It's here it's here it's her it's here it's here! After several long, stressful, busy busy busy months! It's finally here, the startling, intriguing, romantic, drama filled SECOND to last chapter! Enjoy ;)
Hans was the first to break away, guilt withering into his mind. He looked down at their linked fingers, wondering how they'd gotten to this point. This connection. This whirlwind that would inevitably blow up in his face.
Elsa's nose found his drooping locks, breathing him in, waiting for his lips to return to hers. Her grip around his neck relaxed a little and she dipped her nose back down to his. Realizing his smile was not going to find hers again, she leaned back to observe his guilt ridden face. She refused to let the negative feeling creep over her, too.
"Don't." she ordered icily, denying the problems their embrace would cause. As queen she had a duty of justice to Arendelle, but as Elsa she had a duty to herself. Sharing this moment with Hans, finding herself somewhere behind his rough, villainous exterior, was almost as freeing as the day she accepted her powers. Like Anna, he was now vital to her existence. And her survival on this island. If he hadn't been there to calm her down, to challenge her to question and discover herself, Eofar would probably be under six feet of snow.
"We shouldn't have done that." Hans said quietly, eyes still downcast. He slid fingers his fingers out from under hers.
"We needed it, Hans." Elsa asserted, reaching back for his retreating hand. "We were crumbling, but in one another we found the means to stand. That kiss was a promise to not let the other fall again." She nuzzled back into him, hearing his rapid heartbeat against her ear. "And besides, there are no consequences anymore. From our new standpoint, the only way off this island is if we steal a boat."
"That's an ultimatum." He replied a bit uneasily. He lifted her face from his shoulder and looked seriously into her eyes. "If we do that, there will be no chance to smooth things over."
"You don't know that." She answered with a quiet, but wry, smile. "I was able to smooth things over with you." She leaned in again and brushed her lips against his, affirming her decision to both him and herself.
His lips responded lightly and gave an awkward smile as they broke apart again, heart fluttering with confusing emotions. They'd done more than just smooth things over, forgive and forget—they had actually kissed! Elsa and Hans, the heroine and villain of a frozen fairytale. He tried to fight the conflicting emotions down, to regain composure, to be the ornery upstart he usually was. These feelings were too new, too confusing. And more importantly, he needed to figure out if they they made him feel happy or guilty.
"To steal or not steal?" He tried instead, flashing a roguish smile. "Taking a page from my book, I see? Well, lucky for you I've about had it with these bootlickers. Taking their boat may just be enough to lift my evil spirits."
"But we have to rescue Agust first." Elsa contended, worry reclouding her eyes. She'd almost forgotten about the loyal subject in her renewed calm. "He's back there in the village and, seeing how scared they were, I'm sure he isn't resting in Margery's inn."
"Yeah," Hans groaned, leaning away with a sigh. "That little prick—," Elsa's eyes flashed dangerously, "I mean, loyal sailor doesn't deserve to be left behind."
"We can do this." She affirmed around a wide yawn. "I'm no longer afraid."
"But you are pretty tired." Hans replied, yawning himself.
"So here's what I'm thinking…" She continued, settling as comfortably as she could against him. The air was cold and tree they leaned against knotty, but the warmth of his body was comforting, reassuring, protecting. "We go into town and split up. I'll find Agust and bust him out—prison cells made of ice shatter. I know from experience."
Hans winced slightly. It was clear Elsa had moved past their, well, past. She was even joking about it now. So why couldn't he? But tiredness took over, so pushing his worried to the side he leaned back against the tree, arm circling and allowing her to readjust to his recline. She was cool to touch, but the longer he held her, the warmer she grew. His head began to loll against the top hers.
"You'll make your way down the port," she mumbled, voice growing faint, "and take the largest boat you can find."
"It won't be a very good travel boat." He murmured back, the fatigue of stress and a long day finally wearing on him.
"I know," she breathed, "but I also know that by working together we will make it home."
"Even crossing the North Sea?"
"Even crossing the Pacific Ocean."
XXX
"I found them!"
A voice yelled from the bushes, jolting Hans and Elsa from their dreamless sleep. Unaware of how long they slept, besides the fact gray light now filtered through the dense trees, the two scrambled at the noise, hearts leaping from their chests. The prince jumped protectively in front of the ice wielding queen with a hostile snarl.
"Elsa, run!" Hans growled, blood surging through the grogginess of sleep.
"And leave the one without powers to fend them off?" She formed ice daggers in her slightly shaking hands. "Not happening."
The voice's owner stepped from the bushes with his hands in the air. "Please, calm down." The man trembled, approaching hesitantly as one would a stray dog. "We are not here to harm you!"
"And I not you!" Elsa insisted, ice daggers shaking all the more. "But how can I trust you after last night?"
"The same way we now trust you." The man lowered his hands and took the cap off his head, trying his best to appear amiable. "Through this young man."
The sounds of trampled leaves and cracking sticks made their ways toward them. "We need to go." Hans warned, beginning to back away from the noise. He rose to his feet and grabbed Elsa's arm, begging her to flee.
"Wait." Elsa pleaded, shrugging out of his nervous grasp. "What young man?"
"Elsa!" A familiar voice shouted. "My Queen!" The red haired man Elsa had hoped to see burst through the brush, nearly colliding into the older man before them.
"Don't be alarmed—they aren't going to hurt you!" Agust panted around a pained smile, adjusting wooden crutches under his arms. "I told them everything—your story! They aren't scared anymore!"
"My story?" Elsa blinked, dropped daggers melting at her bare feet. She looked from Agust to the older man who, though still appearing nervous, nodding genuinely. Suddenly more townsfolk burst through the brush, panting through apologies and similar revelations. Isaac and Miria were there, as well as Margery and Abbie, and many other familiar faces. The couple approached the down trodden queen, tears and cries of affection shining on their faces. They embraced her, mud covered dress and all, and begged for apologies.
"Poor dear!" Miria cried, backing away but hands remaining on the queen's thin shoulders. "All soiled and fatigued once again by this damned island!"
"Miria!" Isaac gasped at her curse.
"It is damned, Isaac!" Miria cried louder, looking at her husband fiercely. "Caused nothing but trouble for these precious youths." She looked Elsa up and down, seeing various cuts, bruises, and muddy tangles. "And by our towns own hands. I'm so ashamed."
"It's alright," Elsa reassured the wailing woman. "I forgive you. You reacted like any normal person would." She instinctually looked back at Hans with a smile, remembering he hadn't reacted normally at all. But then again, he wasn't a normal person.
"And we're supposed to trust you? All of you?" Hans grunted over the apologies and cries. "Just like that?"
"They listened to the whole story, Hans." Agust assured, hobbling over to the bristling man. "They know she's not a monster, or a witch. Just an extremely talented, gifted, loving, and compassionate ruler."
Hans face reddened, but not from the embarrassment the crowd interpreted. His heart gushed jealously towards, and for, Elsa. She was so much more, meant so much more, than any high praise could describe. She deserved so much more than apologies, parties, and clean dresses. She deserved so much more than he could ever give her.
XXX
Back in the town, the citizens cleaned the runaways up and gave them every luxury they could offer. They looked on Hans though with smothered glares and curt smiles, offering him the same clean baths, clothes, and foods as the Queen and Agust but spending as little time with him as possible. His ears burned, correctly guessing where this disdain stemmed from. Agust had told Elsa's story after all. No one accept Elsa and Hans were aware of the sequel.
Having the queen back in town sparked more interest, and many of the Eofar citizens begged for her to tell the story in her own words. Standing now on a stout platform in the center of town, where the festival was held the night before, Elsa recounted her story from the beginning, starting with the conception of her powers, the near fatal accident that sent her into hiding, and the whirlwind coronation. The people awed, gasped, and cried at the appropriate times, and by the middle of the tale the villagers loved Anna as much as Elsa, and held even more disdain for Hans than ever before.
When Elsa relayed the betrayal and violence Hans committed, she looked away from the crowd, voice dropping and words coming in awkward stumbles. She looked at Hans briefly, who was doing his best to blend into the captivated audience, unsure if she should continue. He forced a smile and swallowed the lump rising in his throat. He gave her the smallest nod of encouragement.
As if pulled by a magnet, the entire crowd turned their eyes on the described villain, murmuring and casting resentful glares. Hans stood his ground, his back stiffening in order to withstand their hateful gazes. He bore his eyes into Elsa, to Agust and Abbie who stood off to the side hand-in-hand, to his friends. But none of their gazes rose to meet his.
Overtaken by the awkward explanation of Han's villainy in lieu of his welcomed company, Elsa rushed through the ending and skipped like a tremoring heart to her diplomatic rescue mission, their crash, and the heroics of Hans (and her and Agust) as they made their way towards and through the island.
But the damage had been done, and many unforgiving eyes burned hotter than the villain's cheeks. Hans's gaze finally dropped down in shame. He didn't deserve Elsa's forced praise and wishes for approval, even though she'd forgiven him. Even if she somehow believed he was a hero. He nearly scoffed when she omitted his attempts to strangle her aboard the storm tossed boat and painted his character into something of a knight rather than a sarcastic arse. He was thankful, however, when she omitted their secret kiss.
As her tale drew to a close, finally having caught up to the present, the crowd picked up in a roar of appreciation and applause. Though they cheered her name, Elsa's eyes fell only on one quiet man. She saw his face during her tale, saw how guilt ridden he'd grown, watched how the Eofar citizens cast him looks of disgust and disdain. Though he was not apprehended, he had betrayed their trust, good wishes, and their hearts.
"I can't believe it!" Margery whistled, coming up to the hailed queen and interrupting her thoughts. "What a tale. I mean, when your dear sailor related your story to us it was pretty moving and persuasive, but hearing it from you! I feel so much love for you dear sister and your other friends! But that Hans! How horrible he was to you—I can hardly believe I thought you were in a relationship. I still can't fully understand why you've willing worked together all this time!"
Elsa blushed, unsure how to respond to such a forward, earnest statement. "A lot has changed since the shipwreck." She finally said, casting a fond look towards the infamous prince. Quite more than a lot. But she didn't need to explain her feelings to Margery. Or anyone for that matter. Even she wanted too, she didn't know if she could. They were too confusing, too new. But they were her own, and as complicated as they were, she knew they were true.
Hans met her gaze, a somber expression on his face. His eyes flickered over hers unsurely, deep in thought. As the people applauded louder, demanding the queen's attention once again in a new wave of weeping and apologies, Hans ducked out of the large crowd and headed down an alley. His cheeks burned and eyes downcast, slipping through jostling shoulders and avoiding unfavorable glares like an unwanted cat in the night.
Elsa eyes found the soft auburn hair wandering away. Heart nearly snapping as she recognized he was in pain, she knew she had to follow him. She excused herself from the fawning weeping crowds, surrendering the weight of their adoration to the teetering Agust. He bore it graciously, able to stand against anything as long as Abbie's hand remained in his.
"Hans!" Elsa called, running after the retreating prince. He stopped at the end of the alley, the same alley they escaped through the night before. Though he faced away from her, fixed on the open field and the woods beyond, he allowed her to catch up.
"This can't work." Hans said quietly, eyes still downcast. "It's too complicated."
"This whole journey has been complicated." She replied, reaching for his hand. He faced her, cheeks red and eyes brimming.
"Did you not hear yourself? I'm the villain in your story! In your kingdom!" Hans cried, pulling out of her grasp and turning away. Tears were a level of vulnerability he was not yet willing to share. If he let himself be that weak, allowed her to pick him up when he fell, he'd never be able to stand again. At least not without her. "This—this can't happen. It's doomed."
"I'm the Queen." Elsa asserted, throwing the weight of her title behind a selfish decision for the second time in her life. The first had been when she closed the doors of her castle. She prayed this time it was a good decision. "If I say you are pardoned, if I say you are loved, you will be welcomed."
Hans turned towards her, eyes wide and wet. "You may decree it, your highness, but laws don't change the hearts of people. I can't go somewhere I am reviled. I can't go somewhere I am ashamed. Don't ask this of me."
"Hans," Elsa said slowly, heart growing heavy. "You said you belong nowhere, that nobody needs you. But that's not true. Not anymore." She reached for his hand, tentitivley this time. Her fingers clung to his loosely, allowing him the chance to break away or firmly grasp. Hans looked away but remained rooted. Hearing those words—hearing Elsa say those words—were more powerful than she knew.
"What I feel for you is too new to put any definitive label on," she continued quietly, swallowing the lump in her throat. "But what I do know is that I need you to be with me right now." She looked up at him, a hopeful, teary smile plastered on her face. "That I want to try."
"How can you want to try something you know will fail, that you know will hurt and break you again." Hans whispered, the 'you' in his statement both second and first person. He looked up at her, the tears finally falling in unison with hers. "And that breaking this time will finally be too much for your back, your conscience, and your heart to bear?"
Elsa laughed in surprise, the tears still dripping down her face. She knew it was inappropriate, but she couldn't help herself. "Hans, that's where you're wrong!" She cried, fully grasping his rough hands. "You don't know if it will fail."
Hans choked on a sob and pulled her into a tight hug. His body shook against hers, riddled with worry, love, guilt, and forgiveness. He rubbed his salt streaked face against her platinum hair, the cool sensation comforting against his too warm blush. Everything about her made him feel whole, made him feel human. With her in his life, maybe he could become a hero.
Unburying is face, he bent his nose towards hers, hazel eyes staring dependently—hungrily— into azure.
"May I kiss you?" He breathed, breath pleasantly hot against her frosty face.
"You may."
Their lips crushed into each other, open and welcoming. His hands slid to her waist, pulling her from the ground and into his arms. As Elsa had stated, he was not completely sure what his feelings were. But also as she stated, he was willing to try. Though his emotions were new and confusing, the love he felt in her company, in her embrace, was enough to wash away his cumbering guilt.
Elsa had forgiven him. It was high time he forgave himself.
Breaking away for air and setting the queen down, they remained holding each other, unwilling to let go, unwilling to let the moment end and face their new beginning. But one thing still nagged in the back of Hans's mind, and though he had surrendered the problem up to his loving benefactor, it was still an issue they should discuss sooner than later.
"Hey, Elsa," he asked with a worried laugh, "What are we going to tell Anna?"
The queen's eyes snap open. "Oh shit."
One more chapter + epilogue on the way! Hope you guys have enjoyed! Stay tuned~~~