Okay, I really wasn't waiting for the reviews at all. So here's my reply:

Zim: Omg I am blushing hard hahaha, like, I am so overwhelmingly delighted, thanks to you it was the beginning of a good year for me too! Really, it is so nice to receive such a positive reply! I hope you like this chapter. I am so glad to be back!

Guest: Thank you so much, I feel so happy! Please enjoy the chapter!

Lixie: Helloo, I am alive. I am busy with 'adult' life, uni and stuff but I am doing great! How are you? I am glad to be back! It is soothing to know that the fandom is still alive, I honestly cannot write anything except Jelsa, lol. I hope it will get more active, I certainly will try! Thank you for the review, this chapter's pacing is a bit slow but I hope you will enjoy it!

Thank you guys so much for the review, really, that was such an incredible surprise.

The chapter is a bit (lol, a lot) boring in my opinion, but it is necessary in order to understand Elsa as a character. So yeah, please bear with it, the next ones will be much more interesting (at least I hope so).

TW: Mentions of sex, but nothing explicit at all.

Chapter 2: Putridum

University life... Well, it wasn't going as she'd fantasised. She didn't find the situation particularly surprising; whenever she had high expectations, she always ended up disappointed.

Still, it wouldn't have hurt to have some expectations fulfilled.

Elsa knew that university would be rough. She had moved from the USA to Munich, Germany. German was not her first language and yet she was studying law. At the age of 19, she was thousands of kilometres away from her family, and the only person she knew was her old high school friend, Astrid. She was separated from her country, her home, her family, her friends and her mother tongue.

She had chosen this path herself. Attending college in the US was very expensive and she had to go through a lot of other steps there before studying law. In Germany, universities had very low tuition fees, public transportation was free for students, and the food at the university cafeteria was healthy, delicious and best of all, cheap. Although Munich was the most expensive city in Germany, it was still much more affordable than her own hometown. In short, Germany was economically ideal for a university student like herself.

But in other respects... Well, it wasn't Germany's fault, Elsa was a foreigner in this country and her German was only reasonable to an extent. She didn't miss the life she had left behind, she knew she would really like it here once she was accommodated fully.

However, her insecurity, which she had been trying to overcome for years, was exacerbated by the language factor. Nevertheless, Elsa participated in most of the events that her university had organized for the first-semester students, she met other law students, actively tried to talk to them despite the language barrier. In short, even though she hated to leave her comfort zone, she was able to force herself socially and meet new people.

When the lectures started, all the self-confidence she had been trying to muster socially was shattered. Her first lecture was on state organizational law, and she was proud of herself that she understood what the professor was saying. The civil law lecture the next day was not so bad either... But right after 2.5 hours of that lecture came the criminal law.

It turned out to be the most difficult 15 minutes of her life.

As soon as the professor entered the hall, he quietly mumbled a hello and, unlike her other lectures, proceeded to teach at full speed.

And Elsa didn't understand a single word.

She couldn't forget that moment, she blinked non-stop and tried to comprehend what the professor was saying for 10 minutes. Finally, she gave up and asked the Italian girl next to her if she understood anything. German was also not her native tongue, but she just shrugged her shoulders and said that she could comprehend.

5 minutes later, Elsa walked through the crowd of people, mumbling apologies and flung herself outside. When she got on the S-Bahn and called her mother, she couldn't even hold back her tears.

From that moment on her confidence was shattered.

She stopped going to university, what was the point of attending lectures she couldn't follow? She completely lost touch with the people she had met at the university, her 'friends' constantly bragged that they understood the lectures and talked about things that she didn't know or had only just begun to understand. In truth, she envied them a little, but the real reason she stopped communicating was that she was fed up with their endless egos. People felt sorry for her because German was not her first language, and although some respected her, Elsa felt constantly belittled. Maybe it was her own lack of self-confidence, but in any case, it was better to be away from people, especially law students, for the time being.

In short, life was tiring: Suddenly she found herself studying more than she had ever studied in her life. She constantly had to feed herself, buy and cook food, do the dishes and cleaning, and deal with unfamiliar 'grown-up' tasks like banking, paying taxes and insurance. Her social life revolved only around Astrid, she didn't go out and have fun, she didn't party, she didn't even have time to read a book or watch a movie.

Perhaps it was because of this depressed state that she had agreed to go out with the boy she had only spoken to twice that Friday evening.

She had never really formed a fixed opinion of Hans before their date. The two had gotten to know each other through their mutual friend Jonathan. Jonathan, like Elsa, came from the US and was studying law in the same semester as her, so naturally, Elsa felt closer to Jonathan than to any other law student, thus the two quickly developed a very memorable friendship: Elsa often sat with Jonathan when she attended classes and ate with him in the dining hall.

Hans Westergaard was an American of German descent, who had gone to the same high school as Jonathan and was studying law one year above Elsa and Jonathan. Jonathan always spoke of him with admiration and insisted that he must introduce Elsa to him. One day after class, he got the opportunity he had been looking for.

Hans was going to class and Elsa was just about to leave the faculty with Jonathan. As usual, the young woman was having a minor mental breakdown because of the difficulty of the lectures: while everyone else was discussing the case example, she just stood there, trying to understand what was being said, all the while losing more and more of the thread, and the content of the lecture becoming more and more complicated.

By the time Jonathan introduced her to Hans, Elsa was struggling to breathe because of the lump in her throat and she was desperate to ignore her throbbing head. So she didn't look properly at the young, dark red-haired man in front of her, nor did she pay any attention to what was being said. For a minute or two she bombarded Hans with questions about lectures, exams and study methods. Hans answered all her questions patiently and eventually invited her to have pizza with Jonathan. Elsa remembered hearing Hans' question faintly; she and Astrid had made plans to go to the cinema that night, so she had declined Hans' offer.

The second time she met Hans, it was a large group: Jonathan had again dragged Elsa to a meeting in the hope of introducing her to other fellow students. Elsa found herself talking mostly with Hans, the young man never taking his eyes off her.

Elsa suspected Hans was flirting, but... she quickly dismissed the idea. People didn't flirt with Elsa Arendelle, they didn't want to be romantically involved with her in general. Elsa knew, or at least, would like to believe that she was 'pretty' (at least by average beauty standards) and that she had a nice personality. The problem was that she was cold, that is, she was a friendly person, but when it came to romance or anything sexual, Elsa would quickly isolate herself, and when people made advances on her, she would just brush it off. It just wasn't her thing, her studying, other responsibilities, friends and family seemed always much more important.

Nevertheless, she went on a date with Hans on a Friday evening in the fourth week of university. At first, Elsa didn't recognize Hans' offer to take her to the bar after school as a date, but once she realized that she was on a date, she decided not to back down. She was 19 years old, she had never been on a date before, she had to learn to how to have some fun, she was a college student!

She had to admit, the date had gone pretty well. Hans was kind, charming and charismatic. Most importantly, he was considerate when Elsa asked him to go slow with the physical contact. Elsa saw no reason not to go on a second date with him, in fact, she was looking forward to it!

Until the day after their date...

"Astrid, Hans is texting," Elsa informed her friend in a low voice.

Astrid couldn't help but snort; anyone who didn't know Elsa as well as she did would probably have thought the young woman was emotionless and monotonous. But Astrid could sense the excitement behind her friend's calm expression.

"So, what does he say?" the blonde questioned her friend.

"He wants to come by the house and take a walk," Elsa replied, her voice still too steady.

But when she looked up from her phone, she didn't try to stop the huge grin on her face.

"Do you want something to drink? A beer, perhaps?"

Elsa was about to shake her head as a no, but then she wondered if that would be polite. She didn't like drinking on weekdays, she didn't like losing her focus when her mind was preoccupied with the university. In the end, she decided that ordering a coffee would satisfy both parties. "I wouldn't mind coffee without milk," she muttered, allowing Hans to place the order with the elderly waiter.

The two sat in the only open place at 10 o'clock at night, a pub near Elsa's house. Elsa pretended to be watching some random football match on the TV in front of her while peeking at Hans out of the corner of her eye. They were sitting next to each other and were only a couple of inches apart. How close were they supposed to sit? How intimate do people get with their dates? How many inches apart did they need to be, or did their legs need to touch? Should Hans put his arm around her when they were sitting? Did she even want that? Elsa had no answers to any of these questions, making her extremely tense.

"Elsa... are you listening to me?"

"Hmm?" the young woman replied, finally turning her head towards the red-head young man next to her.

Hans narrowed his eyes and peered intently into hers. Elsa had to restrain herself from frowning... Something was wrong. Hans' normally confident, chill aura was nowhere to be seen.

"Look..." Hans sighed deeply, "Normally I would never have such a conversation. But after our date yesterday I realized that you are a very uptight person. Today I did something I'd never done before, I called my mother for advice on women. She told me to be honest with you, that you deserve it. That's what I want to do, I want to be honest with you."

Elsa held her breath. She tried to hold herself back from making any facial expressions, she was curious to find out what Hans would say, so it was best to remain as apathetic as possible for the moment.

"I'd like to continue our dates with you, I had a really good time last night." Hans continued, realizing that he wasn't going to get a response from the girl sitting next to him, "So... would you be okay with it if I didn't go on dates with other girls in the meantime... but had something sexual with them?"

Elsa's eyes widened at those words... So much for being numb, this man was offering her an open relationship! "What? How could it not be a problem?!" she squealed in an uncharacteristically loud voice.

Hans sighed once more and raised his hand slightly to calm her down. "Elsa, please stay calm."

Elsa clenched her jaw and had already started to narrow her eyes. Eventually, she decided to play along with Hans' little game, she was going to calmly give him a piece of her mind. "Please continue, Hans."

"Okay... Let's say I have a close female friend. Do you mind if I sleep in the same bed with this friend while I'm still dating you?"

Elsa actually mulled over this question, she wasn't sure, she would probably feel jealous, but if there was nothing between them, it could happen between friends and it could be interpreted as platonic. "I don't know... It depends on the situation and the person," Elsa answered honestly, "I had a male friend who slept in the same bed as me and my other female friend on a school trip because his roommate had sneaked alcohol and thrown up in his room. He had a girlfriend, but she didn't mind because she knew about the extent of our relationship."

This time Hans' eyes widened. "What do you mean, that boy didn't try to do anything?"

Elsa could hardly suppress her laughter. "What? Of course not! Just because a guy sleeps in the same bed as I don't mean we will do something sexual. That doesn't happen between friends."

Hans shook his head. "Oh, Elsa... Do you want to know why I do not date the girl I sleep in the same bed with? She is a woman and I am a man. We both feel the sexual tension between us, but neither of us does anything about it. That's how we can stay friends... Look, there's a difference between men and women. If a woman considers a man as her friend, he is her friend, but for a man, a woman can never be his friend. A man is always open to the next step if she wants it. And how open are you to that, Elsa? Yesterday when I asked you how long it would take for us to have any sexual activity, you said at least three to four months. Look, I... I'm a man. I have sexual needs, I can't wait for months."

Elsa rubbed her freezing hands, she was clenching her jaw so hard that her teeth began to ache. Suddenly realizing that Hans was still close, she threw herself into the corner of the long seat and put distance between them.

Apparently, this was the appropriate distance.

"Hans, it would be best if we finished our dates," she spoke coolly, but her voice was sharper than a knife.

Hans nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, I think that's for the best... But we can still be friends, can't we?"

No, never, you are hideous… "Oh, of course," Elsa lied as she forced herself to grin.

"I'm glad," Hans replied, beaming at Elsa. He then gestured to her untouched instant coffee. "Hey, are you going to drink your coffee?"

Why was his smile so fake? Had it always been so fake? Elsa cursed herself inwardly, how could she be so stupid?

"No," she replied, the thought of drinking coffee making her nauseous.

"Since we're friends now... then you don't mind if I give you some advice, do you?" Hans asked after a short, uncomfortable silence.

"Go on for it."

"You have to stop seeing life through your pink filter. Look, Elsa, you obviously have serious insecurities about men, sex, etc. You don't need to avoid sex... That's why I'm in a higher league than you, you have to accept that, you won't find anyone better than me. At least I am being honest with you about what I want, most men would downright manipulate you. Don't get me wrong, you're a sweet girl, but you're very inexperienced. And your inexperience prevents you from seeing the truth."

Elsa rubbed her head, it was aching due to her rage. She took a deep breath before speaking, her voice still calm and yet, equally weary: "Hans, the fact that I do not wish to sleep with a man is not because I want to remain a virgin forever or because I am too shy. It's simply because I've never wanted to do that with anyone before, including you. And that's perfectly normal. I've never had a lover, I've never had a sexual experience. That doesn't bother me. I am me, my inexperience in these matters does not mean that I am inadequate. Besides, what does my inexperience have to do with me, viewing life through a pink filter, as you call it? And also... League? Do you really think that there are different leagues of people based on beauty, intelligence, experience, etc.? For God's sake, Hans, you need to get out of that teenage high school mentality of yours."

Hans burst out laughing, an eerily frigid laugh. Elsa shuddered, but she could hardly feel it because of her nerves.

"Elsa, I know life, I try to understand everyone. I've had coffee with the CEO of a company, but I also know how civil servants try to support their families, I talk to homeless men on the streets and try to sympathize with them... This world is corrupt, it's not the pure place you think it is. You think you can defend people in the future by studying law, nonetheless, you don't accept that there are more important things, for example, money, and power. I also hate that this is the truth, but it is. You have to be a corrupt person in a corrupt world. You're too emotional and you're a coward. Do you think I want to be rotten? It's much harder to fit in than to try to resist."

Elsa stood up, both hands in fists, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

She drew the line between the law and her goals.

"Hans, you claim to know life, but you haven't even acknowledged women, let alone understood them. Even if the world is rotten, that doesn't mean you can go on dates with me and sleep with whoever you want at the same time. I am not your toy. Anyhow, I don't even see the sense in arguing with you on that subject. However, I will argue with you about my goals and my outlook on life..." Elsa couldn't help bursting into bitter laughter, "Me, the coward? You're the coward, Hans. Yes, maybe this world is as rotten as you think it is, but there is as much good in humankind as there is corruption. I am aware of both sides, I am aware of the power of evil, but I believe in good. Maybe I can't change the system, or the way society perceives things, and I'm not idealistic enough to set myself such a goal. But I will never stop fighting for what I believe is good, which is helping people and fighting for justice. I didn't choose to study law to make money, I chose it because I love humanity and I want to help it to make it better. That will never change."

Hans was biting his bottom lip, he was barely holding himself from bursting into a series of laughter.

"Oh, by the way, since there's nothing between us, can I make a move on Astrid?"

"Hans, fuck you."

Hans snarled. "If you really want to do that, I want you to know that I will always take you up on that offer."

"Elsa, are you all right?"

She couldn't remember how she had got home, she was still breathing rapidly and her head was hurting badly, she could feel her whole body burning, especially her cheeks. She must have slammed the outer door hard, hence, her best friend was standing in front of her, worried.

"Hans is a piece of shit."

Astrid chuckled under her breath and shook her head. "Oh, what did I expect, another idiot... Elsa?"

She hated this feeling. Not being able to breathe or speak because of that lump in her chest and throat, not being able to control her trembling as tears welled up in her eyes from her intense anger...

Astrid had already wrapped her arms around her, holding her tightly and silently waiting for the tears to stop. When they did, and when Astrid broke the one-sided embrace, she found Elsa, her eyebrows were sharp, her deep blue eyes shining with determination.

Maybe Hans was right, maybe this world was really rotten. Yet, even if that were true, he was missing the point: As rotten as it may be, there was also a fresh, vibrant part of this world.

And Elsa had faith in that part with her whole heart.

So… I hope it was good enough! See ya in the next chapter!