Chapter 2: Too much ice in your brain
Anna loved how the day had started. The sun was up, the birds were singing and when she turned around on her bed, Kristoff was there, sleeping soundly next to her. Even though she had only three months of marriage with Kristoff, she felt everything that was being with him was perfect. She scooted closer to him and brushed some of the bangs off his face, a soft smile on her face. He was so…how to describe it? Cute when he slept. Although he was always, cute, I mean, it's why he married him but he had sort of a different kind of cute when his eyes were closed and his breathing was paused and calm.
She leaned in and kissed his cheek, making him stir awake.
"Err…" he growled, low but not threatening. She giggled playfully and moved back so he could turn to see her.
"Good morning, ice man." She whispered.
"Mm…morning. How long have you been staring at me like that?"
"Long enough. Ready to start the day?"
"Not quite, I still wanna stay here with you." He mumbled, his voice early-in-the-morning rough.
"Aw, that's sweet. But you have to get up! You have a busy day today and so do I, so let's go!" she said, suddenly wide awake and jumping off the bed. She looked around for her shoes, but they were on the other side of the bed. She walked around the bed, slipping one shoe on when she felt two strong hands pull her by the waist on the bed again.
"Come here!"
"Aah-haha! Kristoff!" she giggled, squirming in his arms as he sent kisses down her neck. She relaxed into the moment and closed her eyes with a moan, enjoying the feel of his lips on her skin when suddenly, they heard the door slam open and a friendly voice call to them,
"Good morning, Anna and Kristoff! I…oh! Are you two…busy?" it was Olaf, who looked at them quite awkwardly. The pair quickly let each other go, practically jumping to their side of the bed, and cleared their throats,
"A-hem! No, no, Olaf! We're…fine! W-what are you doing here?" Anna asked, blushing deeply and throwing awkward side glances to Kristoff, who did the same with her.
"Oh! Elsa sent me to get you! She wants to see you at the castle, it's something really urgent!" he said, walking around the room, his black snow cloud following just over him.
"She wants us at the castle? Did she say why?" Kristoff asked this time, raisin a brow. Olaf shrugged his shoulders and smelled a little flower in a vase next to the window.
"Mm! Well, she didn't exactly say why, but she was really upset and smelled a little like wine. I think…"
"Whoa, whoa, wait, wine?" Anna asked, interrupting.
"Yeah, why?"
"Elsa never drinks wine, she's not like that. Tell Elsa I'll be right there, okay, Olaf? And tell her to stop drinking too!" Anna said, jumping out of the bed and running to her wardrobe, grabbing a decent dress (given the fact she had been in a nightgown).
"Yes, sir!" Olaf smiled, taking a leap and running out of the house, the cloud following just a little behind. She slipped the nightgown off and the dress on, forgetting Kristoff was still in the room.
"Anna, what do you suppose is wrong with Elsa?" he asked, also getting out of bed and walking to the wardrobe.
"I don't know, but if it made her drink, it can't be good. I don't know what her powers can do if she's drunk, and…what are you doing?" she stopped brushing her hair to stare at her husband.
Kristoff had taken out his best clothes and was getting ready just like she was. He looked up at her with his pants still down and shrugged,
"I'm getting ready to go with you."
"No! No, you don't have to go with me, Kristoff, you have a busy day today and I can't make you lose a day's work because o…" she couldn't continue her sentence because Kristoff had walked over (pants up already) and placed a finger on her lips.
"Anna, it's okay. I don't mind losing a day's work to go with you to the castle. Your sister needs you and it might mean you need me too, so it's settled. Besides, we're married. We get into problems together and we get out of them together, alright?" he explained, giving a small smirk at the end. Anna sighed and looked another way, unable to hide a smile. Then, she leaned in and peck-kissed him on the lips.
"You're so sweet sometimes, Kristoff."
"That's a word I do not expect to describe me so deeply." He said, walking over to his boots, who were on the other side of the bed.
Back at the castle…
"You…did…what?!" Anna screamed.
"Anna, keep yourr voishe down!"
"No, I am not keeping my voice down! Look at you! You're slurring, you stink of Norwegian wine and you're meeting what could be our worst rival any minute! Not to mention I don't understand why you're meeting him in the first place!" she screamed again, her cheeks becoming red.
The two sisters were now in the royal kitchen, Elsa drooping over a table with a bottle of wine on one hand and a glass in another, and Anna standing few feet away from her, looking furious. Elsa raised a head with difficulty and looked into Anna's eyes with remorse.
"There wash nothing I could do! The king wash begging and he grabbed my wrisht and…"
"He was threatening you?"
"No, no! He…his…hish brothersh want to kill Hansh…"
"Which isn't such a bad idea." Anna interrupted, crossing her arms with an angry pout.
"Anna. Either way, the king wantsh me to keep him ash a shervant for redeem…something, for his actions. I couldn't say no! He was protecting his brother…"
"Who tried to kill you and me! Elsa, this is a big mistake. You can't…keep him here! He'll distract you and he'll try to manipulate you like he did me, and that's the last thing I want for you." Anna said, sitting next to her sister and lowering her head to Elsa's level.
Elsa turned around and took a good, long look at her little sister. Her baby sister. The one she'd wanted to protect ever since that accident when they were little, and the one she'd protect for the rest of her life (and perhaps as a spirit, she'd protect her too). But this time, it was Anna who was protecting her. She had more experience with the Hans guy than she did, and she could really see the fear for her in her eyes. But she had given her word. Elsa let go of the wine bottle, not really caring when it crashed into smithereens and splashed wine all over the place, and stretched her hand to softly pass her fingers over Anna's cheek,
"Oh, Anna…I know what kind of decision I made. But…I gave my word, and I can't back down on it. "
"I know, I know, but…!"
"Besides, it'll only be for a month! I'll be doing a million things this month; I won't have to worry as much about Hans than you think. I'll just hand him in to the servants, let them deal with what he does or doesn't do and when the month passes, I'll send him back! Okay?" Elsa said, her drunkenness slowly disappearing. Anna pressed her lips and nodded, knowing he couldn't convince Elsa otherwise. So, if you can't beat them, join them, right?
"Okay, Elsa, I'll support you in everything you do. But promise me you'll make him clean the pig stiles and polish every piece of metal in this castle!" Anna exclaimed, putting her hands together and staring at Elsa with lost puppy eyes. Elsa chuckled and gave a soft push on Anna's arm.
"Sure, I'll even make him wash every rug. Now, let's go see this King of the Southern Isles and his littlest brother!" Elsa declared, beginning to stand up, but before she even gave her first step, she tripped over her own feet and fell face-flat on the floor.
"Oh my gosh, Elsa!"
"I'm alright! I'll just need some help with the walking department…ow…" Elsa whimpered, getting up again with the help of her sister.
"I hate you."
"You'll love me once this is over, Hans."
"I still hate you."
"Why are you whimpering so much? We've talked about this, you said you'd be under Elsa's care while I deal with our brothers so you don't get killed." the king of the Southern Isles said, turning to his brother as they walked from the fjord to the castle. Hans didn't look back at his brother, though: he kept his gaze firm to the floor as his brother's guards practically dragged him through the streets.
The king sighed and with a wave of his hand, ordered his guards to stop. He kneeled down in front of Hans, and stared at him. Hans looked up and also stared. Although the guards didn't understand what was going on, it was a family thing, speaking without words, just the eyes. After a while, Hans sighed and lowered his head even more, his forehead almost touching the ground, and the king smirked.
"I knew you'd be reasonable, brother."
"I hate you with all my being just about now." Hans growled. The king nodded and signaled the guards to continue the walk to the castle. Whether Hans knew it or not, he hated himself with all his being too. He could be mocking with his little brother, yes; he could sometimes be annoying, yes, that too; but to leave Hans in the hands of the Snow Queen (which he did not doubt one tiny bit) was something he wished he didn't need to do. He wished he could keep the boy in his castle, in his home, where he could rebuild his life after the eternal winter incident. But he had to leave Hans here. His other brothers weren't as mature as he was, and would easily throw the top punishment for treason without a second thought. Savages.
He gulped down his feeling of guilt and tried to change them for something else. Remember this is for his own good, he reminded himself. He preferred seeing his little brother, a prince, dressed in rags and washing floors, than seeing his tombstone with flowers because he didn't have the courage to act against his brothers.
The exchange between the sovereigns was held rather quickly, much to Hans dismay. When his brother and Queen Elsa were done talking and doing paperwork and things, it was already time for his brother to leave. The Southern Isles' guards took off his cuffs and took a step back from him, signaling his time was coming. His brother gave him a goodbye hug, a sincere smile he wished he could keep, and left without another word. He was left in front of the four people he'd most damaged so long ago; Elsa, Anna, Kristoff...and maybe Olaf, but he wasn't so sure about him. Elsa walked in first, and looked at him with the royal gaze he so detested.
"Hello, Hans." she said stiffly.
"Hello, Elsa." he replied mockingly.
"Hello, your highness." she corrected. "Remember, you are not a prince in this castle anymore. You are a servant, and you must act accordingly."
"Yeah, yeah, just send me to the prison and wait a month."
"Unfortunately, I can't." she smirked. Hans didn't let it show, but if he did, he would've shrunk with that smile. What was she thinking...?
"I have to give you some work to do, or else this punishment wouldn't have a reason to be, right?" she added, walking around him. He cleared his throat and stood taller, trying to seem like he wasn't nervous of what job she'd put him.
"I'm afraid you're right." he said, unwillingly. She chuckled mischievously and raised a brow at him, like an inspector. This made him very uncomfortable: that look couldn't mean he was going to like what she was going to say...
"Genevieve! Escort our new member of the staff to the stables. He can do his first hours there." she ordered snapping his fingers. A petite, old lady walked over, taking Hans by the arm and yanking him away. As the two walked to the stables, Hans looked back and saw Elsa wave goodbye to him with her fingers. Using her powers, she closed the door and he was left with the old lady.
This was going to be hell.
A/N: Second chapter up! Hope you guys liked it, although I think the ending was a bit too rushed. And slightly lame. I don't know, I'll let you guys decide. I really wanted to explore the relationship between Hans and his older brother in this chapter, an I think I did okay, but I wished I could write some more details. I was just so excited I couldn't wait to upload a second chapter. I'm so glad you guys liked the first one! I hope I can live up to your expectations for the rest of the story. Although these two updates were fast, I'm not sure I can keep this pace up. Updates might be every two days, every three, every week, it depends on what pops up during the week. Doesn't mean I'll leave you without updates a whole month, it just means I'll be pretty irregular. Other than that, I hope you liked it and if you can, leave a review! I like reviews, and they make me write faster. :)