I don't have much to say about this chapter, honestly. It's full of fluff and a major plot point at the end. :) Enjoy!

~4 months later~

The air was extremely tense at dinner that night.

Not that it was anything new to Elsa. Relations between her and Hans were fine – better than fine, actually; she thought she was starting to feel more than friendship for him – but Hans and Anna were not getting along as well as she had expected. The prince had tried to be as kind and gentle as possible to Anna, but the princess had brushed him off every time with a distant yet cordial remark. The queen could only wonder why Anna was acting so – well, immature, and even jealous, she thought with a chortle. Hans wasn't the problem – Anna was. Elsa stood by her opinion on her sister that she had had for years – she's too young to understand.

As Elsa spooned some tilapia onto her fork, Hans, sitting next to her, reached for her other hand under the table. She graciously took it, as his thumb rubbed her palm soothingly. There was another thing about Hans she liked – not only was he gracious, but alert to her ever-changing feelings. Her nervousness had spiked at the thought of Anna, and he reacted quick as a cat to her emotions.

And all the while, Anna was staring daggers at Hans across the food before them as she pushed her meal around her plate in a faux show of eating. Elsa pretended not to notice.

"Hans, if I may ask," the queen began, placing her fork down and looking up into the man's face, "Do you think we could go through that last set of your things today? I can't wait to see what's inside."

"Of course. I think I've kept you waiting long enough," he replied, smiling at her and tapping her on the nose. Elsa giggled, a blush rising on her face. She had to admit – she was excited to see what was in the little trunk. When Hans' belongings had arrived a week after she had taken him in, he unpacked everything with help from castle staff save for one 'special' trunk that he wanted to open when the two of them were alone. She figured, after four months of getting to know each other, tonight was as good as any.

"Wonderful! I can't wait t—"

"Excuse me, Queen Elsa, Prince Hans. I'll be heading off to bed."

Before Elsa could even look up, Anna was out the room's door with a slam.

Elsa sighed, staring longingly after Anna's wake. "I wish she wasn't so childish about this."

"I do as well, Elsa." Hans wrapped an arm around the queen, rubbing her shoulder gently. "But she's merely jealous – she doesn't understand what it means to be in love yet. But she'll come around. Give her time."

"In love…" Elsa whispered, her dinner forgotten, her mind dizzy with thoughts of the lovely man beside her. She was in love, wasn't she? The two had sock-skated down the hall together, shared a few wonderful nights of cuddling, spent hours on an elative game of chess over tea – and not once had she been bored or disillusioned by Hans. There was always more to learn about him. That he was never a fan of peppers in his food, that he had a way with a quill and pen, that he never learned how to ride a horse until he was thirteen because of his fear of heights. Hans was the most interesting person she'd even met – and with blazing powers to counter her own, he fit perfectly into her life.

"Yes, darling." Hans tilted her chin so that their eyes met, his jade gaze warm and sleepy from the glass or two of wine he'd had at dinner. "I think 'in love' is the way to put it."

Anna long put out of her mind, Elsa kissed him on the cheek with a smile, his fiery sideburns tickling her nose. "And I am grateful."

Elsa bounced happily on Hans' bed, her white braid flopping against her nightshift, as Hans slowly pulled the trunk out from under the bed. She nearly fell scrambling down to the floor as she sat with the trunk at her crossed legs. Hans sat on the other side of it, a mischievous smile forming on his face, lit by the candle behind Elsa on the nightstand.

"Ready?" said the prince.

"More than I'll ever be!"

Strong hands flung open the trunk with a flurry of dust, causing the both of them to cough as the gray flakes settled. Hans turned the trunk to the side so that they could both look in it together. It was filled with an assortment of brick-à-brac items, from teapots to fancy forks, books to scarves.

"You certainly have a… large collection of things there, Hans." Elsa remarked, her excitement level dropping. "Is this everything?"

"Well, the trivial items were just put in here to fill up space," Hans answered, bundling the breakables in his arms and setting them aside. "My mother never liked to send a trunk half-empty. All my things are underneath."

And as the layers of kettles and fabric removed, Elsa carefully watched as more personal items began to appear. A leather-bound diary, a locket, a family painting. Elsa picked up this painting, though small, but encompassing the entirety of Hans' family – his ginger mother with an infant Hans in arms, his blonde father, and twelve brothers of varying sizes and hair colors.

"Do any of your brothers have powers like yours?" Elsa asked, unsure if she had questioned him before.

A terse 'no' from Hans, and that was the end of it.

Following, the diary found its way to Elsa's hands. She flipped through it briefly – most of it was filled with angry drawings of who knew what more so than writing, but she didn't bother to ask Hans about it. She glanced up at him as she rummaged around in the trunk to find another item – he was deeply involved in reading another journal of his, his brow furrowed. Yes, best not to disturb him.

They sat like this for at least an hours into the night, going through Hans' things, Elsa sometimes asking him about a certain object. As midnight approached, the Queen felt like she had a little more insight of the simple things in Hans' life – the faces of his family, his artistic 'ability', a general idea of what the Isles and his castle looked like – but she also began to grow tired, and she struggled to keep her eyes open as she set down yet another painting. Leaning back against the nightstand behind her, she let her eyes drift closed for a mere moment…

It won't hurt to take a quick nap, right? It's not like Hans is waiting on me or anything…

"Elsa? Elsa, love, wake up. I have to show you something."

Slowly, the queen's eyes floated open, and a sleepy sigh escaped her lips. The blossoming couple was shrouded in darkness, the candle behind them having long gone out. Her eyes flitted to the clock on the back wall of the room – one-thirty in the morning. Hans must have been really deep in memory over his… stuff…

"Yes, Hans…" Elsa murmured, leaning forward so that her elbows rested on her knees. Rubbing her eyes, she continued, "What is it?"

Hans only smiled at her, holding something between his clasped hands. When he opened them, on his peachy palms rested a simple ring, the band golden and the jewel in the center a pale blue color. "This is my mother's wedding ring. I… I never thought I would she would send this along with everything else, but here it is…"

"It's beautiful," the queen remarked, her eyes barely focusing on the ring itself and her mind starting to slip back into her dreams. Hans had seriously woken her up for a ring that he could have shown her in the morning? "…Can I go back to sleep now?"

Hans chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Not yet, love. I have something very important to ask you."

"Whaaaat…" Elsa blubbered, her head falling forward with drowsiness, but before she knew it Hans had taken his hands and began to help her stand – she could feel the ring on his palm pressing against her side. "I don't wanna stand, Haaaaaans," she complained, rubbing her eyes again. "I wanna go to beeeeed."

But she was on her two feet now, however unsteady. She forced herself to look at Hans, who was smiling sweetly down at her, his warm cheeks a dull shade of pink, his arms wrapped around her to keep her upright.

"Can you stand now?"

"Uh-huh…"

Then Hans did something that shocked Elsa out of her stupor: he let go of her and, getting down on one knee, held the ring aloft in his palm.

She gasped, unable to react in any other means. There is no way he's proposing, not now! No way…

"Queen Elsa of Arendelle," he began softly, looking up into her bright blue eyes. "After four long months together, I feel that I have never loved a woman more than I have ever loved you. I love your smile, your grace, the way your nose scrunches up when you laugh. You are always there for me, sweet Elsa; I know I can always count on you to be right by my side, in the easiest and toughest of decisions. And, because of that, I must ask you these five words: Will you marry me?"

Elsa, in all her time as queen, had disputed trading issues, resolved months-long civil cases, traveled abroad to huge foreign countries to elicit relations between them and Arendelle – all very weighty tasks for a ruler. But marriage?

That was the hugest commitment yet.

Tears rolled down her face, joyful tears, as she stared at the ring, at Hans's awaiting face, at her own frost-laden fingers.

"Yes, Hans," she finally said, gazing into his eyes, her voice breaking from emotions. "I wouldn't answer any other way."

"Oh, Elsa!" The prince, overjoyed, lifted Elsa into his arms bridal-style and kissed her, pulling back for only a moment to slip the band on her left ring finger. It glittered in the moonlight, the aquamarine jewel the perfect accent to Elsa's eyes. The queen put her free hand to her mouth in shock, happiness flowing through her veins.

"It's perfect."

"As are you, love."

He leaned down for another kiss and Elsa took it gently, deepening the kiss slowly as Hans ran a hand over her back. His breath was hot against her face, it smelling of long-drunk wine and apples; his hand was singeing her gown and the skin under it from his fiery power and the ferocity of the kiss, but she paid no mind to it. The queen had never felt so happy, even on the day she was coronated. She was going to be married – actually married! – to the man who kept her grounded, kept her whole, kept her human.

Ice and fire began to mingle together across the room's walls, chasing after each other in time with the heightening emotions of the two lovers. And as they fell against the bed's side together, freezing and burning and forming their lips as one, everything was all right in Elsa's little world.

And she would let no one, not even jealous Anna, take that feeling away from her.

Reviews are appreciated! :)

~Anais