Of Frozen Bitterness

One; What If

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"Anna was a wonderful person. Her life was full of adventures and delight - one of which I have never seen in someone before. Of all the people I've ever met, she was the only person that brought a hint of light into my life... and everyone's lives." came the broken voice of Kristoff as he wiped the tears off his eyes with his arm, not caring if it was informal.

The tears that were threatening to slip down Elsa's cheeks were going back in forth, debating whether or not to show emotion or hide a facade. It had been that way ever since the royal servants had opened the doors to the palace again to mourn the death... no, frozen state of their beloved Princess. Elsa promised not to cry, because deep down she knew that's what Anna would have wanted.

All of this wouldn't have happened if she hadn't started making that ice palace of hers. By then, Anna wouldn't have come looking for her. If she hadn't just showed the kingdom what she really was, Anna wouldn't have come out into the cold winter. Actually, if she hadn't let the gates open, none of it would have happened. Wasn't it always that way? Funerals often give people the If I/we hadn't's and regrets. But none of those what if's could bring back Anna. Not even the great troll, Pabbie, knew how to unfreeze her now at this state since Anna missed the "act of true love", which was supposed to come from...

Suddenly, there were murmurs as a new visitor entered the grand hall. Elsa turned and immediately, her blood boiled. The boiling of her blood was at a peak like Mount Everest and was much higher than the heavens above. Of all the people to come to Anna's funeral... Anna's funeral, it had to be him.

Without missing a beat, Elsa rose from her seat and began to march gracefully towards the new guest. He had the same auburn hair, only less classy than it was on the first unusual meet and the same cheery green eyes; yet this time they were cold and distant. Once he looked up and saw her approaching, he froze, like Elsa had struck him with her powers.

Elsa's face remained stoic as she faced Hans of the Southern Isles. She crossed her arms on her chest as she greeted chillingly, "Welcome, Prince Hans."

"Your highness." Hans bowed stiffly. "My... condolences."

"Save your pities, Hans." Elsa whispered rather fiercely as she looked around, checking if anyone was listening. Fortunately, all of them were listening to Kristoff's heartwarming Eulogy. Without another word, she gripped Hans's wrist and dragged him outside the grand hall. The guards that were guarding the large doors looked surprised upon seeing their Queen's actions, but they opened the doors for her and Hans anyway.

As soon as the doors were closed, Elsa quickly recoiled from Hans in anger. "I thought you were her true love!"

This time, she was practically yelling. She didn't care how loud she was because the grand hall was sound proof. Hans was slightly taken aback by Elsa's outburst, but he managed to collect himself.

He replied in the calmest and most endearing way possible. "If I had known..."

"No!" Elsa snapped. "You don't think I know what really happened, Hans? Olaf told me that you left her there. Trust me, he saw Anna suffer. If he hadn't unlocked the door to the room which you trapped her, I wouldn't have seen her. She would have been dead before I even knew! Why? Why didn't you kiss her?" Elsa's eyes were wide with horror and a mixture of sheer anger as she pushed Hans away with both hands. "Why?"

"Because, Elsa..." His voice raised at because and lowered at Elsa. Hans ran his hand through his auburn hair in frustration. "I am not her true love."

"Oh, that's just perfect!" Elsa threw her hands up in exaggeration. "So you just happened to have met, then you propose to her and now a month passes and she's dead... no, frozen and now you're saying she's not your true love? What on earth is wrong with you? Were you just playing with her heart? Were you?"

"Elsa..." Hans trailed off and he looked like he wanted to say more, but Elsa had cut him off.

"It's Queen Elsa to you, Prince." Elsa spat rather bitterly.

"Elsa, please!" Hans grabbed both of her shoulders carefully, as if to stop her from interrupting him. "You must know that I was blinded by passion the moment I wanted to marry her. We both know who her true love is, and that would be the man speaking inside that hall with his Eulogy for Anna. I didn't mean to hurt her, you know that."

"You could have brought her out to Kristoff if you thought he was her true love!" Elsa tried to push Hans' hands off her shoulders, but his grip was firm, thus making it almost impossible to remove it. Unless, of course, she bites his arm. "You lack incentive, Prince. You'd be locked up by now, but then again, they see me as the Queen who killed her own sister. So you're lucky you're not rotting in an Arendelle dungeon. Did I mention how nasty it is inside there? Wait, you'd know. You locked me in one!"

"You said you knew I wasn't her true love. Why didn't you stop it?" Hans back fired.

"Why didn't I... why didn't I stop it? I was all out against you marrying her! Look, this isn't about who didn't marry who. This is about you not saving her in time. If you were a decent person, you wouldn't have locked her in. She's gone because of you."

"She's gone because of you, Elsa. You froze her. If you had just gave up and went back to Arendelle-"

"Don't you turn this around me! I know my mistakes, but I know I've seen a greater mistake in you. Had you no decency? All you had to do was... help her."

All of her anger protruded to one conclusion: sadness. It almost seemed so easy. Yelling and throwing words at Hans like it was just a game of catch-the-ball. Then all of a sudden, it just didn't feel right to get mad at... anyone or anything. Her father had taught her that great power comes with great responsibility. If anyone should be mad at anyone, it should be at her.

Elsa felt Hans' grip loosen. He must have sensed her voice weakening, but she didn't care. She took this opportunity to turn around. In that moment of pure anger grew a sense of weakness. Everything felt numb from head to toe as the tears now began to slip off her cheeks, and inevitably, the loud chokes and sobs began to resound throughout the hallway.

As she wrapped her arms around herself, she felt a warm hand land on her shoulder. Elsa turned in surprise and wiped her tears immediately, knowing that Hans was seeing her at her weakest. She pushed his hand away before shaking her head in dismay. "You can go now..."

"Elsa..." Hans said warmly and with a sense of empathy. "There's only one thing to do to unfreeze Anna. You might want to ask the, uh... troll."

"I don't believe a word you say. Now, just... go." Elsa's voice broke as she closed her eyes to keep herself from looking absolutely helpless in front of Hans. If there was one person she shouldn't be looking like a mule, it's Hans. The man was known for great strength and with his actions towards Anna, proves that he can be a cruel and cold-hearted person despite everything.

"Just so you know..." Hans said. "I locked her there for one purpose."

Elsa sniffed. "And what purpose would that be?"

There was a small silence between them before Hans neared Elsa and whispered ever so quietly like the wind.

"To be with you."