Frozen Hearts

By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty

Chapter 12- The game is on

Bright sunlight poured through the white draperies, and Anna opened her eyes again. Her fiancé was seated in a chair beside the bed, holding her hand, and fast asleep. Anna cautiously turned her head on the pillow, grateful that this movement didn't cause much pain. She gazed at the white walls around her, and the white curtain that separated her from other patients. A hospital, she registered. But why was she here? She tried to recall, but the thought caused her head to ache a little. So she stopped thinking, and turned her concentration to the man to whom she was engaged to be married.

He was young, in his early twenties, she guessed, and his thick hair was of the color of the sun, beautifully trimmed to lie flat on his forehead. At the moment, his hair was rumpled from sleep and there was something endearingly boyish about that and the way his spiky brown lashes lay against his face. There was something innocent about the rest of him, like a cuddly teddy bear, and she felt a mixture of joy and affection for him at the discovery. But there was something manly about him too. His straight, dark brown brows were drawn together in a scowl that boded ill for someone in his dreams. The white fabric of his shirt was stretched taut over powerful shoulders and muscular arms. He was lovely and boyish, yet he was manly and powerful, she decided.

And handsome.

She remembered a few words from his conversation with the doctor. He said she had a bad argument with him. She rested her eyes affectionately on his face. Moreover, he'd stayed with her all night, sleeping in that dreadfully uncomfortable position and never letting go of her hand; therefore, he must be very much in love with her. How could she have such a bad dispute with this lovely man?

She tried to think about the night when she almost killed herself, but nothing came to her mind. She closed her eyes tightly, searching for any recollection of him or of her past, but there was nothing except a black void. "Concentrate…think harder…" Anna said to herself. "Concentrate on happy memories…"

How did they meet? At party? At dinner? At university? Did they know each other before they started dating? Where did they go for dates? Somewhere romantic, she guessed. When did they share their first kiss? No woman could forget dating such a sweet man, being loved by him. How did he propose her? She'd remember it all in a minute, she told herself fiercely, fighting back a surge of panic so strong it made her feel nauseated. She closed her eyes, searching for the memory when he went down on one knee, and said, "Will you marry me, Anna…."

Anna? Anna who? She couldn't even remember her last name.

She possibly said yes to him. To him? To Whom? Oh, God, she didn't even recall her fiancé's name.

What was it? She tried to make some logical guess. John…Henry…Michel….Who? She tried to think of something clever, but her mind remained blank. A surge of panic rushed through her mind, as she tried to stay calm. But she couldn't stay calm. She couldn't remember her name. She couldn't remember his name. She couldn't remember her own life. Unknowingly her hands clasped around her fiancé sleeping peacefully beside her, and her whole body raked with the question she was holding back.

Kristoff felt as if his hand had been clamped in a vise grip. He tried to pull free of the painful grasp, but it held onto him. He half opened his eyes to see a pair of blue eyes looking at him, asking, "What is your name?"

"Don't know…" He replied in a sleepy tone. He twisted his hand free from her grasp, he drifted deeper into slumber, reaching for the bliss of it, but something she'd said was holding him back, tugging at him. "I don't know your name. I don't know my name….Don't know….don't know…"

Kristoff's eyes snapped open, terribly furious for waking him up for such a ridiculous question. She'd turned her face away and covered her mouth with her left hand in an attempt to silence her cries, but shudders were still racking her body. He immediately recognized the girl he rescued a week ago, and wondered how on earth he ended up sleeping beside her bed.

"What's wrong?" he said carefully, gentling his voice to what he hoped was a soothing tone. "Are you feeling ill?"

Anna turned her face, and was taken aback how tired he looked. He might have been so worried about her, she guessed. She felt very ashamed for waking him up in such a rude way. She wiped away her tears with her right hand, and tried to smile, "Nothing so serious." She said. Guided by an instinctive desire to make the best of a difficult situation, she drew a shaky breath and gave him an apologetic smile. "I know it's absurd, but I think I forgot your name."

"Bjorgman." Kristoff tried to give her his best smile, "Kristoff Bjorgman. Is that why you woke me up?" He yawned.

"Oh!" A small sigh escaped from Anna's lips as she looked at Kristoff's face, and smiled, "I'm sorry, Kristoff."

"Why?" Kristoff looked puzzled.

"For waking you up." Anna said apologetically, lacing her fingers into his lovingly. "I'm sorry for every trouble I caused you."

"It's alright." Kristoff said. She had a lovely voice, he realized. And for some weird reason, he liked to play this little game along with her, but the truth was he couldn't play it for long. She would realize that he wasn't her finance soon, and it would traumatize her already injured mind. Slowly he withdrew his hand from hers, stood up, and smiled; "I'm going to meet the doctor. I must talk about your condition.

"Come back soon." She giggled weakly at that, but she was tiring, and he saw it. He felt a sharp pang of guilt inside him for leaving her like that.

"Alright." He smiled, and she smiled back at him, before drifting back to the sleep again.

But the truth was it was their last meeting. But because the curtsy towards the opposite sex had been drummed into his head since childhood, and because he had some sympathy for that unfortunate girl, he left his address and phone number at the front desk before leaving the hospital, and told them to contact him if Anna needed anything.

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The condolence meeting of Anna Kingsley was held at the Kingsley family grave.

Elsa stood beside Anna's grave, speech in a shaky hand as she faced her people. Hans, of course, followed her and stood by her side as he always did. Yes, the media was accusing her for Anna's mysterious death. They were suspecting that she was having secret affair with her sister's fiancé. She knew that a bigger portion of her employees believed in that rumor too. She raised her teary eyes to look at Hans; he gave her an encouraging smile in return. It seemed like that he did care nothing about the rumor. He gently placed a hand around her waist, tried to calm her down and give her enough confidence to deliver Anna's eulogy. "We must do what Anna wished." He whispered. Elsa nodded, feeling very grateful for him being with her all the time.

She took a deep breath, and raised the paper to her eyes. She looked perfectly clam and poised, but Hans knew she was breaking inside. The air was cold, so was her skin. Hans moved closer, and patted her back soothingly. Photographers stood massed behind barriers patrolled by security guards, their long-snouted cameras poised. Behind them there were journalists from various states were talking, while soundmen with head phone hovered.

All of them fell silent as Elsa began her speech.

"Employees of the Kingsley Business group, today we've gathered to say goodbye to our beloved Anna, my dearest sister, the person who was the sunshine of our world. But now the ray is gone, but the sun will never set."

Hans knew Elsa's words sounded forced, but right to the point. He flashed an encouraging smile, reminding her that it was the time to move on to the right point. Elsa understood.

"Anna wanted our business to flourish. She wished to bear our father's legacy. I will do what she wanted to do. I will bear the legacy that Anna left behind…I will….."

Elsa looked at the crowd for a second. It was the moment she was afraid of. Taking a shaky breath she let her voice waft over the crowd. The crowd stared, waiting patiently for the rest of her speech.

"Today I am officially taking the position of the president of the Arendelle Company."

The declaration made the crowd gasp. Some stared. Some gaped at her in shock. Hans just felt shivers travel down his neck and spine. Haunting, ephemeral… Elsa ate the idea he fed her last night.

"But Miss Kingsley," A man behind a large video camera shouted, "In your absence your sister was acting as the regent. Was that reason of the argument?"

Elsa's grip on Hans' arms tightened automatically. She gave him a frightened look, but Hans gave her another encouraging nod. He needed to play this little game along with her. "No," Her lips quivered with the cry she was trying to resist, "She was about make a mistake. I just wanted to correct her."

The crowd gasped in shock, while comments continued passing. It was definitely a sensitive issue, and Elsa's comment added more fire to the rumor. It was getting out of control now.

"But people say that you were angry because you didn't want to share your power with her." Another voice called from the crowd," Were you afraid that your sister will take over the company in your absence? And what do you think about Sofia Westergard's sudden disappearance on the same day?"

"Because, I…." Elsa opened her mouth to answer, but Hans quickly cut her off. ""I think it is not necessary for the story." He looked at the girl in his arms, who was puzzled with his sudden interruption, "That is the internal matter of the family. We can't talk about anything indiscreet."

A whisper of surprise rose among the crowd. Some of them began throwing curious glances at their entwined hands.

"What is so indiscreet, Mr. Westergard?" Another journalist questioned, "Are you involved in this conspiracy too? Is it one of the reasons of the argument?"

"It's not true." Elsa replied feeling uncomfortable. "Hans is my best friend, you all know it."

"We are in a good relationship." Hans said, holding Elsa's hand tightly, shielding her, hiding her from the cameras. Elsa seemed very grateful for his afford. But he knew this little gesture earned a lot of trust from this broken girl. He didn't need publicity to materialize his plan. All he needed a little attention.

But the secret exchange of glances between them didn't escape the media's eyes. A brown haired journalist shouted among the crowd, "But these days we see you two together a lot. Is it only friendship or something more? Does it have something do with your sister-in-law's disappearance too?"

Elsa looked insulted.

"I care about her a lot… I love her." Hans shouted to the crowd, gripping her hand tightly, cutting off her questions and yanked her back to him. "Hans…what…" Elsa was shocked as the cameras began to follow the retreating couple. And the silence of the graveyard was insulted by a chorus of shutter clicks and blinding lights. Passing through the main door, he pushed Elsa into the car, and shut the door, effectively blocking out the crowd of photographers. He looked at Elsa, and placed his right hand on her shoulder. She is still shaking. "Are you all right?" He asked.

Elsa was ready to collapse in her mourning dress, that's how exhausted she was. After talking to so many people, answering so many questions about Anna, and the thing that happened with Hans, Elsa just wanted to be alone.

"Go away, Hans…" She cried, turning her head to the other side, brushing Hans' hand off her shoulder, "Just leave me alone."

"There are many reasons for you to be angry with me. But I said what I feel for real." Hans nodded, patting her hands softly, "But I'm sorry that that offended you, Elsa. It's ok. I'm leaving." He let go her hand, and stopped the car. Handing the key to Elsa, he turned the knob to open the door.

He was really leaving. Suddenly an irrational fear of being alone began engulfing her, as the Hans began to move. It happened to her a lot since Anna's death.

"Wait…" Elsa raised her head, and looked at Hans, trying to keep her voice casual, "Are you leaving the car to me? How will you go home?"

"By foot, as it seems right now." Hans smiled sadly, "Don't worry, I've strong legs."

A sad smile tugged at the corner of Elsa's lips. She was still angry with him. But she knew all Hans did to save her from the angry journalists. Besides, he was with her since Anna's death. She was still grateful to him for that. Unsure of her own feelings, she looked at him and said, "Alright. You don't have to walk home."

"Thank you." Without any more words, Hans got back into the car again. He took the key from Elsa, and started the engine. "Where do you want to go now?" He asked softly.

"Anywhere but home." She said.

Hans turned the car backwards, and crossed the road leading to the Kingsley Mansion. Elsa turned her gaze to the window, to the busy traffic. She threw a sideways glance at Hans, who seemed lost in his own thoughts. She was angry with Hans for declaring his love for her in the public like that, but she couldn't ignore the feeling she had for him. Besides it was him who helped her to get through the period of grief after Anna's death. It had been three weeks since that night, and Hans visited her every day, helped her to get over her sorrows. He looked after her, made her tea, made her smile. But it was crazy. He had been pinning for Anna, hadn't he? Then why was he looking after her like that? Was it just his way to be nice to everyone?

She looked away from the window, and gazed at Hans who was tapping his fingers on the stirring wheel absentmindedly. "Hans," She whispered, "Why are you taking care of me in this way?"

Her question startled Hans. He turned his eyes away from the busy traffic, and gazed deep into Elsa's eyes. He saw her insecurities there; her feelings for him and her sister were tearing her up. He blinked, and shook his head slowly, "Because I care about you."

"But why?" she questioned, her arms crossed over her chest insecurely. "I don't mean to doubt you, but it had been only a weeks since Anna's death."

Hans swallowed thickly; he did it a lot recently when Elsa asked him difficult questions like this. Anna was easier one to approach, but Elsa was the difficult one. Still he did everything in his effort to make Elsa to trust him. But if she really began to doubt his intentions now…

He lowered his gaze from Elsa's face, and gazed back at the traffic signal turning green. He started the engine. "I did love her." He lied, "But I cannot forget the fourteen year old girl overridden with guilt. I don't want your sorrows to devour you again."

There was so much honesty in his words that made Elsa tear up a bit. Everything was so confusing, and Elsa felt so out of control- in her position as the president of Arendelle, in losing her sister, in how her heart beat quicker since Hans was so close—and nothing would make it easier. But as Hans used his free arm to envelop her in a tight embrace, Elsa couldn't help but feel slightly more comforted against him. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you." She whispered.

Hans liked this overemotional Elsa. He liked when her feelings went out of control. She ate up everything whatever he fed her. Anna was out of picture, so was Sofia. He didn't worry about his brother Henry. Sofia's disappearance was enough to break him too. Elsa was again like the fourteen years old girl he remembered. The statement he made in the cameras about his concern for her was noting but a part of his dirty game. He needed to show the world how much he cared for her. He needed to make a good impression in public first. He needed to make her believe that he was her only savior. He wanted her to succumb to his affection. And it was only the beginning. The game was really on.

"I will always be with you Elsa," Hans whispered, resting his chin atop Elsa's messy silver hair, holding her trembling body in his arms, "I will be with you as long as it needs…"

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