Jump Into the Fog

Your Body Is a Weapon, Love

Jump Into the Fog

Chapter 21

 

“Your body is a weapon, love, and it rips me up inside.”

 --

            Elsa screamed for help until her throat went hoarse and eve then, no avail. No one could hear her despite how hard she tried to gain someone’s attention—but then, what could they do? There was so much ice that there would be nothing strong enough to penetrate it in time to help Anna. And then… What would she do?

            It was hopeless.

            She sobbed until there were no tears left, and alone in her thoughts, all she could fathom was just how much she’d failed Anna in trusting Hans, in giving him just what he wanted all because he’d showered her with sweet words and assurances, made her feel happy to have her powers, for once.

            Staring at the heavy diamond ring on her finger at sundown, though, Elsa finally started to see more. Yes, Hans had indeed betrayed her all in the name of attaining his goal, in running his own kingdom with the most powerful woman at his side. Yes, she’d allowed Hans to corrupt her and mold her… but had it all been negative?

            Despite what he intended for Anna, was there indeed any redeemable good inside him?

            Yes, she realized as she remembered the look of pure happiness she’d seen on his face when Hans slid this ring on her finger. It was a symbol representing all they’d been through, good and bad.

            There had been his mad assumption that she was pregnant, his near absence, his ugly true colors showing… All reprehensible, all things for which Elsa would never forgive him. He deserved punishment, probably deserved to rot for it.

            But them, there had been the marital bliss. There had been those moments where Elsa would look at Hans in the mornings as light streamed into their room and she would gently brush his hair back, making his green eyes crinkle in happiness. There were moments when he would take her hand and she would immediately calm down. There were looks of understanding in their eyes, looks only they could comprehend.

            Moments where they were the only two people in the world.

            Hans may have told Elsa that he was the best thing that ever happened to her. And, to an extent, he was right.

            But what he didn’t mention, and what she could tell, was that he needed her as well. After all, if Hans really didn’t want her, he would have slain her on the fjord a year ago. He would have let Elsa kill the Duke of Weselton’s men. He would have taken mistresses. He would have struck her when she told him she was not with child. He still wanted their marriage to work, crazy as his scheme was to get rid of Anna.

            He wasn’t entirely right. But he was a good fit for the kingdom, with how much he cared about the people.

            And, in the end, a good fit for her. She would just have to exercise her own authority, for once, for she was the Snow Queen. A terrible title, fit for a marriage with a slightly ruthless Prince.

            He was not entirely evil, as Anna suggested. But he was not entirely good, either, as she had first perceived.

            Still, though, he needed to be stopped.