A Twist Of Fate

Chapter 9

"Anna?"

Elsa peaked behind curtains, looked in the kitchen, knocked on her door- and still no sign of the Princess! "Anna, where are you?" She called, running past a window to get to the servants quarters. Then she ran right back to the window. Outside, Anna was brushing Sven and making conversation with Kristoff and Olaf. Elsa sighed blissfully and smiled. All her family right there-

Except her.

Elsa placed a hand on the window and her other fisted and was pressed to her chest, frowning. She told herself she really shouldn't be sad; she had all this work to do and they simply didn't. Still, she felt the slightest left out...

"Hay," Elsa felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned, coming face to face with Hans. "Are you alright?" He murmured, and she could have sworn she saw his eyes flick to her lips for a second before going back to meet her eyes. Elsa swallowed. "Yes, I'm fine." She managed to keep her voice from faltering and Hans smiled genuinely, removing his hand from her shoulder. "You're lucky to have a family like that." He said softly, looking out the window. "Yes, I suppose I am."

After a while of silence, Elsa spoke again. "You don't have to worry about your family anymore, you know. You're hear, where it's safe. I'm not going to put you in a cell for the rest of your life, or freeze you, or anything terrible like that. I know your reasons of your actions from the past, and I-" she bit her lip. "I'm sorry that I never gave you the chance to speak. Hans, I-"

"Your Majesty, the Princess requested your presence in the gardens." Gerda approached the two royals, eyeing Hans for a moment. Her gaze wasn't disapproving, it only seemed curious.

Maybe I'm not so hated after all,

Hans fathomed, nodding to the maid and Elsa did the same. "Very well."

After Gerda left, Elsa turned to Hans and took his hand in both of hers, looking him strait in the eye. "Wait for me in my room." She whispered, smiling a soft smile, then headed off toward the gardens.

~

"Oh, there you are, Elsa!" Anna jumped up from the grass under their mothers favorite tree. Elsa smiled and waved, making her way over to her sister. "So, what is it you needed?" She gracefully sat down on the grass and Anna plopped down next to her. "Well...I was wondering what you did last night," Anna leaned close to her sister and raised her eyebrows, smiling a smug smile. "Oh! Uh.." Elsa bit her lip, her face flushed. Anna giggled. "It's okay Elsie, you don't need to tell me." Anna giggled again, and Elsa laughed nervously. But, Anna didn't seem to lessen her curiosity. "....okay but you have to tell me; did you spend it you Rolf?"

Anna looked like a giddy little school girl, but Elsa looked like she just swallowed vile; which she did. "Rolf?! Uh, aha, no, I did not spend my afternoon with Rolf."

Anna pouted, but when she saw Elsa's blush, she assumed she was lying, so she grinned again. "Suuuure. Anyway, I'm going out to see the trolls with Kristoff tomorrow. Do you want to come?"

"I-" Elsa was about to decline, when she realized, she actually did need to talk with Grand Pabbie. "...sure, I would love to." She answered finally. Anna smiled brightly. "Great! Well, I'll leave you to get back to your queenly duties. See ya!"

And with that, the Princess ran off.

~

"Hans...?" Elsa opened her door slowly, looking around the room for a sign of the auburn haired man. She finally spotted him, sitting on her floor, surrounded by books with one in his hand. A smile tugged at the corner of Elsa's lips, seeing him to focused on the fairytales. She entered her room and closed the door softly, walking over to and sitting next to Hans. He still didn't notice her presents. She couldn't tell what book exactly he was reading, but it looked like his favorite.

".....hi." She whispered, giggling softly. Hans jumped and tossed the book behind him. "Elsa!" He yelped, his face burning. Elsa snickered behind her hand uncontrollably. "I was- I mean I hope I didn't disrupt anything, I just-"
He was a stammering mess. Elsa finally stopped her giggles and placed a cool hand on his arm. "It's alright." She smiled assuringly. "But, why are you so interested in fairytales..?"

Wow, this is a thin shirt he has on. Oh, my God, the muscle... Stop it!

Elsa tried her damned hardest not to blush, but the heat she felt in her core was almost unbearable. She placed her hands in her lap and tried to stay collected.

"Well, I...its kind of a long story, I mean..." He buried his face in his hands, red like a tomato. "You don't have to tell me, you know. I was just curious.." Elsa looked away, slightly embarrassed. "N-no, it's okay..." He cleared his throat and peaked out at the Queen. "It's just- fairytales were the only comfort I had, growing up." He looked at Elsa for a moment, then back at the books in front of him. "My mother used to like fairytales, from what I heard from the maids. Her library was full of them. When I was little, I used to go to her library, it was like my sanctuary. Those books gave me hope; hope that I could actually have a happy ending." He chuckled dryly. "Now, I guess, I'm still trying to save what little hope I still have."

Elsa frowned, then, seeing him close to tears again.

I promised I wouldn't cry anymore. It's weakness.

He scolded himself, clenching his teeth together. They were silent for what seemed like forever.

He knows what it's like to loose a mother...

A/N: sorry for another weird ending! But, sense I am totally obsessed with Into The Woods, part of the next chapter will be Hans and Elsa singing "You Are Not Alone"
I really hope you'll like that!💕