Frozen Hearts

By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty

Chapter 30- Mirror shreds

Anna turned her head on the pillows searching for Elsa, but she could not see her. It had been two weeks since she'd been injured, fourteen days and nights of drifting in and out of wakefulness. Each time she had awakened, Elsa was sitting beside her bed, keeping a silent vigil, her hands holding hers, her fear for her etched deeply into her face. Now that she was fully conscious, she would have liked to meet her sister again and tell her she loved her. Unfortunately she could not see her. Instead her eyes met Kristoff standing beside her bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his deep voice conveying polite concern as he took her hand.

"Very well, thank you," she returned with equal courtesy, her eyes darting around her anxiously. "A little tired, that's all."

Kristoff noticed her anxious gaze as he sat beside her bed. Putting his arms around her, he said softly, "I imagine you are searching for Elsa. But I am afraid she is not here."

Anna was so tired that she wanted to drift back to sleep again, but the concern for her sister kept her awake. "Where is she?" She asked worriedly.

"In the court." Kristoff replied curtly.

Her gaze flew to his face, "Why?"

Kristoff handed her some old newspapers. Their faces were splashed across the front pages of the Times and the Gazette, along with a great deal of lurid speculation about what happened in that fateful night. The auction was postponed. Not even the combined power of the Kingsley and Fitzherbert families could keep the press from printing every word of truth, conjecture, or blatant falsehood they could discover or invent. Details of Anna, Hans and Elsa's private life were fed to the insatiable public like shovelfuls of fodder.

But the Times reported the most shocking and titillating piece of news yet. Hans did not try to defend himself in the court. He did not hire any lawyer for him; he did not deny any of the accusations against him.

Anna gazed at him in astonishment. "He did not do it."

"Yes, he did," Kristoff said, then shook his head, "He also confessed all of his crimes in the court- from murdering Sofia to taking advantage of Elsa's grieving state, his plan to murder you, his association with Weselton. Everything." Then he added after a pause, "And your sister is suffering from the day he confessed his crimes in the court. I can tell she loves him very much."

Biting her lip, Anna turned her face away from him, but not before Kristoff saw the pain and accusation in her eyes. Hans was always a sore topic for her. He understood her misery and decided to drop the topic. He held her hands and whispered softly, "Alright, I will talk no more."

Anna looked up at him, her eyes filled with misery and disbelief. Inch for inch, Kristoff was undoubtedly one of the most caring, insightful people she'd ever known. She closed her eyes and tried to find a cause to forgive Hans. But she could only remember his betrayal, his attempts to ruin her life, her sister's life. The night he tried to kill her was still vivid in her mind. As much as she loved Elsa, she could not forgive Hans. She understood Elsa's misery but she could not reason her mind. Kristoff understood her suffering and wrapped his comforting arms around her. His warmth soothed her a bit. Her gaze flew to Kristoff's face, and wondered how lucky she was to have him by her side.

How much she wanted to make Elsa happy too.

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Her defenses were collapsing one by one. Standing in the witness box, Elsa delivered her testimony with the flat unemotionalism of a rehearsed speech, and in a surprisingly short time she was done. The only time she faltered was when she had to confess that Hans really tried to kill her sister, but he saved her life by shooting Weselton. She told them every detail of that fateful night, how Duke threatened to kill Anna, and then how she was shot by his men. She told them how he appeared like an angel when she was prepared to face death. During that awful moment her gaze slid penitently to Hans, and the altered expression on his face was more heartbreaking because it was so pained-as if she were fighting a lost battle. The lawyer hired by the opponent party tore each and every of her words by his undeniable logic.

And her final defense collapsed when Henry Westergard confirmed about Sofia's meeting with Hans in the night before her disappearance and Weselton was the witness. So there was no doubt that Hans killed Weselton just to remove all the evidences against him. Saving Elsa Kingsley was one of his excuses. And all the evidences were going against him.

Elsa never felt so much defeated in her life. Her anxiety was piqued when she felt an unfamiliar hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to meet Henry's bright green eyes. He looked quite happy with his impending victory.

"Mr. Westergard." She greeted coldly. None of their previous meetings were pleasant, and after today's incident she really despised this man.

"You better give up." He narrowed his eyes, as he ran his eyes from Elsa's head to toe. "You are losing this battle, Miss Kingsley."

Elsa was clearly offended by his words. Now she understood why Hans always despised his brothers. They were arrogant and proud like hell. "The case is not closed yet. The sentence is yet to be announced." She said, trying to keep her voice calm. "He did not kill Sofia. He did not fire his gun that night."

"Oh, really! He told you many things before." Elsa saw a wry smile ghosted his lips, but she decided to ignore. His eyes were so cold that made Elsa shiver, "How many of them turned to be true, Miss Kingsley?"

"What makes you so certain, Mr. Westergard?" Elsa swallowed the growing anger inside her and asked, "Can you see the future?"

"Perhaps I can," he said with a wink before turning his concentration to the jury. Elsa followed his eyes, trying to ignore the shiver that ran down her spine. She couldn't pinpoint exactly, what made her so suspicious of Henry Westergard, but she knew his prediction was true.

She was losing. Hans was losing. Hans did not deny any of the accusations against him, nor did he try to defend himself. How could he? There was no evidence. There was no proof to prove his true motive.

The court was adjourned without any definite decision and Elsa was permitted to visit the accused. Two guards were posted outside the room as she entered. She carefully placed her purse on the chair and glanced around the room to see a man, clad in orange prisoner's uniform standing with his back to her. Auburn hair with shades of grey greeted her instead of a face as he stared at the wall.

Her eyes lingered on his wrists, on the metal cuffs that bound his hands together. Why was he handcuffed? He had no resistance to offer.

"Why did you do that?" she said, shaking with the suppressed anger. She never felt so defeated in her life. She tried everything, every possible thing to prove his innocence, but he simply remained silent in the court. "Why are you giving up like that?" She busted out.

She watched his entire body stiffen and then he slowly turned around. His face was blank, eyes glazed over. For every muscle in his face that wanted to smile at her there were ten more content to frown. He looked in agony.

"Hans what is it?" she asked, stepping toward him immediately. Her anger was gone. He seemed to age a lot in a few days. Even a few strands of grey hair were peeking out from his rich auburn locks. He was not the Hans Westergard she knew- clever, cunning, manipulative. He was more like a shadow of his former self.

It would have hurt less if he'd backed away from her, but instead he didn't move an inch at all, not when she got near him, not even when she hugged him. She wondered if she should dare to kiss him, how badly would that hurt her when he didn't respond?

"Hans, listen to me," she said, "You must tell the court about the deal you were forced to make with Duke. You must tell them that you did not kill Sofia. You must tell them how he blackmailed you."

He said nothing. He did not blink even. But Elsa was not giving up.

"You must tell them why you shot him."

That's when he finally moved, turning away from her to look back out at the falling snow outside.

"That is the reason I am here." He said finally, "I deluded myself as a murderer and let me be sold to Duke. I played with your lives to save my skin. But now I really became a murderer."

"Hans…it was an act of self defense…."

"No, it was far worse than that." He snapped. "I wanted to prove myself more than a looser. So I was after your property. I planned to marry Anna to own your company. When I learned you are the true heir, I decided to drive Anna away out of my path. I planned to kill her with the help of Duke's men….I wanted to break you….I took advantage of your vulnerability…."

Elsa grabbed his shoulders, and forced him to turn and face her. Hans tried to look away, but she placed her hands along his cheeks and pulled his face downwards. "But you saved our lives. You have changed. I have seen it. I know it. When Anna knows that, she will forgive you too…"

"No, she will not." He said, looking down, "I ruined her life. I ruined your life. For me you lost our babies. There is no one out there who can love me."

Elsa couldn't speak to what happened in that night in the North Mountain. Her chest still ached with the memory, but she let it fall to the side. She would be hurt more if she lost the man she loved.

"I love you."

She did not want to confess it now, but she did. As if it was the only way to bring back his sanity.

That's when his eyes started watering. His face didn't change but his eyes did. Something in there broke. It didn't snap, but crumbled away. Something inside him disappeared entirely, like a shield or armor. It was gone. The shell he had been pretending to be only moments ago couldn't contain whatever was going through his head right now. He was feeling like a sixteen year old.

"No…" He whispered after a moment of silence, "Don't love me Elsa." He paused and took a deep breath before speaking again. He could feel it in his chest before it happened in his eyes. Tears. "You have to understand I love you more than anything. But you cannot love me back. I am not worthy for you."

"Why?" Elsa did not know why he was in denial. Why he was acting in this way when he shot a man to save her life?

"Because you fell in love with a lie, with a reflection. That was not real me." He said, "It is time to disillusion you."

She watched him silently, face unwavering, but eyes red and spilling out tears. She was disillusioned long ago. She had seen his real face behind the mask. She saw the face of the beast beneath the mask of a prince. She had seen the vulnerable sixteen years old behind the all manipulative Hans Westergard. And she fell in love with the beast, not the prince. She fell in love with the sad little boy, not his shiny exterior. "I know who you are." Elsa stepped close to him, and grabbed his lapels, "I love the way you are. I have seen your real face. I have seen your vulnerability. I have seen you at your worst. I have seen you change. I will forget what happened between us."

Her tears were soaking the front of his shirt as she clung to his hands. She didn't know what came over her. Suddenly, she tugged his collars, and pulled him down in a kiss. Memories of their forgotten kisses flooded her brain as she continued kissing him. She pressed her lips against him forcefully, kissing him with all she had. She cried when she kissed, she held him tight when she cried, desperate to find the love she was losing.

But he didn't kiss her back. He didn't hug her when she cried. In her arms he felt like…wood.

"I can't forget it Elsa," he whispered. "Your sister will hate you forever if you marry me. You will always remember our past when you see the scar in Anna's neck. What will our children think when they learn about my stained past?" He paused to let out a sound between a growl and a sob. "I know what I have done, I will always know, and even to you, and even to Anna, I am a murderer. I'm poison. "

She looked up at him to see him blink long, squeezing his eyes shut. His face was glistening with tears. When he looked down to her, she saw the same look she had seen her own eyes after hurting Anna. It was pain, it was hurt, it was sorrow, and guilt, and anger. It was denial. She knew this face too well.

He was her reflection.

"Promise me Elsa, you will not do anything to prove me innocent." He said after a long pause.

He was saying goodbye, Elsa knew. And she shuddered.

Review? Faves? Follows? I want to hear you opinion about Hans' fate. Does he deserve a second chance or not?

Errors are all mine. Consider them nicely.