Frozen Hearts

By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty

Chapter 14- Look before you leap

The first few moments of waking up were always the same. Kristoff never seemed to remember where he was. He had slept on the rug on the floor. But why? Had he fallen asleep there on purpose? If so, what was the reason when his own comfortable bed was waiting in his bedroom? He would lay and analyze for a while, but his bladder was pressing very urgently. Unwillingly, he got up from the floor, and rushed towards the bathroom, only to find it locked from inside. Sven was sitting at the door, carefully guarding the person inside whoever it was.

Baffled and annoyed, Kristoff looked at the locked door. He knocked on the door, and when there was no response, he hesitated, then knocked again. Still no reply. The sound of running water, and a soft humming sound were coming from the other side of the door. He immediately recognized the voice.

Anna…

The impossible girl who stalked him since the moment he rescued her. She had ruined his date, and followed him home. He took a careful look around his room, and saw the empty boxes of chicken noodles and bones of chicken wings on the low table. HIS food. That meant he had feed her last night. Oh God, what was wrong with him? Probably his anger had to do something with that. Right now, the little idiot invaded his bathroom, and didn't even bother to reply out of curtsy. He thought about breaking the door, but meeting Sven's alarming glare he abandoned the plan. That little fool charmed the dog too.

"Will you ever come out of the bathroom?" Kristoff at last reached at the edge of his tolerance, "If you don't, I will break in."

A soft sound made him swing around.

"I didn't hear your knock," his houseguest said, walking out of the bathroom. Wrapped in a white bed sheet, and a blue towel loosely draped over her head, she stood before him barefoot, unselfconscious, and completely unrepentant for ignoring his threat.

"It's almost 15 minutes." Having just been needlessly subjected to several awful moments of discomfort, Kristoff reacted with a flash of annoyance, followed by anger. "If I were you, I'd not spend my whole day in the shower." He scowled without giving her any chance to speak, walked into the bathroom, and shut the door in her face.

He took a quick shower, washed his clothes, and when he came out of the bathroom wearing his usual clothes, he found Anna still standing in front of the bathroom door, wrapped in the bed sheet. She'd borrowed a gold cord from the draperies and tied it around her waist to hold the sheet closed, and with her bare toes peeping out from beneath the long robe and that light blue towel over her head like a veil, she reminded him of the barefoot Madonna. Instead of the real Madonna's serenely sweet smile, however, this Madonna was wearing an expression that looked bewildered, accusing, and distinctly unhappy, all at once. She did not make him wait to find out the cause.

"You took almost one and half hour."

Caught completely off-guard, Kristoff said cautiously, "I'm not certain what you mean."

"I mean the time," she said angrily, pointing an accusing finger to the clock on the wall. "You've left me standing wet and cold in a bed sheet for almost one and half hour."

Kristoff was apparently tongue-tied, because he saw her shivering slightly. She didn't have any spare clothes, and the one he lent her last night was still in the hanger in the bathroom. He thought about apologizing, but he abandoned the plan immediately. He couldn't let this girl grow on him.

"This is my bathroom." He kept his scowl, "I can do whatever I want."

"That doesn't mean keep a girl standing, wet and half naked in the cold." She clarified as she swept the towel away and shoved him aside, and walked into the bathroom to retrieve her clothes.

As she walked, Kristoff watched her, with the white sheet trailing behind her like an enormous train. It was perfect against her delicate features and slightly tanned skin. It began to register on Anna that Kristoff was watching her, as she walked towards the bathroom. She turned to look at him, trying to read his expression. He didn't look annoyed anymore. Was he just…wait… admiring?

"Do you always like me in this way, Kristoff?" She asked, curiously.

Kristoff liked it. He liked every damn thing about her. He opened his mouth to answer, and realized he didn't know the answer. "No." He said casually. "Now go, and get rid of that damn sheet while I make some breakfast for us." His voice sounded hoarse as he began walking towards the kitchen.

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After the breakfast, Anna found Kristoff in the living room with his laptop. He gathered his books on the table, going through them one after another. "It is hopeless."He hurled the book across the table.

"You've forgotten your tea." His turned around as Anna approached with the tea he had forgotten during the breakfast.

"Oh, yes." Kristoff replied without looking, and returned to his work. Anna placed the teacup on the table and sat in the sofa beside him. She watched his finger moving smoothly over the keyboard as he typed his paper. He was so beautiful—in a cute way— that it was difficult not to stare at him. Although she was a bit annoyed with their little argument earlier this morning, but she loved his company and his dark sense of humor. In the hospital, she counted the hours between his visits, looking forward eagerly to each one, but the visits had all been very brief and completely uninformative. As a result, she still knew nothing about herself, or about him, or about their relationship. She knew she loved him, and for that reason she ran away from the hospital to find him. But now, she was no longer willing to exist in limbo, waiting for her capricious memory to return at any moment and provide the answers.

"I need to tell you something." She said at last, breaking the silence.

Kristoff's looked at her with surprise, but then she was full of surprises, including her next announcement, which was stated with a great deal of resolve and only a tremor of uncertainty. "I've been making some decisions today."

"Have you now," he said, keeping his expression as normal as possible. She had already taken the decision of invading his private space, but he didn't point that out. Beside he was annoyed beyond words, but he didn't express in his posture.

"Yes. I've decided that the best way to cope with the loss of my memory is to believe that it is merely a passing inconvenience, and for us to treat it that way."

"I think that's an excellent idea."

"There are a few things I'd like to ask you, however."

"What would you like to know?"

"Oh, the usual things," Anna said, choking on a laugh, leaning closer, "How did we meet? Where did we go for our first date? Where did we kiss for the first time?"

She was sitting so close to him that her breath was trickling the skin of his neck, sending chills along his spine. He was torn between a wild urge to laugh at her wonderful, courageous sense of humor and a wilder urge to pull her off the sofa, shove his hands into that mass of gleaming hair and bury his lips in hers. She was as enticing as she was sweet, in his grandma's old dress and than any gorgeously dressed —or undressed—girl he'd ever known.

She was not his fiancée. It was only a game. He cursed himself for the feeling she was making him to feel.

"I guess my question isn't so hard to answer." Her quiet voice jerked him from his furious self-reproach, but his feelings lingered. "Hope you are not suffering from amnesia too." She said half seriously.

Kristoff gave her a brief, humorless smile. "My thoughts drifted. I apologize."

"To whom?" She laughed jokingly, "Someone prettier than me?"

"No…no…" Kristoff quickly gathered himself together, and tried to smile, "I'm afraid I've forgotten the questions entirely."

"Well that explains it!" she joked. Kristoff realized she was watching him very, very closely. He was disconcerted by the way her eyes were searching his, and he hesitated for a second, still struggling to switch his attention to the topic at hand.

"Now…Anna…I'm not really…." He wanted to return to his work. But Anna suddenly leaned forward, and looked into his eyes. Her lips were so close, that Kristoff feared that she was going to kiss him.

"Anna…" He wanted to push her away, but his limbs were weakening against his will. And he felt the heat radiating from his face.

"You're blushing." Anna chuckled softly, "Did you blush when we kissed for the first time?"

It was really a very hard question to answer. He never blushed when he kissed other girls. But he hadn't kissed Anna before. While Kristoff was desperately searching for an answer, then his phone rang, breaking the magic.

"Opps," Anna exhaled, looking a bit disappointed.

"My university has arranged a costume party. And all of us are invited." Kristoff opened the text and read it aloud. He never felt so happy being interrupted before.

"It sounds wonderful." Anna looked excited. "I like to meet your friends too."

Kristoff threw her an annoyed glare. Would this girl ever stop stalking him? A part of him wanted to throw her out of his house, but a part of him also wanted her to stay. Swearing silently, he realized that no matter what he felt now, he couldn't escape from the situation.

"Do you really want to come?" He asked keeping his voice normal.

"Sure."

"Then get ready for the dinner at 7:30 pm. I'll pick you up. We'll meet at the Wondering Orken's trading post."

Anna's eyes lit up with the mention of dinner. She was going to have a dinner with her fiancé. How exciting.

"Now I understand why I fell in love with you." She kissed his check and hurried back to the bedroom to pick her clothes for the evening.

When she was gone, Kristoff sank into the sofa. It was insane! And it was getting more insane with every passing second. He was sick of playing this fiancé role. He looked at his half done assignment; he needed to submit it in this week. But he didn't even have enough concentration to finish it.

So, he picked up his phone, and dialed Olaf's number. Olaf, his best friend cum computer genius picked it up.

"What's up Kristoff?"

"I need your help, Olaf." He said with a silent desperation.

"Of what kind?" Olaf was puzzled.

"A serious kind." Kristoff whispered over the phone. He threw some clothes in the backpack and headed towards the door, "I'm coming to your place right now. We've to make plans. Please call Kristina and tell her to come too."

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When Hans woke, he was wrapped in Elsa's arms. He couldn't feel his leg (she was on top of that) but he couldfeel all of her against all of his. The moments from last night—her desperation and helplessness turned into so much more that made her to surrender to his will. He knew this would happen eventually, but he didn't expect this to happen so quickly.

He felt victorious, and joyous, and then it made him to feel like a king. He didn't want to get up, but the doorbell was ringing so urgently. Carefully, Hans extracted himself from Elsa's arms. She murmured something when he left the warmth of the bed, but didn't wake.

Hans put on a navy blue t-shirt and a pair of grey jeans, and walked towards the door. And he was greeted by the most unexpected person of the world- Duke Weaslton, the head of the trusty board of Arendelle Company. "Good morning, Mr. Westergard." He greeted him with a sly smile, "Is everything going well?"

Hans always hated this little weasel, but his usefulness to him was much more valuable than his personal opinion. He was a necessary evil or so what people said. Keeping his voice clam, he asked him, "What do you want, Duke?"

"Nothing." The little man smiled innocently, "I just wanted to check over Miss Kingsley and remind her about the meeting we have today. Where is Her Majesty?" He slipped his wigged head inside, and threw a curious look around the little flat. "I guess you two have spent a night together?"

Hans blushed with the hints, but he kept his face straight. He firmly grabbed Duke's shoulder, and shoved him away, "Keep your ugly neck away from my house Duke. And you can tell me what you need to tell Elsa."

Hans' mention of Elsa's name made the little man smile. "So you two are in first name basis now. Very good. Does she know your secrets too?"

"I vow to stay by her side," Hans countered. "Now I suggest you leave my house before I myself reveal the secretplans you made for her."

"My plan or your own, Mr. Southerniles?" Duke smirked. "Don't forget that I saved you when you were in trouble with Sofia, and I even volunteered two of my men to help you with Anna. Oh, did I mention my private jet too?"

"How dare you—" Hans had reached his limit. He grabbed Duke's collar, reaching for his neck. After a moment, he cleared his throat, and then lowered his hand from his collar. "What do you want now to keep the secrets secret from Elsa?" He whispered cautiously.

"You know our deal, Mr. Westergard." Duke replied, still struggling for breathe.

Now, Hans wasn't outright greedy or malicious. Like all humans, he had his limits, though—and he wasn't afraid to play dirty if those limits were reached. He looked around himself, and then asked, "Alright, done. But will you keep my secrets away from Elsa?"

The anxiety in Hans' voice amused the man. He observed his anxiety for a moment, and grinned, "You cannot still get over your feelings for her, aren't you, Mr. Westergard Junior? And you are ready to do anything to keep your face clean to her, aren't you?"

"Leave." Hans bellowed, clasping his hands tightly around Duke's wrists and shoving him away.

"I'd leave, but remember Elsa isn't as naïve as Anna." Hans could just feel that leer on Duke's face, practically.

"Let me take care of that," he growled, slamming the door shut.

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Hans took a quick shower and even had time to make the breakfast before Elsa came down the stairs. She was wrapped in the blanket from the bed, trailing it behind her like an extravagant gown. Hans couldn't help but smile. No offence to her fashion sense, she had an extraordinary taste for dresses, but he had never seen her more beautiful than in this moment, wearing a blanket and hair mussed from bed. There was even a slight bruise on her neck from his kisses last night.

Her face was flushed and it took her three times of clearing her throat before she could speak.

"Last night…was it real or not real?"

"It was real." He pulled her down in his lap. She smelt of sleep and something tangy that was very attracting.

"I thought so," Elsa answered. "I'm a bit…sore. It was my first time after all."

Hans gave her an apologetic smile, and kissed her neck. Elsa buried her face in his chest, and wrapped her arms around him. Her fingers combed through his hair and a shiver of lust moved through him. He held her close, and enjoyed the sheer bliss of the silence. He was still shaken from his encounter with Duke, but Elsa's company helped him to calm down a bit.

But it didn't last long, because Elsa had already noticed the paleness of his face. She raised her head from his chest and gazed into his eyes worriedly, "You look a bit pale." She sounded concerned. "Are you alright?"

The concern in her voice broke the line of his thought, but he smiled as his eyes met hers. "I had a bad dream." He said in a quiet voice.

"Is it about Anna?" Elsa sounded more concerned than before.

Her question startled Hans but he quickly gained his composure. "Maybe." He whispered, burying his face in Elsa's neck, holding her tighter than before. Elsa felt him shaking a little in her embrace. It surprised her. She had never seen Hans reacting in such way with the mention of Anna's name.

Elsa never saw Hans acting so much vulnerable before. He was always there when she was in her dark mood. She decided to return the favor. So, she held his face close to her breast, ran her fingers through his hair, and whispered softly, "I can feel your pain, Hans. I feel the same. I am with you."

Her soft voice convinced Hans a bit. He raised his face from Elsa's breast, and looked at her, gazing deep into her eyes, "Even if you ever find that I'm a liar?"

She huffed out a breath and shook her head. Relief painted Hans' face, but to be surer, he pulled Elsa closer, down his lap.

"Do you really trust me, Elsa?" He asked, while pressing kisses to her shoulder, which has slipped out of her blanket-dress.

Elsa remained quiet for a minute before sitting up straighter. "But why you are asking me these things?"

"No…no…" Hans laughed as he saw the serious look in her face. "I am just asking. Besides after last night we have no more secret between us." He added jokingly.

Elsa blushed deeply with his comment, but she also laughed at his joke and the tension from before ebbed away. "Even then," she said. "I trust you Hans."

"Then never stop trusting me, Elsa." He whispered, leaning closer to her, his lips were only an inch away from her. Elsa nodded slowly, letting her hands drift up his chest until they clasped behind his neck comfortably. She felt like she was in a dream or a daze, and she didn't want to wake up just yet.

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