-well why are you here? I mean I'm very happy to see you, but it's just so sudden," Elsa said.
"Yes, well, I decided to pop by for a visit," the Duke said. "Perhaps discuss matters of the Southern Isles's little ongoing war.
Elsa frowned worriedly. "Hans has been very evasive in telling me anything about it. Like he doesn't even want to think on it anymore," she said. "Has it… gotten very bad?"
The Duke was quiet, thinking. "It has," he finally admitted. "I keep updated with world news, particularly politics. You would do well to do the same, Elsa."
"I know, it's just I have so much else to do," Elsa answered. "It's difficult. Shouldering this responsibility alone."
"I well know," the Duke replied. "I've been doing it alone for upwards of twenty years, you know. Is Anna not helping you?"
Elsa cringed. "Anna is spending a lot of time with Kristoff. When she isn't with him, she's with me. We don't focus on business then. Just us. We have so many lost years to make up for, after all," she answered.
"I see," the Duke said, frowning suspiciously at the mention of Anna spending so much time with Kristoff. He was obviously less than impressed. "I will have to have a long talk with her."
"Would you? Maybe she'll be more inclined to listen to you than she is to listen to me," Elsa said, smirking.
"Anyway, that wasn't what we were talking about, was it? We will return to that topic soon enough. Now, you wanted news on the war," the Duke said.
"Yes, if you could. Please, Dear Duke, sit," Elsa said, gesturing to a seat next to the throne. Lower than it, of course, but still. He nodded and approached. Elsa looked at his bodyguards. "Erik, Francis, you may sit too, if you wish."
"We are fine, my lady, but thank you," Erik said, bowing his head.
Elsa nodded and turned attention to the Duke. The Duke was sitting silently in thought. "Norway has gotten particularly vicious in their attacks on the seas. They have thrust their whole naval fleet against the Southern Isles and Eric's kingdom. Jürgen Meilic, Prince Eric, and Prince Hans have proven too great a threat to them, and so they have sent all they can against the three. The Southern Isles is slowly but surely being driven back towards shore by sheer numbers alone. Norway's ground troops are falling heavy on Denmark and Eric's kingdom, and Scotland has managed to breech onto the Southern Isles, given Norway is keeping Moren's whole naval fleet at bay. The war on the sea has become a matter of pride for Norway now, and it has turned into their own little competition with the Isles. There is good news on the Scotland angle, though. They have negotiated with Denmark to cease fighting between their nations, for some reason or other, and so Denmark has pulled out of the war only two days passed. Britain, you see, is on the verge of starting up another skirmish with Scotland, and frankly the Scottish King considers this current war more a grudge match with Moren than a serious one. The Duke of Cumberland, however, he considers a massive and grave threat. I feel that the Scottish ruler may be open to negotiating with the Danish king of the Isles. Moren seems hesitant to send ground troops to take on Scotland's forces, and Scotland is hesitating to attack full out. A shaky neutrality has been established. I get the feeling that Prince Coth of the Southern Isles has found a potential political marriage candidate that is helping open up negotiations."
"So now only Scotland, the Southern Isles, Eric's land, and Norway are still at war, with Scotland and the Southern Isles potentially finding a common ground. How great is the loss of life?" Elsa asked. The Duke was quiet. "Dear Duke?"
He cringed. "About 1000, at last count," he answered. "And most of those have fallen in only this last month in the battle at sea with Norway… I fear it will grow to be much, much higher, if Norway and the Southern Isles' little pride war isn't put to rest."
"What can we do?" Elsa asked.
"You are Norway's ally, Elsa," the Duke answered.
"What does that have to do with anything? I've tried talking down the Nordic king. He never answers my letters," Elsa said. "And Connyn is having no luck finding a woman among them to marry because most of them that are unwed are only 12 to maybe 16 at most. I know that technically they're considered women, they are from the time they first start to bleed, but Connyn is against girls that young being considered women, for which I applaud him heavily. If he did marry someone of that age, he definitely wouldn't be doing anything with them for a good four to eight years or so."
"Well then there's only one option left," the Duke said. "Which… was incidentally the option I came to discuss with you."
"What option?" Elsa asked.
The Duke hesitated again. "You… did say, my dearest, that it was… hard to shoulder such a responsibility as ruling a kingdom alone," he began.
She looked confused then caught on, eyes widening. "Oh no, not you too," she groaned.
"I'm only attempting to look out for your best interests and the Southern Isles'!" the Duke defended.
"I can look out for my own best interests," Elsa argued. "I do not want a husband! Much less one by a marriage of convenience."
"Love can grow, my dear," the Duke defended.
"I don't argue that. It's just marriage isn't for me. Not now," Elsa said.
"You could entertain the thought of suitors, at least. Then it would not be some arranged marriage of convenience. You could get to know them, perhaps come to care for them and love them, even," the Duke said. "I'm happy to see you on your own. You are a strong and independent woman, Elsa. This, however, goes beyond such things as that. We are talking the potential for a truly serious war. One the Southern Isles may soon be split between. Moren will not pass up the opportunity to mend relations with Scotland, should the Scottish King ask his help in exchange for quitting the war. It will only divide his armies all the more, and that may be enough for Norway to break through the defenses of the sea and decimate the Southern Isles." Elsa looked nervous, but said nothing. "I won't press you into it, Elsa, but at least consider," the Duke said again. "I would be happy to take on the job of gathering together a good number of potential suitors for you."
Elsa sighed. "I'll consider," she said.
"I know that means you won't," the Duke deadpanned with a sigh. "It always did when my eldest daughter said it."
"I will!" Elsa insisted. The Duke look less than convinced. She cringed. He was right, after all. "I'll, err, order chambers made up for you and your men to stay in until you leave."
"No need. We're on our way to a meeting with Corona. We will be back this way in about three weeks' time. I will stop in, then, to fill you in on all that is happening," the Duke answered, rising.
"Be careful on the seas, Dear Duke," Elsa said.
"I will, my dear. Now I must see your sister before I leave and have that talk with her," the Duke said.
"Good luck," Elsa deadpanned. "Anna is hard to reason with, at times."
"I've dealt with stubborn daughters before," the Duke assured. "I'm sure I can handle Anna… More or less… Nonetheless we shall see!" With that he walked out, gesturing for his guards to follow him. They smiled and bowed to the queen before following the Duke again.
Frozen
Anna was in the courtyard helping Olaf build a snow home. "It'll be beautiful, Olaf," she said to them.
"Thanks for all your help, Anna. I hope she likes it," Olaf said.
"I'm sure your love would like anything you made for her," Anna replied, giggling.
"Anna!" a voice called.
She looked quickly over, catching her breath. She lit up on seeing who it was and grinned. "Dear Duke!" she called out, standing and running to the old man, hugging him tightly. He held her back with an affectionate smirk. Anna drew away. "Dear Duke, what brings you here?"
"Oh, nothing in particular. I was just stopping by on my way to Corona to see how things were faring with you and your sister," the man replied.
"They're wonderful. I mean really amazing," Anna answered.
"Yes. How is this Kristoff chap of yours?" the Duke questioned, waving his bodyguards away. They bowed and moved to the side, giving them space.
"Kristoff is just fine," Anna replied, smiling affectionately at the thought of her fiancée.
"I hear you've been spending a good deal of time with him," the Duke said.
"And it still doesn't feel like enough! Oh Dear Duke, he's so great and kind and respectful. Well, I mean he's a little rough around the edges, the guy was raised by trolls, but still!" Anna answered.
"Oh yes. He sounds, err… interesting," the Duke replied. He couldn't say he approved of the choice, but the young man seemed like a decent chap so he supposed he would let his disdain for his background and upbringing slide. After all, he seemed to mean the world to Anna. "You are very happy with him, aren't you, my dear?" the Duke said.
"Very," she confirmed, grinning softly.
"Good. Good," the Duke said.
Anna frowned. "Duke, is something wrong?" she questioned.
"Hmm? Wrong? Oh no, my dear, nothing at all. I am just… concerned," he said.
"Concerned? About what?" Anna worriedly asked, frowning.
"About the time you're spending with him," the Duke stated.
Frozen
Anna immediately began to shut off, eyes narrowing. "Elsa said something, didn't she?" she demanded.
"She merely mentioned you were spending a lot of time with him. She said nothing more. If it happens that her concern is the same as mine, that is hardly anything that can be helped," the Duke said. "She loves you, dear Anna. She only wants to keep you safe."
"Kristoff isn't a danger to me!" Anna insisted.
"Of course he isn't. That boy wouldn't hurt a fly from what I've heard of him," the Duke said. "However, he is still a boy."
"Nothing has happened between me and Kristoff that shouldn't have!" Anna insisted.
"Anna," the Duke seriously said, frowning.
"I'm telling the truth!" Anna insisted.
"My dear, I have raised two daughters already. My youngest daughter was also 'telling the truth' when she insisted nothing was happening between her and Francis," the Duke said. "I am not accusing you and Kristoff of anything. I am saying that when young girls start to get defensive in the manner you're getting, things are decidedly not as chaste as they should be."
"It isn't like that!" Anna insisted.
"I haven't accused you or him of sleeping together, or of even sharing the same bed at night, Anna," the Duke said. "Nor will I. When you start saying 'Why won't you trust me to make my own choices' or 'I'm not a prostitute', then I'll know it's gotten to that point."
Anna blushed deeply. "Kristoff and I are in love!" she insisted.
"And in love you will remain," the Duke stated. "No one argues that."
"Kristoff is a good man! He wouldn't do anything like that to me," Anna said. "Even if I wanted him to…"
The Duke inwardly cringed. Oh dear, this was worse than he'd thought. "Have you wanted him to?" he questioned.
Anna tensed up and looked down. "I… N-no, I just… I kind of… We were kissing and his hands were trailing over my body and I just wondered… The point is it didn't get there! He wouldn't let it," Anna said.
"Oh my dear Anna," the Duke said, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. He sighed and took her hands between both of his. "I understand it is hard to wait when one is in love and hormones are dancing a jig, but being able to hold off on such pleasures only proves how strong and endearing your love truly is. It is a test of honor and commitment, a challenge, the final labor, so to speak, before the barriers can finally come down and you can enjoy every bit of one another. It is a proving ground, and it will be a test you will look back on and remember with dearest fondness because you both overcame the temptation to give in."
"I just… I'm tired of waiting!" Anna said. "Why shouldn't I be allowed to marry him? I know he's a peasant, but I love him! And-and Elsa says that Hans told her that technically Kristoff is a prince. Gran Pabbie is the king of the trolls in the Valley of the Living Rock. Kristoff, as his adoptive grandson, is technically of royal blood, so why hasn't Elsa let the marriage occur?"
"Because she must convince others that Kristoff is a prince. On top of that, the law of your land is that the eldest daughter must marry before the younger. She is working on toppling that rule, Anna, but it takes time to throw out age old laws and instate new ones. Elsa is doing it alone. Perhaps your focus should be on helping your sister get the ball rolling rather than spending so much time with your beau," the Duke said.
"I should just go with him to the rock trolls and have them do the ceremony," Anna frustratedly said. "Kristoff's begged me to before."
"You could do that, but the trolls are not seen, by most, as creatures with the authority to bind you two together in the eyes of the law," the Duke said.
"But it would be official anyway!" Anna said.
"And then scandal would ensue and tarnish Arendelle's reputation for a long time to come," the Duke warned. Anna bit her lip in annoyance.
"Hold out a little longer, dearest," the Duke said. "Your sister will come up with a plan soon enough. Then you and Kristoff will be wed and the waiting will be over. Can you hold back until then for me, hmm? Pretty please."
Anna sighed, looking down, then smiled at him. "For you, Dear Duke," she agreed.
"Excellent. Now, I must be on my way to Corona," the Duke said, smiling at her.
"So soon?" Anna asked.
"I'm afraid so. Business does not stop because an old man wishes to spend some time with his, err…" the Duke began, searching for the word.
Anna smiled. "You can call us daughters, Duke. We don't mind," she said. "If we can call you father when we please to."
The Duke looked startled, then smiled softly and chuckled. "Then I shall. Business does not stop because an old man wishes to spend some time with his daughters," he said.
"Okay… Be careful, papa," Anna affectionately said. She kissed the man's head lightly.
The Duke smiled and bowed to her before turning and marching off to collect Francis and Erik. "Come along, boys. Adventure awaits!" the Duke said to them. The two exchanged incredulous looks but followed nonetheless. Anna grinned, watching after them, then returned to Olaf, who was watching the scene curiously. Olaf smiled as she returned, and the two began work on the snow house again.