Yay, new chapter! Sorry about the wait, guys! I had writer's block followed by lack of time, so thanks for sticking around.
Huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far (not that there couldn't be more wink wink) but I'm grateful for all of you readers! There have been tons of viewers!
Special thanks to 'war against ships'. I am glad you like it! Another big thank you to 'Dare2Dream13' for your great constructive criticism and compliment! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Hopefully the next wait won't be too long for you guys, but in the meantime, here's the next chapter! Don't be afraid to criticize this or share your opinions!
Kristoff had gone back out into the snowy woods with Sven. He was heading back to his home with the trolls, and the sun was setting behind him. The birch trees stood at attention as he passed, and he was deep in thought. Sven was bouncing around excitedly, the snow flying behind his hooves.
True love's kiss. True love's kiss. He was tormented by the idea. It couldn't lie, could it? Was true love permanent? If it was true love, Anna and Hans were meant to be. He never stood a chance anyway, why did he ever think he could win the princess's heart?
Kristoff flashed back to a moment before he'd gotten to the gates with Anna's freezing body. He'd left a soft kiss on her head and whispered, "Please be okay." It had been in no way a romantic kiss, but had been a gesture of friendship. He was letting her know that he was worried about her, but that he was there for him, no matter what. But she's been out of it with the cold and he doubted she'd even noticed.
His interaction with Hans left him feeling uneasy. He didn't want to judge from a first impression, but there was something off about the prince. He'd looked almost… nervous? That didn't make any sense; it was Kristoff who had every reason to feel nervous. But there was strange chemistry between Hans and Anna. His life with "the love experts" had told him that much.
Pushing away these confusing, unorganized thoughts, he ran over to Sven. The two playfully raced through the snow covered forest, moving away from Arendelle.
"Elsa, no," Anna whispered, "That can't be true. Surely, you were just protecting yourself. You're- you're not a monster."
"Now you know the truth," Elsa sighed through her tears, "Now you know why I had to be kept away from you. Our parents knew something like this could happen. They knew as soon as I hurt you the first time." Did I just say that? she panicked.
"The first time? Elsa, what are you talking about?" Anna asked in confusion.
Elsa took a deep breath. No more secrets, she repeated in her mind. "Anna, you knew about my powers before the night of my coronation."
"What? No I didn't!" Anna protested.
"No, you did. When we were little, we would sneak out of bed at night and go sledding down the stairs or ice skating through the halls. One night, we went into the ballroom and I was making big snow mounds for you to play in. You kept jumping from mound to mound, and we both were laughing and having fun. You got too fast and went tumbling through the air, and I tried to make another mound to catch you, but I slipped- I slipped on the ice and hit your head with a blast of magic. Papa knew what to do, though, and we rushed out to these magical rock trolls-"
"They're the ones who said an act of true love would thaw my heart!"
"Yes, they know how to heal magical injuries, according to the books I used to read, and what Papa told me about them. Anyway, they altered you memory so you'd forget about my powers, and after that, I had to keep to my room. That way I wouldn't accidentally reveal them in front of you. Papa gave me the gloves, and we were working to help me conceal my magic so I could go out of my room. Then, they died, and I couldn't do it on my own, so I stayed in my room until a few days ago when I had to come out. So you did know, you just couldn't remember."
On the other side of the door, Anna's mind was spinning. Her vision grew blurred as tears welled up, threatening to crest down her cheeks. She was overwhelmed, to say the least.
"So, all of the memories I have of us playing in the snowy winter…"
"Were mostly from snow I made," Elsa finished.
Anna was silent. This conversation was almost more than she'd bargained for. Elsa had murdered two men? Her entire life had been a lie? Her own parents had foreseen that Elsa's powers could be dangerous, and Elsa had had to live with this fear? She was suddenly aware that her usually very private sister had just opened up a lot to her, and that had to be hard.
"I'm so sorry, El- wait! Kristoff lives with the trolls; they're his family!" Anna realized.
"Kristoff? Who's that?" Elsa said, confused.
"Yeah, he's the guy who helped me find you. He knew about the trolls' healing powers."
Elsa pictured the young ice harvester. Suddenly the fragments in her mind fell into place. She had thought he'd looked familiar, but she'd had no idea where she would have seen him. Now she could remember. On the night with the trolls there had been a young boy with a baby reindeer hiding behind the rocks. She had only seen the child as they were leaving and had had much more pressing problems that night, so she'd forgotten all about him. But it was the same chocolate-brown eyes and sandy-blonde hair.
"Kristoff had to have known about my powers, then. He was there, hiding, the night we went to the trolls. The night I hurt you," Elsa said. She didn't know why she felt it was important, but it did.
"If he knew about your powers, why wouldn't he have told me?" Anna asked, bewildered.
"I have no idea," Elsa thought aloud.
"Anna? What are you doing here?" Elsa heard Hans through the door.
"I was finally getting a chance to talk to my sister!" Anna answered him hotly.
"Anna. It's late and you're still recovering. Come on," Hans directed.
Elsa could hear Anna standing up. It was so strange hearing them as if they were in another world. Their voices grew distant once again and she went to the window. She hadn't ever quite realized her effect on the kingdom. The homes and streets were piled full of snow as if it were the middle of January, and the iced over fjord was windswept and frigid looking. It should have been a warm summer's evening. Thinking about her childhood had gotten her wondering. Back then, she was able to melt the snow when they were done playing. Why couldn't she do that anymore?
Hans walked Anna to her room, but instead of opening the door, he held the knob, blocking her entrance with his arm. She looked up at him, a confused expression on her face.
"Hans, what are you-?" she started.
"What did Elsa tell you?" he asked, interrupting the redhead.
"Um, she told me that our childhood was different from what I knew, and she told me that she thinks Kristoff knew about her powers, but why?"
"Did you ask her about the charges after our conversation at dinner?"
"Well, yes. It isn't true, is it? She couldn't have killed people! She's not a monster!" Anna insisted.
"Listen, just don't think about it. And don't talk about it, either. There's no formal court here, so we have to deal with these things delicately. I don't want the Queen to be… hurt. Just forget about it, okay?" Hans opened the door, and Anna stepped in while he waited in the doorway.
"Fine. Consider it forgotten," Anna said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Thank you. Goodnight, Anna," Hans said, "I love you."
"I love you, too, Hans," she replied.
He closed the door gently and went down the dark hall, his thoughts and plans whirling within his head like a blizzard created by the Queen herself.