Scandal, Stolen kisses and Sweet nothings

Heart ache

The pair had been riding north for quite some time , when a loud rumbling noise had distracted Hans, which caused him to halt. He listens intently , furrowing his brows as he searches his surroundings , turning his head slightly, Sitron began to tremble. Hans soothingly pats his horse on his mane, to reassure him.

"Wait, did you hear that?" He whispers to Kristoff.

"Hear what?" The tired ice harvester had not been paying attention, he lifts his gaze to meet the red head's, whom were wide with concern. There it was again, this time he could feel the Forest floor trembling , which only plays into his curiosity.

Kristoff's eyes widen at the sensation and the sound, this must be the work of the earth giants: but he remembered they only roam around at night, what would they be doing out at midday?

"That!" Hans bellows, as Sitron rears up with a fearful neigh. This worries him, since Sitron isn't spooked easily , not by people that is , which suggested this was the work of the spirits.
"Easy boy , easy" 

"Wake up!!" A loud feminine voice echoes throughout the forest.  The two men share a glance immediately recognising that voice anywhere, before shooting off into the forest , urging on their steeds.

"That's it!!" Hans eyes widen at what the princess is doing.

She's leading them to the dam.

"Come and catch me! Come on!"

No she's crazy. Is she trying to get herself killed?

"No!" Hans shouts out , as he rides on faster than he has ever willed Sitron to do so before.

He was worried , not only because , he didn't want his sister in law getting hurt but also, if that dam breaks , his kingdom , the very kingdom that his son will one day rule , will be in ruins , his people homeless.

"Hans wait!" He ignores Kristoff's cries for him to stop. He weaves in between boulders crashing onto the ground and falling trees. He almost reaches Anna , only to be thrown off Sitron , who had reared up in fear of the large earth giant.

He hissed as pain shot through his spine and the back of his head, as he gasped for air , he'd winded himself.
He shook his head , he didn't have time for this. He rushed to his horse , checking that he hadn't sustained any injuries.

"Oh boy, that was a nasty fall, but you're alright buddy." He pats his muzzle reassuringly, glad that sitron was alright, he couldn't handle another loved one being hurt. He sighs , and turns at the scene before him.

"You stay here , I don't want you getting hurt. Stay." Sitron neighs in protest at his masters commands , which earns him the stare. Hans folds his arms and raises an eyebrow.

"Stay!"

Hans runs through the Forest, thankful for his naval training ; they used to make the young cadets get up early every morning and go for a five mile run , wether it be rain or shine. He used to complain as a child, but he now sees how it can serve him. He frowns , he couldn't see the earth giant in the forest which must mean.

No

He sprints as fast as his feet could take him, he had to stop Anna before she does something that will get her hurt. He ducks under that last tree branch before reaching the clearing at the edge of the forest where the dam should be , only to see Anna crumbled into a ball sobbing in her husbands arms, and the damn completely destroyed. He knew now , that the water would be rushing at high speeds towards Arendelle, and there was nothing that he could do about it.

"Anna!" He Calls out , the auburn haired princess looks up at him , from her embrace with kristoff , with red tearful eyes. His voice gets the attention of the surrounding guards , all wearing solemn expressions.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt!" He frets as the princess and prince stand from their embrace and approach the worried king.

"Hans, I'm fine. I'm not hurt , maybe a graze here and there , but they're no battle wounds I assure you" She solemnly chuckles as she tries to make light of the situation. He lets out a sigh of relief and brings her into a hug.

"What were you thinking? You could have gotten really hurt or worse killed!" He starts to lecture her but is abruptly interrupted.

"I had to break the dam, to correct a wrong from the past. Yelena and the natives were right, they were innocent. It was King Runeard that built the Dam to weaken the magic and the forest , it was him who killed their leader in cold blood. This was the only way I could free the forest. Please trust , that if I could've done it in a safer way, but it was urgent , time was of the essence" Anna explains, wiping her nose with her sleeve , sniffling and her voice croaky from sobbing. Hans could hear it in the way she spoke, she was exhausted and had quite clearly been crying a lot.

"Okay let's get all back to the camp, where we can get supplies and go find Elsa." He starts speaking out louder so the other soldiers can hear his orders. He gestures in the direction of the camp

"Hans.." Anna tries to explain the horrific news but she's interrupted.

"I know we should rest but I can't wait a minute longer knowing she's out there, alone!" He sighs and begins walking.

"Hans stop!" The sound of her voice breaking with emotion, was enough for him to stop and turn , his brows furrowed. Anna asks everyone to give them a minute of privacy.

"Kristoff , you go with them." The ice harvester nods at his wife , trying to hide the tears that threatened to escape. Hans was worried now, it must be bad if Anna wanted him alone. Had Elsa done something , was she hurt? Was that gut feeling he'd had gnawing at him all this time, a suggestion to something far more sinister. He'd been in denial because his mind wanders to the darkest places and had been trying to break that habit, and use rational thinking first.

"Anna what is it?"
Just looking at his face broke her heart , and she hated that she would be the one to tell him , that his wife and son, the only reasons he had to keep going, are dead.

"It's Elsa" she swallows a sob and puts a hand up to stop him from interrupting. "She went too far in Atohollan searching for the truth, she.." tears flood down her cheeks as this was a pain that she couldn't bare and she knew that if she tells him it would destroy him.!

"What , Anna please tell me"

"I'm so sorry, Elsa, the baby, olaf." Her chest heaves with that crushing weight. He shakes his head , no , this isn't happening. It's like all the air from his lungs was being sucked out, he couldn't , this couldn't be true.

"They're dead"

The silence was deafening.

Those words felt like he was being stabbed in the heart, he felt shock , a wave of cold rushed over his body as a initial feeling of numb and then anguish washed over him. He couldn't breath. He crumbled onto his knees, his hands digging into the dirt.
Magic burst from him obliterating a circle of trees and the ground to ash, Anna managed to escape the blast.

Anna rushed to his side.
Then finally the loudest cry of anguish came from his lips which caused the birds to flutter out of their nests , and the soldiers in the distance to turn at the sound. Each sob felt like a knife to the gut to the chest , and it was getting deeper and all to much too bear with each sob.

He'd seen dark before , but not like this.
This was a pain he'd hope he would never feel, he had just heard that the love of his life, the only reason for him to keep going, and his child , the future that they were never going to have , were dead. He dug his finger nails into the the dirt as he clung on to any sense of purpose , as he fought his mind at every turn. 

Then he forced himself to breath in, he had to breath.
He buried his head into Anna's chest as he wept and wept. His whole world had crashed and burned , and Anna feared that he wouldn't come back from this.

"No! No! NO" He mutters in between sobs.

He would never recover from this, he couldn't take it.