Frozen Hearts
By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty
Chapter 16- Burning
"Female, Caucasian, strawberry blonde, in between 18-19 years, blue gown…" Kristoff watched Olaf as he described Anna to the nearest police station. He gave him a hopeful look, when he put down the phone. But Olaf shook his head disappointedly, "Nothing. No one has even seen her."
Kristoff sank into the floor. It had been two days since Anna left, and she was totally untraceable since then. Olaf searched all the hospitals, police stations, even morgues. No one had seen the girl of their description, no one even heard her name.
Kristoff never felt so much guilty in his entire life. The roads were covered with thick layers of snow, traffic got stuck, and the mayor had announced a national holiday. Thinking of Anna alone in the weather like this…oh she didn't have anything warm to cover herself.
She had only left two days ago, but it seemed like she had been gone for years. The few moments Kristoff had been able to get sleep in the last two nights were miserable because his dreams were all about her. And in the end of all of them she cried for his help, but he abandoned her…didn't she knew he couldn't live with the burden of guilt?
"It is your fault, Kristoff." Olaf growled as he picked up the receiver again, and called the police station. Kristoff knew it was only wastage of time. Olaf gave him a surprised look as he suddenly picked up his jacket from the couch, and walked towards the door. "Where are you going?" He asked.
"Out." Kristoff flung open the door, and a blast of cold wind blew to his face. "I need to search myself."
"May I come? After all it is part of my fault too." Olaf picked up his jacket, and started to follow him, but Kristoff pushed him back to the sofa, "No Olaf, you sit here by the telephone, and wait for the news from the police. If there is any update, just inform me, ok?"
Olaf was totally heartbroken. He was feeling guilty since Anna ran away, and he wanted to apologize to her too. He threw a disgusted look at the telephone on the center table, and nodded, "Alright." And then he placed his hand on Kristoff's shoulder, and gave him a small pat, "But bring her home, Kristoff."
"I will." Kristoff promised as he exited the house, and found his bike in the garage. He secured Sven in the backseat, and rode the bike himself. He started the engine, the engine roared into life, and sped the bike towards the snow covered landscape outside.
He had to find Anna. He didn't know how, but he knew he had to bring her home.
Tonight.
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The weather was far worse than Kristoff thought. Snow covered the ground below like thick white blanket, and more and more snow was falling from the sky, gathering over previous layers. It was really hard to drive in this, and Kristoff had to keep the speed to the minimum. It made the situation worse. Snow gathered over his face, over his eyebrows, over his goggles, blurring his vision in the process. It felt like that he had stepped into a deep fridge. Sven barked unhappily in the backseat. He never liked cold.
"Easy, Sven." Kristoff said to the dog sympathetically as he drove past abandoned cars, stuck into the snow. "Anna." He called her name. No answer. He peeped through the car windows, with a hope that Anna might have taken shelter in there. But no. There was not a single living being out there, except him, Sven, and….
Anna.
The mere thought of Anna out there, alone and vulnerable in this vicious cold made him sick. The blizzard was getting stronger and stronger, and he was now driving his bike in ankle deep snow. He had no idea how long he could drive like this. It was a hard task, but nothing was going to stop him now. Not snow, not cold. Nothing. It didn't matter what he had to do. He was going to find Anna.
Just then the engine decided to die. Kristoff looked at the oil meter, and it was showing that the tank was completely empty. The nearest filling station was almost a mile away. Angrily, Kristoff kicked the bike, but it wouldn't do any good.
"We have to walk, Sven." He said, untying the dog from the backseat. Sven gave him a sympathetic gaze, and rubbed his snout against Kristoff's boot. Kristoff looked down, appreciatively petting his back. "We're going to find her. Will you help me?"
Sven nodded curtly and immediately lowered his snout to the ground, searching for Anna's scent. Meanwhile, Kristoff looked around to see if he could catch any sight of anyone, but he could barely see anything through the falling snow. Trying to get a better view, he surveyed the area as Sven moved along. All he caught sight of was the blurry contours of shops that lined the streets. He didn't see Anna—In fact, he didn't see anyone at all. But he knew she was out there, somewhere. And he was going to find her... he had to.
"Anna!" he cried, his eyes desperately scanning the area. Not a soul in sight…Just snow. And lots of it. An uneasy feeling began to grow inside his stomach.
"Anna!" he called out, though he could barely hear his own voice over the howling wind. But the reply was more and more snow covering his goggles. He took off his goggles, and wiped it clean, but snow blurred his vision almost immediately. Kristoff's heart raced—this was the worst blizzard he had seen in ages…And by the looks of things, it was only going to get worse.
"We have to keep going!" Kristoff told Sven to keep up his spirit. Sven nodded and began sniffing hard; though Kristoff could tell even he was having trouble in the situation like this.
She might have been frozen to death. Or no one could vanish in the thin air like this. Right then Sven began barking, jerking Kristoff out of his thoughts. "What?" He asked, but Sven kept barking loudly, and began racing over the snow covered path, sniffing the air intently. Kristoff looked around, eyes wide, for signs of any human life.
Nothing. Another street cleared. Sven swerved around another corner. "Anna!" Kristoff called out, raising his voice to the highest level, with a hope the wind would carry. But there was no answer. Sven kept running, and Kristoff kept following him, with hope to find Anna.
But there was nothing, except the snow, and the howling wind.
Finally, Sven stopped near a dustbin, and began digging though the trashes.
Kristoff was now terribly angry. All the way he ran through the snow, only to find an abandoned dustbin! "Sven!" He tugged Sven's collar, and shouted angrily, "We're searching for Anna, Sven. There is no time for digging trashes."
But Sven ignored him, and continued digging. "Well." Kristoff at last decided to give up. "If you don't come Sven, then…" He released Sven's belt, and was about to turn…and then…..
Wait…what was that? Behind the dustbin, among the snow covered bins… At first, Kristoff thought that the snow was playing tricks on him. His eyes locked on where he had spotted a girl, he wiped his goggles clean, and shone his torch over the young girl's face. Now, there was no mistake about it. That reddish blonde hair, that particular blue gown, those bare arms, wrapped around herself in a futile attempt to keep warm ….
"Anna!"
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"Anna!"
The sudden cry jolted Anna out of her foggy thoughts, and she almost couldn't believe her ears. Was that…Kristoff? Anna gritted her teeth, angry at herself once again. Since the day she regained her consciousness, she had been giving herself false hope—Torturing herself is more like it—by letting herself believe Kristoff. She had fooled herself countless times since then, by trusting his sweet words, thinking that he truly loved her… No, she was not going make the same mistake again. The torchlight almost blinded her vision, and she made out the blurring figure coming towards her…
She was not going back to him. Not again. She couldn't hurt herself anymore. She instinctively rose from the ground, and gathered the front of her gown closed. She couldn't bear his presence anymore.
So Anna did the only thing she could think of: She ran.
"Anna!" Kristoff kept calling as she ran. She tried to ignore his call, covering her ears from the sound of his lingering voice. But he was following her. "Anna…" He called again, "Listen, I'm sorry." He said, his voice sounded more pleading than ever.
I'm sorry, Kristoff, Anna thought, quickening her pace. She didn't want to hear him. She didn't want to return. "I never loved Kristina." Kristoff said from behind, and Anna's stomach twisted in knots. Please… she pleaded mentally as she ran, memories of her humiliation threatening to consume her. Please don't lie anymore…
"Those pictures were not true." Kristoff's voice sounded more prominent, and realistic than ever, "Please trust me. We need to talk."
Please trust me. And finally Anna almost felt herself about to break. It was all too much…The blizzard, the voice … Tears of humiliation burned the backs of her eyes, and she stopped, fighting desperately to hold on to her shattered pride. She couldn't face him, but she couldn't run away from him without giving her feelings away, so she carefully kept her back to him as Kristoff strolled near her. "Stop following me, Kristoff." She said, without turning back, struggling to keep her voice steady. Behind her, she heard him come toward her, and she swallowed and drew a deep breath before she could go on. "Go back to your girlfriend."
Kristoff thought he heard her voice break, and his conscience tore at him. "Anna," he began and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Kindly take your hands…" she paused for another shattered breath, "off me."
"Turn around and listen to me."
Anna felt her control collapsing, and though she closed her eyes tightly shut, hot tears began to race down her cheeks. If she turned now he'd see that she was crying, and she would rather die than suffer that humiliation. Left with no recourse, she bent her head and wrapped her arms around herself, pretending to keep herself warm.
"Kristina isn't my girlfriend." He said. "Those photos were only made by Photoshop," Kristoff said, fighting the desire to wrap her in his arms and beg her forgiveness.
"I don't trust you." Anna said viciously. "Not anymore."
"You shouldn't Anna." He whispered, deciding to tell the truth at last, "Because you and I were never…" But he stopped in the middle when he saw the tears dropping onto the sleeve of her gown, and his restrain broke. Grabbing her shoulders he turned her around and pulled her into his arms. "Please don't cry," he whispered into her snow covered hair. "Please don't. "
"Then let go of me!" she said fiercely, but she was crying so hard, her shoulders were shaking.
"I can't," he said, cradling the back of her head and holding her close. She was shivering against him. He unzipped his jacket, and he fastened it around her. Sharing their body heats made them to feel comfortable, and the presses of the soft feminine contours of Anna's body against his made him dizzy. He tried to think it straight, but he couldn't. Holding her hot cheek pressed to his shirt, he felt the wetness seeping through it. "I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing her temple. "I'm sorry." She felt so soft against him. She was too proud to struggle and too shattered to stop crying, her body racked with silent sobs. "Please," he whispered hoarsely, "I didn't want to hurt you." Without realizing what he was doing, he forced her chin up with his hand and touched his mouth to her cheek, trailing a light kiss over the smooth skin, feeling the wetness of her tears. He stroked his hand over her back and nape in a helpless attempt to soothe her. "Don't let me hurt you."
His touch was burning her skin. But Anna wasn't giving up so easily. She turned away her head, and tried to push him away, but his jacket bound them so tightly together, that there was no way to escape. "Let me go." She whispered, turning her face away from his, still unable to move away from him. "Our engagement is over, Kristoff."
She was rejecting him now, permanently, and something deep within Kristoff gave out a keening cry, mourning the loss of her. Shoving his hands into her hair, Kristoff turned her face up to his and gazed into wounded, hostile blue eyes. "Sorry, Anna," he whispered thickly as he lowered his mouth to her, "I'm not accepting your proposal."
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It was the first day of of the year 2014, and Elsa Kingsley, the new leader of Arendelle announced her dream project of the "Hotel North Mountain." Reluctantly rest of the board members agreed to accompany her to the North Mountain. So the gang they flew to Alaska.
It was an excellent place, in the northeast part of the state, surrounded by tall mountains. It remained frozen through the year, so the ice never melted. In mid winter the Aurora Borealis lit up the northern sky, creating a kaleidoscope of colors. No one ever attempted to make turn this place in a tourist spot before. Hans liked the place immediately, so did rest of the project members, and everyone appreciated the idea. When they were back to the conference center after the visit, Elsa presented the miniature model of the proposed ice hotel. It was so beautiful and unique that everyone busted into applause. Even Mr. Kai, who was completely against the idea finally agreed with rest of the board members.
"Miss Kingsley," he said finally, when Elsa finished her speech, "It is an excellent idea." He congratulated her, "This is an excellent idea indeed."
"Thank you Mr. Kai," Elsa smiled and looked at Hans, who smiled in return, "It will never be possible without Mr. Westergard's support."
Hans' heart swelled. Everything was going on according to his plan. He had been looking around for a profitable company on which he could found his corporate dynasty—a company that provided a service for which was unique. Judging from that point Arendelle Company was the perfect goal, and when it was combined with Elsa's unique talent with ice, it turned into nothing but a gold mine. Although everyone else seemed to believe that the idea of an ice hotel was nothing but madness, Hans was convinced that it would be the key to his success. And he was proved right. Two weeks after launching the ice hotel project at least five well known companies showed their interest in this. Hans convinced them about the success of the project, and encouraged them to invest money….a lot of money than he initially planned.
And transferring them in his name. He needed to open another bank account in Switzerland to transfer all of them to in his name.
He gave Elsa's hand on his arm a tight squeeze. Poor…poor girl… He mentally chuckled to himself, but kept up his usual smile, "It is nothing. I am just doing my duty." He looked back and caught Elsa's eyes, she returned the smile. His hand shifted from her back to her midriff, sliding upward toward her neck. Whether from surprise or desire, Elsa moaned softly, and the sound somehow penetrated his senses, dousing his evil thoughts and dragging him reluctantly back to reality.
Hans dropped his hands to her narrow waist and met her eyes, staring down into her intoxicating young face, unable to believe the passion she had unexpectedly evoked in him by a simple touch.
Something weird was happening. This magnificent, complicated, sophisticated woman was something beyond his imagination. Something beyond his calculative steps. Bravely ignoring the painful memories of her equally complicated thoughts, Elsa accepted his gesture of affection. "Thank you." She whispered, gazing into his forest green eyes.
Hans had been expecting something like that the moment she raised her eyes to his. "You are welcome," he said, trying to pass her statement off as a casual compliment rather than a heartfelt thought he did not want to hear. Mentally he shook his head at how incredibly, disarmingly sexy she was. What she felt, he knew, was desire. Nothing more. There was no such thing as love—there were only varying degrees of desire, which romantic women and foolish men called "love."
Just like Anna….
She really didn't have any idea in what she had gotten herself into.
Mr. Kai observed the silent exchange of words between the couple, so he decided to interrupt.
"Well, I need to have a drink." He waved at one of the waiters serving drinks, and looked at Elsa, "Umm…Miss Kingsley, can we have a word, please?" He hesitated. The magic was gone. Reluctantly, Elsa looked at Hans for permission, and Hans released her hand and smiled, "Yes of course."
"Thank you, Hans." She smiled back, and left with Mr. Kai to meet rest of the guests.
Hans watched her go. His eyes lingered to the graceful movement of her hips as she walked, then his eyes trailed down to her legs and the creamy thigh that was visible though the slash of her gown. Normally Elsa opted for subdued elegance rather than glamour at formal affairs, but not tonight. In the ravishing blue gown that Gerda chose for her, she looked absolutely glamorous. Fashioned like a fitted glove with a deep slash at the side, the gown fell from narrow straps at the shoulders into panels of shining blue that clung gently to her graceful hips and ended in a narrow swirl just above her toes. Instead of the tight bun she normally wore her hair in, she tied it in a single braid that rested on her left shoulder—its lustrous simplicity providing an enticing contrast to the sexy sophistication of the gown.
She was really seductive. He waved at one of the waiters serving drinks and picked up a glass of wine. He sipped his wine and watched Elsa interacting with the guests. How sexy she looked when she acted so confident. His mouth felt unusually dry, as he felt his arousal inside his pants against his will. He drained the glass in one gulp and called for more wine. He needed to calm down his desire.
He was about to gulp down rest of his wine when someone moved behind him. "Hello brother." A familiar voice spoke. Startled, Hans whirled around to find a man in round spectacles and identical ginger sideburns.
Henry Westergard- the twelfth heir of the Westergard Company.
"You!" Hans hissed under his breath, taking a step towards to his brother, "What are you doing here?"
Henry seemed to ignore his question, and looked around him, "Quite a beautiful party isn't it?" Hans was not really enjoying this conversation. He simply stood where he was and glared, "What is your business here?"
"Just enjoying." Henry rolled his eyes and smiled, enjoying his younger brother's discomfort. He liked the way Hans' face turning red with anger. It was a fun to annoy him. He looked around him, and fixed his eyes on Elsa engaged in some conversation with Gerda and Kai.
"She is really beautiful!" Henry whistled, shifting his gaze towards his brother, "Have you slept with her yet?"
"That is none of your business." Hans was losing his temper, so he dug his nails into his palm just to keep the straight face he wore. Sofia's betrayal was still fresh in his mind. "Just stay away from her." He deadpanned, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Oh really!" The older Westergard laughed in such an annoying way that tempted Hans to punch him square in his jaw. "You even sound like her, little brother."
"That is not your concern." Hans said through gritted teeth and began walking away. Among his twelve older brothers he disliked Henry most. Not only because his sore point about Sofia and Henry, but also his past behavior towards their mother.
"You're attracted to her," Henry challenged, slitting his eyes. "Do you really think that you can keep your secret forever?" And his words made him stop.
"I vow to stay by her side," Hans countered, turning around. "Now I suggest you stay away from her."
"Will that change anything?" Henry smirked. "Don't you think I am unaware of your sins? Don't you think I know what you did to poor little Anna and make my wife disappear, then the deal you made with Weselton to cover them up?"
"How dare you—" Hans had reached his limit, he was tempted punch him for real. After a moment, he cleared his throat, and said "If you are searching for another weak point to ruin my life again, then remember Elsa is not my weak point." He turned quickly on his heel, heading to the door.
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The first glimpse of a darker side of Hans that Elsa saw when he invaded her conversation with Mr. Kai. And it really did scare her.
"God damn it!" he cried, slamming his fist on the table, startling rest of the guests. Elsa jumped, heart pounding in her chest. She almost dropped her wine glass.
"Hans, please, I'm trying to discuss our plan," she replied calmly, throwing an apologetic look at rest of the guests.
"Damn him." Hans wasn't calming down, though; he ran his hands through his hair and slumped in one of the chairs beside her. Elsa felt a bit frightened, her own fear was returning. Putting the glass down, she approached Hans quickly. "Calm down, please," she pleaded. "Let me help you out…"
Hans looked up at her, clenching his fists tightly. "I absolutely can't stand—"
"Who?" Elsa sensed something was wrong with him. She held her hand up and kneeled before him. If Hans could comfort her in her most vulnerable moments, then Elsa could surely do the same. Taking his shaking hands in hers, she whispered, "Tell me what it is?"
"It is Henry, my brother." Hans shuddered. Elsa followed his eyes to find one of his brothers roaming around among the crowd. She immediately understood what it was. Hans despised his brothers, and possibly this encounter brought the old pain back. This situation strangely reminded her of Anna.
"Do you want to take a walk outside?" She said, ignoring all the disapproving glances around them.
"But…" Hans hesitated, gazing at the guests all around them.
"I'll talk with them later." she begged, looking up at him with wide eyes. "I think I can make it up later."
Hans nodded, and slowly, with a shaky breath, Elsa threaded her fingers with his, closing her eyes. They walked outside the hall together. The storm continued to rage since last two days. It was the worst blizzard of the year. Snow covered each and every corner of the streets, even the roofs of the houses. They stood together in the balcony as the storm raged on. Snow settled over their heads, over their shoulders, over their entwined hands. Hans moved close to Elsa, he was still trembling. She kept holding on his hand as he inhaled deeply. So far, so good… Deep breath, slow counting…
And finally he calm down. When he gazed up at her, he saw the concern in her eyes.
"What happened?" She asked.
"You look beautiful." He teased, trying to change the topic. He moved closer, and caught her wrist in his. And as he did that, his hands brushed the sides of her bare thigh, sending goosebumps where ever he touched. Her breath caught into her throat as she looked into his gorgeous emerald eyes, and blushed deeply.
But Elsa was not buying it. She gently nudged him away a bit, looking at him as seriously as she could. "Hans, I am serious. I want to know what happened with your brother that is troubling you so much?"
An uneasy feeling began to grow inside his stomach, but Hans tried to keep his face straight. Pulling away a bit, he just licked his slightly chapped lips and nodded, keeping his face relatively close to Elsa's. "Is that really too much important question right now…" he murmured.
Taking his face in her hands, Elsa kept that thoughtful look on her face. "It was you told me that there are no secret between us. You know mine. Let me know yours." she said, pouting slightly.
Hans sighed, looking down a moment before meeting Elsa's eyes concernedly. "I went to meet my brother about the project." He lied, pressing his forehead against hers, "After all I've signed the contact with your company without their permission. I need to make the things clear. You know how much they hate me."
Elsa knew, and the honesty in his voice made her heart melt. "Hate…" She scoffed, thinking about the unwise prejudice of Hans' arrogant brothers about their baby brother, "I don't see any point to hate you, Hans. Hope you have not argued with them much about this matter."
"Elsa. I explained myself," Hans said lowly, impatiently. "I explained myself weeks ago. I vowed to protect you, Elsa. And I can do anything to keep my vow."
"I'm sorry, Hans." She said, taking his hands in both of hers, "I shouldn't have asked you."
You should, Elsa,Hans thought as his heavy-lidded gaze dropped to her soft lips, lingering on her mouth for a long moment before he slowly lifted his eyes to her widened blue ones. "Never stop trusting me, Elsa."
He was so close now that Elsa could count every freckle on his face. His charm was irresistible, his fragrance was intoxicating. She could not stop him when he leaned forward to kiss her lips. Elsa kissed him back and felt his hand settle on the small of her back, stroking slowly upward, comforting her and encouraging her. His lips moved against hers, lightly exploring, inviting her to do the same, and when she began to follow his lead, his free hand cupped the back of her head, his fingers sliding tantalizingly against her nape while the other hand continued sensually stroking her back. He kissed her endlessly, long drugging kisses that shook her to the core of her being and made her want more and more. His tongue traced the line between her lips, coaxing them to part for him, and then it slipped between them, lightly exploring her mouth, teasing and tormenting her, until Elsa, feverish with the need to make him feel as she felt, touched her own tongue to his lips. The instant she did, the kiss exploded. He crushed her to him, drawing her tongue into his mouth and caressing it with his own.
"I know how much you care for me, Hans." She whispered in his lips. Her open confession startled him. And then it was surprise and guilt, rather than revulsion that made him rear back.
He knew her infatuation would end the moment she found out about Anna. He couldn't let his infatuation grow too. However, his conscience, which was suddenly making a damned nuisance of itself after a silence of decades, would not let him wound her. Even he, callous and cynical and impatient with this nonsense as he now felt, was not callous enough, or cynical enough to deliberately hurt a broken woman who was looking at him with those grateful eyes of a puppy.
So much did she remind him of a puppy that he reacted automatically and, reaching out, he rumpled her thick, silky hair. With smiling gravity, he said, "You will spoil me with so much flattery," then he glanced toward the conference hall, impatient to return to the party. "I think we have to finish the conversation with the guests before the dinner," he said abruptly.
"But…." Elsa hesitated. She really didn't want to lose this moment together. She adored him, she was grateful for him for his help and support, yet sometimes she didn't know what she really felt about him.
What was her real feeling for him?
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Errors are all mine. Consider them nicely.