Hans couldn't believe his luck. Not only did he survive being hurled off the side of a mountain, but now it seemed that the foolish Princess of Arendelle had lost her memories of his attempt to murder her. At first, he thought it was merely baseless rumor, idle chatter of the ignorant peasants. But then he overheard the royal ice maker boy, Anna's close friend (Kri-something) talking with some of the staff.
He fought back a smile. Yes, it seems like she's forgotten all about that filthy witch too…He knew he would have to deal with that wretched creature eventually.
But later, not now. No, for the time being he was going to return to the Southern Isles and report his progress to his brothers. They will be pleased to know that Arendelle will soon become a part of their growing empire.
Anna stared out the palace window and fought back a sigh. It had been two years since 'the incident', whatever that meant. She couldn't remember what happened that day. All she remembered was waking up in her chambers with everyone crowded around her, worry etched deeply into their features. And she remembered pain, an aching pain in her chest.
"Princess Anna?" it was Gerda, her handmaid, "Are you alright?"
Anna gave the old woman her best smile. "Never been better!" she chirped in reply.
It was a lie, of course, but it was enough to appease the old woman. Anna turned her attention back out the window. Looking at the North Mountain always gave her these strange feelings of sadness and longing, even though she'd never been there as far she knew…
"Please do not hesitate to call for me if you require anything, your highness. And remember that the royal festival planner would like to meet with you to discuss your 17th birthday's color scheme for next week's ball." Gerda closed the chamber door on her way out.
The old woman sighed. She knew that the princess had changed since that day two years ago. She would always gaze at the North Mountain from her window and sigh forlornly. When asked about the mysterious snowflake necklace she always wore, the princess would always answer the same. "I…I don't know why I always wear it," She would say, "I just…feel like I should. Like it's something very important to me, you know?"
Some would say that the princess was under a curse, but Gerda believed that there were other forces at work here, forces of the heart. Either way, the old woman had noticed the change.
Not all of it was good, either. There would be times when the princess would go into fits of uncontrollable shivering, even on the warmest of days. Unfortunately those episodes were becoming more and more frequent. The poor girl's body was weakening, Gerda knew, but she didn't know what to do to stop it. She could only hope for the best.
"Well, what do you think?" Anna twirled in her green ball gown, an expectant look on her face. Her and her friends were waiting to be introduced into her birthday celebration ball.
"I think it looks beautiful!" Aurora beamed.
Mulan nodded in agreement. "The color suits you well."
Merida rolled her eyes, awkwardly picking at her own dress. "Why do we have to wear these frilly things? I feel like a silly nancy!" she glared at Mulan, "And why do you get to wear something different?"
The foreign beauty smiled. "It is called a hanfu, a formal garment of my people. I guess you could say it is somewhat similar to the Japanese kimono."
Merida's face scrunched up. "Ki-what?"
Aurora smiled. "I think she looks quite handsome in it." Both girls blushed.
"And I think Anna looks beautiful tonight!" Rapunzel cheerfully gushed, her excitement for parties getting the better of her, "I mean, really! Just look at her! If only El-"everyone seemed to freeze at her words, except for Anna, who stared at them quizzically. Kristoff had told them what had happened, or at least what he knew of it anyway. They all agreed to not mention Elsa to Anna.
"If only, what?" Anna prompted.
Everyone sent pointed looks at Rapunzel, who seemed genuinely apologetic. "I-If only, uh… if only they would hurry up and introduce us so we can party!"
Everyone was quick to agree with her, Anna included. She was looking forward to the chocolate. Though the thought of chocolate made her feel a little melancholy too, strangely enough.
The ball was going quite well, in Anna's opinion. She got to dance with her friends, and now she was chatting with Kristoff about something Sven did.
"Did he really eat all of them?" Anna asked, eyes wide with wonder.
Kristoff nodded excitedly, "I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it, but he did! And the carrot vendor was so mad. I think smoke was coming out of his ears!"
They both laughed. The carrot vendor really was fun to mess with.
"We meet again, your highness," a charming voice stated, "Happy 17th birthday."
Anna looked up and smiled. "Hans, it is very nice to see you again."
Anna remembered Hans from a royal ball she went to a long time ago. He was always very nice to her, as far as she could remember.
He bowed, holding out his hand. "I was wondering if you would do me the honor of dancing with me?"
Anna giggled and offered her hand, which he took. A surge of feeling struck her chest in that moment, and it wasn't pleasant. Why do I feel so uneasy now?
Hans smiled at her. "Shall we?"
Anna nodded. I'm being ridiculous.
Kristoff sat there, watching them. One look into that prince's eyes and he knew. Hans had something to do with this…he was sure of it.
Kristoff wished that he could ask Elsa about it, but she'd shut herself up in her castle two years ago, and he hadn't seen her since. Kristoff was still determined to fix things, to help his two friends be happy again. He knew that Anna and Elsa were still connected somehow, he could tell by the way Anna kept touching Elsa's snowflake necklace, as if it were an unseen lifeline.
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. Hans and Anna had finished their dance and were coming back.
"Hey Kristoff, guess what?" Anna sat next to him, and Hans next to her. "Hans is going to be staying in Arendelle for a while after this, isn't that neat?"
Hans gave them both a charming smile. Kristoff inwardly cringed. He didn't trust this prince as far as he could throw him. No, scratch that, he trusted him even less than that.
"I hope you enjoy your visit then." Kristoff said to Hans, trying to be as polite as possible.
"I do look forward to spending time with Anna and getting to know her better," Hans stated, his charming grin still in place.
Not on my watch, pal. Kristoff thought defiantly. I know you're up to no good, and I'll be watching you very closely.
Hans is back, and more of a douche bag than ever! Yeah, I know, I hate him too, but he's a necessary evil. Kind of like broccoli, or TV commercials. I'm off topic; it's late and I'm tired. So goodnight everyone, and I hoped you liked it.