Frozen Hearts

By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty

Chapter 27- Confusion

Their ride was a silent one. The front door was open, so Anna went on inside. Kristoff settled himself in the sofa, while Anna went to the bathroom to freshen up herself. She could hear grandma talking to Kristoff in the kitchen while she served the dinner. "Why didn't you tell her the truth?"

"No," Kristoff said flatly. "I wanted her to love me for me, not out of gratitude."

Mrs. Troll sounded worried. "But she still despises you, and we have to leave this place tomorrow. We can never come back here. It's your mother's last memory."

Anna walked into the kitchen, just as Kristoff added in a chilly voice, "I know. But we let go the past, grandma."

They were sitting at the table, and Mrs. Troll gave her a quick smile of greeting; then she returned her full attention to the discussion under way. "But where will I go, Kristoff?"

Anna took her seat in a chair opposite to Kristoff, and gathered scrambled eggs and biscuits smothered with white country gravy to her plate. "What's wrong grandma?" she asked Mrs. Troll, ignoring Kristoff.

Kristoff gave her a cold stare. He had already finished eating, so he began pushing his chair back, and stood up. "You can always move in with me permanently." He said, not looking at Anna, picking his coat, and turning to leave. "I don't want it discuss in front of Anna." He yanked the door open, and stormed outside with Sven in tow.

Anna already gathered that something was going on between Kristoff and his grandmother, but she couldn't relate how it involved her. Anna watched as the door crash into its frame behind him, and she sat perfectly still, unable to shake off the conversation she heard earlier. I want her to love me for me, not out of gratitude. What was going on? Mrs. Troll watched him leaving, and then turned her concentration to Anna, "Are you feeling comfortable here, my dear?"

"Is he alright?" She finally looked away and gazed at the old lady, "About what you are arguing? She sputtered all her questions at once, concerned, "Why does he look so upset? What is wrong here?"

"You seem too much concerned about my grandson." A small smile laced Mrs. Troll's lips, as she flicked a glance at the door and then pinned her with a look that was disturbing and was meant to be. Anna cringed under her glare. She felt like that the old woman was reading her like an open book.

"What," Anna said warily, "do you want to talk about?"

"You and Kristoff. That all right with you?"

"We are good friends." She nodded, and the old woman said, "Good, you are as stubborn as him."

Anna began to feel uneasy. "Mrs. Troll, maybe I shouldn't interfere in your family matters."

Oddly her uneasiness did not affect her. "You got more than looks. You got spunk, too, and that's good. Now, do you have a heart?"

"What!"

"And if you do have one, who does it belong to?"

Anna stared at her, riveted by the topic if not her tone. "I don't understand."

"Well, I'll grant you, it's a little complicated to me, too. Do you love Kristoff?"

Anna was taken aback by the question, but she nodded slowly, "No."

A small smile curved her lips, as she kept watching the younger woman, "Then why did you let him kiss you in the valley today?"

Anna blushed, but shook her head honestly, "I don't know."

"That's the only part makes sense," Mrs. Troll contradicted bluntly. "Kristoff used to say the same thing after you left, but when he sold this entire property for only forty million dollars, and met you in the hospital, bring you here for a photography contract, then I begin to wonder. But he confessed that he did everything for you, now it begins to make sense actually."

Anna's eyes widened with the surprise. Kristoff sold his childhood home for her! Just for her. Why did he have to do it? Why? She didn't love him, then why he was making this sacrifice for her? She remembered his confession in the valley, how desperate he sounded, how his eyes lit up at the sight of her, how his face saddened when she turned him down. There was no lie, no pretense. Anna knew it. No one could fake such deeper emotion. She gazed up at his grandma with teary eyes, and whispered, "So there is no exhibition?"

"No." The old woman shook her head, "There is no exhibition. He knows that you will not take the money from him. So he invented the story."

"He lied again." Anna smiled fondly. Yes, he did, but this time for her own good. What a stupid he was. Stupid…stupid…why he had to be so stupid?

"This house was the last of his mother's memory. She died when he was very young." Mrs. Troll continued, pointing at an old photograph on the table, "He spent last of his happy days before being sent to his abusive step-father."

Anna looked at the picture of the blonde young woman who strangely resembled Kristoff. She understood from where he got his good looks. Then she looked at the picture of a young boy beside her who looked definitely happy in his mother's lap. "That was taken a month before she died in a car accident." Mrs. Troll wiped away her tears, and handed Anna another picture. "And it was taken two years after he moved in with his step father."

Anna looked into the second picture. The happy boy in the first picture was gone, replaced by one very sad, battered, thin young boy with old Sunday market clothes. Anna felt a sharp pang of guilt inside her while she heard Mrs. Troll saying, "He never had any friend since then. The first person for whom he makes such big sacrifice is you. He gave his everything for you." She paused for emphasis, her voice turning insistent as he reached the real issue: "Don't go playing around with his heart, girl. Either take all of it or leave it alone. Don't go taking little bits and pieces, when it suits you —and if it suits you. I don't think it's in you to be mean or cruel, but sometimes, if a woman doesn't know how a man feels, that could happen."

Anna collapsed back against the sofa, laughing softly, hugging Kristoff's picture to her chest. "I'm sorry Kristoff." She whispered, kissing the boy in the photo. She turned her face to the elderly woman who loved him too, and said, without shame or pretense, "Now can you tell me where he has gone?"

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The valley of the living rocks orphanage, which was an extension of Bjorgman's property, situated not much far away from the main house. The guard informed her that Mr. Bjorgman was upstairs, and she wondered what he was probably doing there in this late night. Anna expected everyone out there asleep by now, but she certainly didn't expect a sound of melody accompanied by a chorus of young voices coming from the upstairs. Puzzled, Anna headed in the direction of the sound, her high heels clinking on the floor of the tiled entry hall as she crossed it and turned down a long corridor that ran toward the back of the orphanage. She saw a ray of light coming out from the end of the corridor; she followed it, stopped near the door, and pushed it open. The scenery that greeted her was not at all expected.

Kristoff's deep, manly voice wafted over the crowd as he stood over the table in the middle. "All right, everyone, let's try it again—only Miss Muppet, you must stand right near me and sing louder, so I don't get the words wrong again. Ready?" he said.

"Yes." Thirty children chorused together, as Kristoff picked up a lute, and stroked the strings lightly. The instrument came alive with a beautiful melody.

Dogs are better than people,

Sven don't you think that's true?

He knelt beside Sven, picked up the dog in his arms, and continued the song, mimicking Sven's voice.

People will beat you, curse you and cheat you,

Everyone is bad except you.

The children broke into laughter, and Sven looked amused. Kristoff picked up the lute again.

But people smell better than dogs,

Sven don't you think I'm right?

He changed his voice,

That's all the good and true,

It's all except you.

You got me, and you are right.

Goodnight.

Children clapped all together, as they gathered around Sven. The dog barked, and jumped happily. Some of them were begging Kristoff to play another song for them. Anna was watching Kristoff smile at the little boy in his lap and whisper something to him, then he lifted his hand to his cheek, gently cradling his smudged face to his shirt. The picture they made together was one of such eloquent paternal tenderness that it snapped Anna out of her distraction, and she stepped forward, inexplicably anxious to banish the image from her mind. "May I join?" she said, strolling into the midst of the cozy scenario.

The crowd turned to look at her, and fell silent as if she was an alien from another planet. Even Kristoff himself was stunned.

"Kristoff has a girlfriend." Suddenly one of the bigger children squealed, breaking the silence. Others gathered around Anna, watching her with their curious big eyes.

"What is your name?" A boy with brown hair asked her shyly.

"Carl, go to bed." Kristoff warned him, "It is too late." But the boy completely ignored him, and continued his interrogation, "I'm Carl."

"That's very nice, darling." Anna bent down, and kissed the young boy's cheeks. The boy blushed, and ran to hide in a corner.

"Did you kiss him?" One of the girls tugged Anna's trousers. "Did you hug him?" Another pair of curious dark eyes popped from the crowd. They dragged her among the crowd. Kristoff was terribly embarrassed, but Anna was immensely enjoying their attention. She answered all of their questions, kissed each one of them, and when they heard that Anna was a photographer, they begged to have a picture with her. Anna agreed, and snapped pictures of each of them with a very annoyed Kristoff in the background. And finally when everyone was satisfied, they agreed to go to their beds.

"Sleep tight." Anna winked. After finishing putting all of the children in their beds, she found him standing in the corridor, waiting for her. When she joined him, he said in a dead voice, "You shouldn't have come here." He looked at her then, and Anna swallowed in shock at the transformation.

His face was completely expressionless. And now she understood why he kept himself away from people. He had to keep this tender side of him hidden.

"I had to come," she said simply, watching his face begin to relax. "I know everything."

"I see," he replied, and her heart ached with tenderness for him. "And now what do you think?" He turned to walk away, expecting her to come with him.

What did she think? In response, Anna did the only thing she could think of to vent her wrath and express her opinion. She raised her hand, and slapped his face. His head jerked backwards with the force of the blow. In open-mouthed shock, he stared at her beautiful, irate face and then at his reflection on the mirror behind him. Her fingerprints marked his fair cheek very badly. It was third time she slapped him, he needed to get used to it by now.

"That," she informed him, daintily rubbing her aching hand in her trouser, "is what I think of it."

Kristoff's shout of laughter echoed across the silent corridor, startling some night birds in the ventilators. Even the children in their respective rooms, peeked to look though the window. In a sudden burst of exuberant joy, he swooped her up into his arms and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. "Put me down," she laughed, wriggling.

"Not until you promise."

"Promise what?" she giggled, squirming.

"That you will stop slapping me."

"I cannot make a promise I may not keep," she advised him solemnly.

He whacked her on the backside and continued down the road. He started to whistle. She started to laugh.

When Kristoff finally put her down, she gazed up into his eyes, and said, "But I also have a condition."

"What?" Kristoff was confused.

"I'm taking your money as loan. I'll pay it back after the auction."

"Done." Kristoff cupped her face, and kissed her lips tenderly.

So later that night, Anna gazed at the man sleeping in the bed beside her. His body was pressed against hers, his arms encircled her waist, and the warmth that radiated from him enveloped her in a feeling of an overwhelming sense of safety. Somehow she was able to forget her worries about the upcoming auction, and something was telling her that everything was going to be alright. Anna switched on her phone to find sixteen missed calls from Elsa, and a message asking if she was alright.

Always so worried! Anna smiled fondly, and then dialed her sister's number. She was too excited to talk about the miracle that happened in her life.

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Elsa giggled all the time while she heard about Anna's weird adventure with Kristoff. The more she heard about that boy named Kristoff, the more she began to like him. At first she was worried sick about his intention, now she was sure that Anna was certainly in good hands. She always suspected that Anna had a crush on him since the moment she introduced him with her. Eugene also confirmed the suspicion after his return from the valley. But she saved the joke for later.

"So Elsa, can I bring him with us to Florida?" Anna asked from the other side. She sounded like, she would die from disappointment if not Elsa allowed her relationship with Kristoff.

"Umm…No…" Elsa tried to sound firm, but she heard Anna's angry whimper from the other side of the telephone. "Alright, alright." She gave up finally, "Yes, you may bring him with us."

"Yes…" Anna squealed so loudly that she had to hold the phone a bit away from her ear to protect her ear drum from rupturing. "Slow down, Anna." She advised.

"See you tomorrow, Elsa."

Elsa smiled fondly as she hung the phone up. Finally, her sister sounded so happy after everything. It was like a ray of sun in the darkness of despair. The only thing she could hope that things would only turn better after this. Brimming with good news Elsa replaced the phone in the cradle, and walked to the balcony. The night was cold outside, and Elsa had to wrap her shawl around her tightly Snow covered the roads below, and she noticed a solitary figure standing below her balcony. He tilted his head to look up, their eyes met. Elsa's heart began racing as her blue eyes met his green, and she stood perfectly still stuck with a shock of realization.

Hans.

Elsa's heart began racing. What was he doing here? Curiously she narrowed her eyes to take a better look of him. He looked so thin, his fair skin was like ash, his red hair was lusterless, and his green eyes almost lost their charm. She gazed into his wide green eyes, and drunk the beauty of them. Right now he looked like a drowning man, holding onto the last straw of hope. She searched his face, and found only hurt and pain, as if he drunk a vile poison and was waiting for his death. His eyes were watching her longingly, as if waiting her to call him inside. For a moment, Elsa was tempted to do so, but she knew like all her other former illusions about him, that too had evidently been false.

Then her eyes travelled to his pocket, and a strangely shaped bulge caught her eyes. She recognized the object immediately.

A gun!

Last of her faith on him evaporated like spirit in the air.

He was here to kill her.

Her thoughts were interrupted with Rapunzel shuffling in with her phone in her hand. "It is ringing for almost half an hour Elsa." She said in an annoyed tone, "Why are you picking it up?"

"I didn't hear the ring." Elsa took the phone from Rapunzel, and glanced below. Hans was gone.

Her phone began ringing again. It was Anna who was calling. Hadn't she just talk with her an hour ago? Then what happened in one hour that she needed to call her again? "Hello." She received the call with an intention to drive some commonsense in Anna's thick head, but it wasn't Anna who spoke from the other side.

"Elsa…I'm Kristoff." He sounded so panicked, that he chocked several times over the phone. There were sounds of sirens in the background, accompanied by many hushed, anxious voices. "Bullets"…'Emergency…" Elsa could only pick up a few. Fear gripped her heart as she asked, "Yes, Kristoff. I recognize you. Where are you? Why there are so many noises around you?"

"We are in an ambulance." Elsa gasped with his reply, but she wasn't ready for what he said next, "Anna got shot."

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His hands were shaking, his knees felt weak. It was the night before the auction. He had to meet Elsa by any means. But she just stormed inside, looking very distressed.

Hans' phone buzzed indicating a text message from Eugene. Anna got shot. His eyes widened. So it finally happened. Duke's plan was unfolding right now. The show had already begun. And his suspicion was confirmed when he saw the Fitzherbert's car wheeled out of the garage carrying a very worried Rapunzel and a crying Elsa...

Duke knew Elsa's weakness. Anna's death would be the final breaking point for Elsa.

He needed to do something really soon before it was too late. He hailed a taxi, and told the driver to follow Elsa's car. The gun in his pocket felt so heavy.

It was a stupid idea, probably the worst one he ever had. But he had to do this. It was like committing suicide, but he had no better option. And it would cost him dearly.

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