Chapter Thirty: Wedding Night
Hans wanted to nothing more than to yank open that door and pummel his brother's face in for this latest stunt he pulled. He forced himself to calm down. Attacking his brother during his wedding was just the kind of ammunition Holford can use to make him look bad among the Arendellians.
"Hans…?"
Elsa called out to him but he held out a hand to her to stop. He knew she wasn't in on this. The look on her face when she was accosted told him plainly she knew nothing. He couldn't help but be infuriated that Anna seemed to have conspired with Holford to do this. As much as he was embarrassed by her presence, he needed to plan with Elsa tonight on how to protect themselves from whatever else Holford will rain down upon them come morning.
"Holford's going to be checking tomorrow to see if this marriage is consummated. And if it's not, he will find a way to spin a scandal out of this marriage," he told her. He walked over to the door and locked it before turning to face her to offer her a truce: "Let's just get this over with."
Elsa stared back at him, a frightened expression etched on her face for a long time. Finally, she nodded to him without meeting his eyes. "Will you… will you give me a few moments to… to prepare?"
He nodded back, fully aware Elsa was shaken by the experience of being mobbed by her own people and needed time to calm herself before they could talk about this. She moved to a screen on one side of the room and he let her be.
He took in his surroundings. He expected Elsa's chamber to look like her ice castle—cold and imposingly crystalline, or at least something grand with ornate furnishings, and lavish decorations. His oldest brother's bedroom back in the Southern Isles was quite imposing. He had seen the grand chambers of other European monarchs that were equally grand. By comparison, this room was surprisingly subdued for a reigning monarch. The furnishings were few and practical. The walls were adorned simply with floral-designed wallpapers while curtains in warm shades of reddish purple embossed with traditional Arendellian Rosemalling draped above the windows and the large four-poster bed. There were a few decorative rugs and a few homey touches such as a vase of fresh flowers set on strategic points to brighten the room but did not overwhelm the senses. A warm fire was lit on the grate, which cast an even cozier feel. Hans found it comforting so he approached it and warmed his hands by the fire.
He felt her move and he turned around and saw that Elsa was now sitting at the edge of the large four-poster bed in a magenta nightgown and a scarf around her shoulders. Her hair was done in her usual braid. She stood at attention when she realized he noticed her.
"General…?" she said without meeting his eyes.
Hans didn't reply. The formality of her address unnerved him, but he supposed if they need to talk and plan it was easier if they went back to their old formalities. He saw a claret of brandy had been set on a corner table along with a few glasses and a carafe of water.
"Do you mind?" he asked as he moved towards it on instinct.
"No," she replied.
He touched the brandy claret but stopped. From the corner of his eye, he saw her wince. That was when he remembered: Elsa's previous husband was completely drunk on her wedding night. She must be remembering it and imagining this one would likely become a similar disaster. Against his inclination, he grabbed the carafe instead and poured himself the water. He raised it in her direction to show her he had no intention of getting drunk this night.
"Do you want some?" he asked.
She shook her head.
There was nothing to do but to drink his water. That was when he noticed a small basket near the table. In it were several folded towels and a small copper pail containing a few bottles. Curiously, he reached out to one and felt the heat emanating. He realized these water bottles were heated to almost boiling levels.
"I… have taken precautions," Elsa said. "I have asked the staff to set up water bottles and warm towels. I assure you, General, I wish you no harm this night. There is a hidden door just behind the screen that leads to your new bedchamber. A physician is on standby in the corridor there for any untoward incidents."
"Incidents?" he asked her, suddenly puzzled. "You mean you were expecting this to happen?"
"I presumed we would… sometime tonight after we've spoken. But if you wish to go ahead now, I would be willing…"
Hans felt his cheeks flush as he realized she was no longer talking about being mobbed but about consummating their marriage. She must have misinterpreted his offer to talk as a demand for them to proceed with what the rest of her people were insinuating outside the door.
"Just please get on… as normal. I wish to get this over with as well."
Hans felt a sting at the insult of her words. Did she think he considered this situation where he was forced to be intimate with a woman for political purposes normal?
He wanted to retort something to correct her perception, but she had gotten on the bed and begun reaching for something next to one of the bed posts. She pulled out a heavy chain attached to the post which ended with a familiar iron manacle. She pulled out a second chain from the other side of the bed that ended with the manacle pair of the first one.
They looked like the same iron manacles that he had put on Elsa years ago.
In her dungeon. After he brought her down from her ice castle.
Hans felt his heart pound with sudden dread. Is she exacting revenge by imprisoning me in that while she expects me to…?!
To his surprise, Elsa encased her left hand in one of the manacles. He heard a click and he realized she locked herself into the iron casing. She put her right hand on the other manacle before lying flat on her back on the bed. "You will have to lock the other hand for me," she said so stoically as if she was telling him about the weather.
Hans stared at her in abject horror. He knew some people with sexual tastes that involved binding and beating. However, as a child who had been tied up and beaten as part of his brother's practical jokes, he always associated chains and binding as among the nightmarish memories he would rather bury away in the far recesses of his thoughts. He wondered if Elsa found these acts sexually arousing. If she did, this was going to make this marriage even more of a hell than he imagined.
"I assure you, the chains and the manacles have been reinforced since the last time," said Elsa calmly. "I attempted to have them made to look different, but the metalworkers told me this design was the most efficient. I tested them and tried to break them before and these have held. I will do my utter best to control my powers, but if you still feel uncomfortable with these I can don gloves for added protection. There is a similar pair of chains that can be used to immobilize my feet if you so wish."
Hans' gaze reverted to the foot of the bed and immediately saw another pair of chains there. He looked back at Elsa as realization dawned on him.
She's doing all this to protect me! She wants me to tie her up so she doesn't freeze me!
He couldn't help but feel a little touched by her thoughtfulness. However, the idea of making love to her while encased in chains similar to what he used to imprison her years ago churned his stomach.
"NO!" he protested with abject disgust. "I cannot do this! I will not do this! Not with you laying like that!"
She seemed to shrink with his words. She looked so crestfallen, she looked as if he just physically hit her. She quivered even as her eyes remained downcast. But then she nodded, her face strained as if she was trying to stomach something difficult.
"I… I understand…" she whispered almost inaudibly.
She unlocked the manacle from her left hand and Hans congratulated himself that he got to her.
Now we could talk about this like sensible adults…
His train of thought got cut short. Instead of getting out of bed, Elsa turned around and kneeled in front of the headboard. She then encased her left hand on the opposite chain that previously held her right hand and locked it in. She followed it with her right hand on the other manacle then slowly lowered herself so she lay flat on her stomach.
Hans was now completely baffled. "What… what are you doing?"
He heard her stifle a sob. "Please… Hans… just… just get on with it…" She buried her face in the pillow before slowly spreading her legs.
Hans's breathing stopped completely as the shock of what she was telling him hit him like a thunderbolt. He felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't breathe. He had to get out of here but he couldn't very well go out the door where his brother, Anna, and some of their guests were doing their vigil. He remembered Elsa mentioned a hidden door behind the screen. He rushed to it and easily found the cleverly hidden knob that allowed him to open the door. A small dimly-lit passageway greeted him and on one end was another door. There was a third one a few meters away from it and next to it was a small bench where sat three people: Kai, Gerda, and another man he didn't recognize.
"Sir, is everything alright?" Kai called him urgently.
Hans couldn't answer. Bile was rising in his throat fast. Gerda had a bowl next to her that he saw contained hot water and a towel. He grabbed it, chucked the water, and retched into the vessel.
He was thankful he had a very small meal, for there was barely anything to throw out. The other man he assumed was a physician, checked him thoroughly while handing him a glass of water which he immediately used to rid of the vile taste from his stomach.
"I'm alright, I'm alright," he assured the man in between ragged breaths.
He saw Gerda run off into the bedchamber but returned just as quickly. "She wouldn't tell me anything. She wants to be left alone," she declared.
He had to go back there. The thought of seeing Elsa again was frightening but he had to know.
She expected me to rape her. Why?
He stared at Kai, the doctor, and Gerda who all looked at him apprehensively. He noticed they had reached for warm towels and hot water bottles.
Then it dawned on him.
The physician. The chains. Elsa's submission.
Elsa never did anything in half-measures. She was always thorough. Thoughtful.
And tortured.
She had been raped by her previous husband. That was the only explanation. Her powers possibly reacted when he hurt her and she accidentally froze him. He could only imagine how that had haunted her. The thought of using her powers to hurt anyone was so badly ingrained in her that even when she was abused, she didn't use them intentionally to protect herself. And she expected no different treatment from him than her previous husband. She did all of this preparation so she could get through this night with the least bit of pain for both of them.
"I'm fine now, thank you," he told the trio of faithful servants. "I will talk to her majesty. Give us a few minutes and I will bring her out of that room and take her to mine. I presume, that the other door leads to my chambers?
Gerda nodded.
"Once we leave her room, I want you to remove those chains from her bed."
"But Sir," Kai insisted. "Queen Elsa insisted—"
"I will deal with Queen Elsa," Hans cut him off. "You are to remove those chains. They are never to be used again. Is that clear?"
"Of course, Sir," Kai nodded.
"And find some way to get that crowd away from her door and keep anyone from coming in there. I won't have them making sport of something that deeply hurts my wife."
Somehow, dealing with Holford and his antics felt so trivial now. It didn't matter if she and Elsa never consummated their marriage and Holford spread rumors about it. He and Elsa would find a way together somehow to keep this marriage intact. And if it meant he would have to go through some kind of embarrassment in public for this, he would do it if he could protect Elsa.
Hans carefully re-entered the bedchamber with as little noise as possible so as not to startle her. His heart clenched with what he saw. Elsa was crouched on the floor by the window. She was sobbing into her arms which were encircled by her knees tucked close to her body in a fetal position. Little snowflakes were circling her head and there were patches of ice in the room.
My God! She's terrified of me.
He slowly approached her. She looked up when she heard his footfall and got up immediately, wiping her tears. The snow immediately stopped.
"I… I'm sorry, I should have explained to you…"
"No, I'm the one that should apologize," he said softly. "If I said or did something that frightened you, I didn't mean it. I never meant to hurt you. We should talk."
Her lip trembled but no words came out.
"Just talk Elsa, and I rather it not be here," he assured her. He figured, if this was the same room she had been assaulted, it would be best to discuss this somewhere where there were no unpleasant memories and the jeers behind the door were out of earshot. He couldn't make out what the words were but it was a disturbing reminder that they were all laughing at what should be a private matter between him and Elsa.
He offered his hand and she took it tentatively. Her hand was ice cold but he didn't let go. He led her out of the room to the same secret passageway corridor where he nodded to the servants to assure them they were alright.
The room at the other end was not as grand as hers, but it was comfortable enough with furnishings that matched Elsa's room. He figured this was the queen's room for past kings of Arendelle, which would make it appropriate to be assigned as his chamber. As he could no longer hear any voices outside the door, he figured this was located in a wing further away from hers.
He led her to sit at the edge of the bed. He found the closet was already filled with his clothes and he put on a shirt to at least keep himself decent while they talked. He then pulled an ottoman and sat down across from her bed so they had some distance between them. He lit only a single candle on his bedside table. He figured, less illumination compared to her room would probably make her more at ease.
"Elsa, if you felt that I would hurt you in any way, I am sorry," he opened. "You didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to make sure you were safe. I know you didn't want this. I thought it would be easier for you."
"To have you in chains? While you allow yourself to be taken from behind like a dog?" he asked, bewildered. "Elsa, that's not me. Yes, I resent you for forcing me to marry you, but I would never assault you. No woman deserves to be treated that way, no matter what they did. You should never offer yourself like that to any man, ever again. Why did you even think of it?"
Her lip quivered and a single tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it away but another tear just replaced it. "I had to do my duty," she said so quietly he barely heard it.
Hans moved and sat beside her on the bed. He took one of her hands and squeezed it. "Elsa, punishing yourself is not doing your duty. It's just punishing yourself."
"You don't understand," she cried.
"Then make me understand. Tell me what happened to you and Knudsvig."
"You said you already knew. Lars told you."
Hans heaved a sigh. If he expected her to be honest, then he had to be too. There was no way to go forward from here. "Lars told me you froze his hmmm… you know… on your wedding night. That's all I know and that you couldn't have a child. I figured his… seed was frozen in as well. I supposed it might happen with me too so the two of us having children is really not going to happen."
Elsa stared at him in surprise. "You thought… you thought I was deceiving you, that I knew I couldn't have children?"
"It occurred to me. I figured you were just trying to punish me, lock me in celibacy because you can't really… be intimate. But then the thing we had in the library happened and… well… I thought maybe we could be intimate, but I wasn't likely to get you pregnant, because I mean Knudsvig never did…"
He stopped rambling for Elsa's looked quite baffled.
"I'm sensing my assumptions here are all wrong," he said awkwardly.
She nodded shyly. "I couldn't have children with Knudsvig because our marriage wasn't consummated."
Hans felt his mouth drop open but couldn't decide what to say. That was the last thing he expected. He finally settled for: "O…kay…?"
"I mean," Elsa sighed just as awkwardly. "It wasn't consummated, since the uh hmmm…"
"Accident, let's just call it 'the accident,'" Hans offered.
"I think… we can call it that," Elsa agreed. "The accident. It was all my fault. I mean, I didn't know what I was doing. No one told me how I should act or prepare myself. He was drunk and I… I didn't know what to do. I was just lying there, but he wanted me…" she paused as she seemed to recall the painful moment. "D-differently positioned…"
Hans winced. He had an idea of exactly how Knudsvig wanted Elsa. If he wasn't dead, Hans would have gladly killed him.
"I… I couldn't understand what he wanted. He… pushed me and my head collided hard on the headboard. I was hurting so badly and I tried to squirm but he… he just hit my head again and again. And then he… he grabbed my legs and p-pushed them open and I felt something in such an intimate place. I was scared... I didn't know what to do. And then he was screaming. I didn't even realize what happened until Lars and Amelia came in and told me."
Hans shuddered at Elsa's harrowing tale of assault. She was shaking and Hans abandoned all thoughts of even putting distance between them. He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her softly as she cried.
"It was my fault," she whispered in between tears. "I went through that night without even knowing what to do. If I had just prepared myself… even… read a little bit about what to expect. If I had known how a proper wife should do it… I could have anticipated what he wanted."
Hans was startled at that statement. He put a finger on her chin to tilt her head so he met her face. "A proper wife? Elsa… you're not to blame for what happened. Why would you think you were not proper?"
"I read about it," she sniffled. "After that night, I tried to find out why it went all wrong. Knudsvig kept saying it went wrong because I wasn't a proper wife and I didn't know what to do. I didn't have my mother to tell me and I didn't dare talk to the servants, not even Gerda or Anna. So I tried to read books. There weren't many books I can get on the subject but I found some..."
Her face flushed in the candlelight and she looked away in deep embarrassment. She must think those books were scandalous. He wondered if he should ask what she had read before. Maybe he could recommend something better. The library in the Southern Isles certainly never lacked books on the topic, and Lars had made sure he had been instructed thoroughly in matters of sexuality like all Westergaard princes. The art of pleasure was part of a curriculum in the Westergaard household, complete with a reading list, learning activities, and a practical evaluation. It was no different than taking a course in foreign languages, diplomatic relations, or military strategy.
He felt a sudden arousal at the idea of sharing erotic literature with her, perhaps reading it aloud together and then doing a physical demonstration of the advice within the pages.
"I shouldn't… I shouldn't be discussing this with you," she said in almost a whisper. Hans couldn't help but adore her innocent expression.
"Who should you be discussing it with then?" he asked gently.
She said nothing but she colored even more and he decided to back off a bit to give her space.
"Elsa, I'm not ignorant about any of this, and I do not judge you for reading whatever you feel could help you in this matter. But there's a lot of bad information out there. So tell me what exactly made you think tying yourself up is going to make you a proper wife?"
Her lip quivered slightly but he waited patiently for her to speak up.
"Amelia… Amelia gave me this book. He said Lars approved of it and that you would have read it too."
"Alright… I probably would have," he said carefully, though he couldn't exactly remember which of the better books Lars recommended to him involved chains. "What was the title?"
"It's The Manual for Good Wives by Pastor Cutbert."
Of all the books he could think of, it was the one thing he could not have anticipated. He knew the book of course. It was still part of the reading list but it was classified in the Westergaard household as among the "what-not-to-do" bad guidebooks.
"Elsa, you are going to throw that book away. I've read that same book and I can tell you it is all lies that perpetuate ignorance. You said Amelia told you Lars approved of it?"
Elsa nodded.
"Lars wouldn't recommend that book in a million years. That thing is pure garbage, written by some doddering fool who probably didn't know a thing about a woman's anatomy or desires. My brothers and I were taught to do the exact opposite of any advice in that book. Some men of the aristocracy may have subscribed to it, just not my family." This is why so many lonely royal wives fell so fast for the better-educated Westergaard men, he wanted to add but decided not to share at this time with Elsa. If Anna had not told her yet about this sordid aspect of his family, he wasn't quite ready to bring this up.
"Why would Amelia say Lars approves of it?"
Why indeed? Hans thought but couldn't think of why someone as submissive as Lars' wife would lie. "Elsa, I wouldn't dare to guess why she would say that. All I know is that the book gives bad advice which is better left unheeded. If you need advice, Anna could probably give more insightful ones than anything written by a man."
"I… I couldn't bother her… I was too… ashamed. A marriage bed is sacred… I wouldn't dare speak of it. It was bad enough that Lars and Amelia found out and then everyone else did."
"Then talk to me," he said as he wiped a tear from her cheek with his fingertips. "What happens between us, stays between us if that is what you wish. And I would never hurt you, ever again. I will not force you anything that could be hurtful or offensive. If feel uncomfortable with anything I do, just tell me and I will make it right."
Elsa sniffled but a small smile lit her face. "I would like that." She paused tentatively. "Hans, about us having children?"
He knew it would come to this. He didn't entertain the thought of it before, but now that he realized her childlessness was due to her being a virgin and not some force of her powers, everything was suddenly coming into a new light. Would it be so bad to have children with Elsa? Was it so bad being married to Elsa? He didn't love her. However, he was deeply attracted to her and he could sense she may feel the same with him in a physical sense. He could still enjoy this. He certainly enjoyed their tryst in the library. Now that he knew Knudsvig's little accident had been due to his vicious treatment of Elsa, he was fairly sure he would not meet the same fate. He only had to treat Elsa well as she deserved.
"I have no objections to it. I am committed to you when I made my vows and I shall fulfill my duty when you are ready."
"I'm glad, thank you," she replied. "I suppose, after what happened we should just put this off another night?"
"If that is what you wish, I won't object," he replied. "We do still have weeks."
She nodded. "I should let you rest. There's another door in the secret passage that leads to another suite of rooms away from my bedchamber. I'll take one of the rooms there and early tomorrow we could just sneak into mine and pretend we…"
He shook his head. "I've already instructed Kai to do something about that. You just rest."
"Thank you, Hans." She got up from the bed. However, when she got to the secret door, he realized he couldn't just let her leave.
"Elsa, wait!"
Her hand was just on the knob but it hovered there without turning it. He came up beside her.
"I think, I should… at least kiss you goodnight," he said. He couldn't understand why he felt so shy with her. "I mean it's just a small token… to seal our agreement of course. If you're comfortable with it?"
She smiled wistfully. "I suppose it is but proper," she replied.
Hans hated the word "proper." He cursed Knudsvig wherever hell he might be rotting for uttering the word to Elsa and making her feel inadequate. Nevertheless, when he leaned down to kiss her, he only allowed his lips to brush against hers. However, Elsa had raised her hand and cradled his cheek, pulling him back a split-second after his chaste kiss ended. That heady feeling he once felt with her in the library flooded his senses.
"Hang proper," he grumbled before he took Elsa in his arms and kissed her deeply. Elsa didn't push him away and began kissing back as her arms snaked around his neck to clutch him tighter. He lifted her and carried her back into his bed where he resumed kissing her. His arms began caressing from her shoulder to her waist, but when he reached down to her upper thigh, she stiffened.
He paused slightly to look at her. "Do you want to do this?" he asked before he could go further.
"Yes," she replied breathlessly though he still sensed her hesitation. Her eyes flickered from the single candle that was their only source of light to the empty fireplace.
"You won't hurt me," he assured her. "You're not even cold now."
Her lip quivered and she refused to meet his gaze. He sensed that was not what was bothering her. Her gaze again went to the candle.
"You want me to blow out the candle?" he asked.
She nodded shyly. "If you don't mind?"
He did mind. He had been dreaming of Elsa for days, had been imagining her naked in his arms. This was his dream coming to fruition. However, he wasn't going to do this if she was going to feel terrible. Whatever trauma Elsa endured in her first marriage, he wasn't willing to add to it. Her comfort should come first before his desires.
He blew out the candle and they were both enveloped in darkness. He could not even see her face. However, he could feel her close. Her hands once more reached to touch his face, and she led him back to her lips.
What happened next was so unexpected, Hans could barely believe the same woman was in his arms. Elsa's kisses grew bolder as she opened her mouth to his and let him invade her with his tongue. At the same time, her own hands began roaming his body as if she wanted to discover every part of him. Suddenly, she was pulling at his shirt. She clutched at the cloth and tried to slip it off clumsily above his head but she couldn't make sense of it in the dark. He laughed at her awkward attempt before finally helping her to take it off. Once rid of that barrier, her hands began to roam his chest. She paused when she met with the uneven roughness of his skin just below his shoulder.
"I have plenty of scars," he explained. "That one is the biggest. It goes all the way to my back. There are several patches near my stomach as well."
"Does it hurt if I touch them?" she asked.
"No, not at all," he replied.
Her response was to let her fingertips outline them to his back. Then she replaced her fingers with her lips, tracing the scar with a line of kisses. She then sought the other scars and kissed each one, which sent him amazing sensations he had never felt before.
He felt like she was healing him of his past hurts. He recalled how when they were in a cave together she had tried to stop the blood from his forehead when he had injured it slightly. She remembered as well, for when she finished kissing his stomach, she moved to his forehead.
"There's no scar there," he said after she kissed his temple. "The scar in my face is under my—"
"Eye, I know," she whispered. He detected something sad in the way she said it. He expected her lips to move down to kiss that long scar Anna had given him but she didn't. Instead, she met his lips and then moved to his throat.
Their round of kisses became even more heated and she allowed him to explore her body as well. With each touch, he realized her dress seemed to be melting away. One moment, he felt soft fabric, and in the next bare skin. Whatever Elsa was doing, she had managed to become completely nude in seconds. Not to be outdone, he divested himself of his trousers as fast as possible sans magic. With the last of the barriers between them gone, Hans felt his blood race when she molded her body against his, while her lips claimed his mouth once more, prompting him to resume his exploration with his hands.
As he caressed her thigh, he found a scar there too, and knew exactly how she got it. He had caused it when a shard of ice pierced her when he made her ice chandelier fall. Taking from her cue, he moved to kiss that scar, as he wished will all his might, his kiss would heal her from wounds he inflicted in the past. From there he moved on to more intimate territory, where he knew she had other scars, just invisible, that still needed healing.
She accepted the ministrations of his fingers and mouth with eagerness and breathless delight. When he finally sought permission to proceed further, she gave no hesitation. She opened to him willingly, moved to meet him with uninhibited passion, and sent him to a high that was unlike anything he ever felt before. He had been with many women before, but this was entirely different. He felt a surge of energy from her that seemed to envelop his entire body, sending wave after wave of pleasure that he never even thought possible. At that moment, Hans felt divinely touched. He was Psyche beloved by Cupid for the first time, a mortal blessed to share with a goddess. She was simply perfection.
"Did I hurt you?" she said apprehensively when he finally collapsed beside her in happy exhaustion.
He wasn't able to respond immediately for he was too busy catching his breath and savoring the surprising discovery of this delightful aspect of his wife. He felt her shift and move to the side of the bed. He heard a match strike and in a moment, her graceful figure was illuminated by the single candle. Somehow, her nightdress was magically restored. She held the candle up as she stared at him with deep worried lines of her beautiful face.
"No, I am fine. More than fine. You were wonderful," he told her.
Her gaze momentarily trailed down his body before she looked away, a blush invading her pretty freckled cheeks.
He was tempted to tease her to just look as much as she wanted, but he figured she may not appreciate such intimate banter so soon. It was as if the candlelight had taken away all the confidence she displayed just moments ago and now she was back to being a frightened and shy young woman. So he reassured her by pulling a blanket to cover the lower part of his body.
"How do you feel?" he asked. He was certain she enjoyed it, but it was always best to ask.
Her only response was a tiny smile and a deep blush that made her look even more adorable and innocent. Good Lord! She's a siren in the dark and a bashful bride in the light! What a conundrum!
"Come back to bed?" he invited.
She hesitated for a moment but finally acquiesced without looking at him. She lay with her back to him and he held her by the waist but was careful not to hold her too tight.
"Thank you," she whispered breathlessly. "For being gentle."
"I will always be gentle with you," he responded. "Unless you want me otherwise," he added teasingly.
Her tiny gasp told him she understood his meaning but she didn't move away from his touch. She drew nearer to him, her back snuggling against his chest easily. He felt reassured that she was comfortable enough with him. He closed his eyes and gently caressed her stomach, drawing invisible circles over it as he imagined her belly growing a few short months from now with his child.
Before his mind shut down with sleep, he decided he liked that picture very much.
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed my little take on Hans' and Elsa's wedding night. This was quite a difficult chapter to write as I wanted to explore the awkwardness and confusion Hans would have along with Elsa's insecurities, innocence, and past hurts. Sex and intimacy were so taboo in the 19th century that I can easily imagine Elsa not being able to talk about such things, even with Anna. She had one terrible experience and that in itself would have been a reason to clam up on the subject. Amelia was also quite responsible for giving Elsa false information as Amelia was highly motivated to keep Elsa away from Knudsvig to prevent them from conceiving an heir above her claim.
Thank you again for all your supportive messages. I enjoyed reading your feedback.