Love That We Cannot Have

Chapter Five: The Affection

⠀⠀⠀⠀My eyes widened at the sight before me. Hans grasped his arm where it had been struck, face cringing with pain. He slowly fell to his knees, searching for support while I simply stood there immobilized. The slam of the doors to the castle broke me from my trance and I was suddenly aware of what I had to do. I helped Hans stand, draping his arm over my shoulders and wrapping my arm around his waist while I called out to anyone who could get me what I needed to stop the ice from spreading to his heart.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Someone help me!" I shouted as loud as I could, Hans' weight straining my lungs.
⠀⠀⠀⠀Three maids rushed over, frantically asking, "What can we do to help, your highness?"
⠀⠀⠀⠀"I need two of you to take him to my bedroom immediately and make sure his body is completely enveloped in warmth and one of you has to come with me to retrieve a boiling hot kettle of water."
⠀⠀⠀⠀They hastily did as instructed, all of us quickly going back inside the castle. The maid that came with me, Gerda, followed me to the kitchen where we thankfully found a neglected kettle of boiling water hanging over the fire pit. My adrenaline was pumping hard, fearing the worst, as I stuck a finger in the water without a worry for the burn that would come soon afterwards. My finger test assured that the water was the perfect temperature, so I snatched a few linen cloths from a counter nearby and Gerda helped me haul the kettle up to my bedroom where we found Hans shivering underneath the layered blankets of my bed.
⠀⠀⠀⠀I soaked one of the cloths in the steaming water and wrapped Hans' arm in the towel. He seethed at the scalding warmth, but released not one complaint because he knew I was only trying to help him. I was so focused that I hardly noticed the maids lurking nearby.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"You're dismissed," I affirmed, barely lifting my head.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"But, Princess, it is not your responsibility to care for him-" insisted Gerda, whose statement I soon interrupted.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"You're dismissed!" I reiterated with a touch of annoyance.
⠀⠀⠀⠀They scurried out of the room, shutting the door as softly as possible.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Now t-that's authority," Hans laughed lightly through shivers.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"You think so huh?" I tittered, meticulously wrapping his arm.
⠀⠀⠀⠀He seemed to be loosing his strength so he just slightly nodded his head. His eyes kept dragging to a close and opening slightly which lead me to believe that the warmly soaked cloths weren't helping, but then I thought of something else. I briskly ran to my parents' former study to fetch a tonic that cured anything harmed by ice, besides a frozen heart. My parents had gotten it from the trolls just in case and even though I don't remember what happened when I was young, I overheard them talking about it once.
⠀⠀⠀⠀When I returned to my bedroom, Hans was near unconsciousness so I quickly poured the liquid into a glass and slowly distributed it too him. After a few minutes, his muscles seemed to relax and mine did as well.
⠀⠀⠀⠀I let out a heavy sigh of relief as I walked over to my vanity. As soon as I sat down, exhaustion washed over me and I fell asleep with my head resting on my arms.

~

⠀⠀⠀⠀I felt a slight touch on my forearm, almost ghostly, causing me to draw in a sharp breath and jump in my seat.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"It's just me, it's just me," Hans assured me with a gentle stroke against my skin.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"How are you feeling?" I asked, squinting to allow my eyes to adjust.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Much better," he confirmed, soon changing the subject. "A member of your staff came by earlier to announce the arrival of some guests."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Oh, the ball! I completely forgot that was tonight! What am I supposed to do without Elsa there? She wouldn't possibly host something like that after what happened yesterday."
⠀⠀⠀⠀I placed my head in my hands, mulling over everything I'd have to get done in my head while muttering a few things to myself.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"If I could be of any help..." Hans trailed off with a hopeful glimmer in his eyes.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Oh, no. I don't want to trouble you with that. It's my responsibility to host things like this and I'm sure you've got other things to do," I rambled in response.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Anna, just say yes or no," he chuckled.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"If you insist, then yes," I agreed firmly.
⠀⠀⠀⠀Before I could blurt out anything else, Hans said, "You lead the way," with a gesture towards the door.
⠀⠀⠀⠀Even though I could just barely see him behind me out of the corner of my eye, I knew he was right at my heels. When he brought his hand up to my back to lead me out door, I felt a shiver run up my spine and the shadow of that touch lingered all throughout the day.

~

⠀⠀⠀⠀I chose to wear a purple long sleeved gown with a jeweled neck and waist to the ball. Since Elsa wasn't attending, Hans was able to come, so I had a white suit with silver outlines and a purple vest tailored for him to match my outfit. Kristoff had been visiting the trolls for a few days, so I was not able to coordinate with him tonight.
⠀⠀⠀⠀Just as I finished getting ready, I heard a knock at the other side of my door and hurried to answer it. "Good evening, Hans," I greeted with a giddy smile.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Good evening, your highness," he responded with a slight nod.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"I assume everything is in order downstairs?" I questioned, continuing with the humored formality as we walked towards the ballroom.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Of course," he assured me as we strode into the room.
⠀⠀⠀⠀The jocularity soon ceased when a wave of gasps escaped from the crowd as all eyes fell onto my escort. After Hans attempted to take over Arendelle, news disseminated to kingdoms nationwide about the never-before-seen scandal. I could easily read the shock of the guests when they saw the victim's arm linked with the criminal's, but Hans took it in stride.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"May I have this dance?" Hans offered, holding out his hand.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yes, you may."
⠀⠀⠀⠀We danced in the middle of the ballroom floor surrounded by the incredulous stares of everyone all night long. My hand barely left his all night and not for one moment did I wish it to be any other way. I knew I couldn't convince everyone to forgive him, but that night paved the way to an acceptance.
⠀⠀⠀⠀Not many worked up the courage to dance along with us for fear of judgement from everyone else, but even as midnight approached, Hans and I kept gliding across the wooden floor until all of the guests and the staff had left us to dance in silence.
⠀⠀⠀⠀All at once, I became incapacitated to contain the withheld emotion that had been brewing inside me since his arrival. I detected Hans' hesitation as I leaned into him, but he did nothing to stop me as I pressed my lips into his without a second thought.

A/N: You may have noticed that I did not include an edit for this chapter and the reason would be that I wanted to focus on the writing. Despite my love for editing, I'd much rather just write without having to worry about coming up with an edit to coincide with the chapter. I may install one later on, but it's probably unlikely. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please vote and leave a comment on anything that caught your attention!