Dark Paths (Helsa)

Eighteen

Elsa quietly walked into the infirmary, seeing two parts of the room covered by blue curtains then a nurse at the back of the room.

"Queen Elsa," She muttered and waited for her to say which man she'd see first.

"I'm here to see King Arden." Elsa said and watched as she pointed over to the left curtain. Elsa nodded and thanked her, going behind the curtain to see Arden laying there with bandages on his hands and a long wrap going around his head from his broken nose.

"What are you doing in here?" Arden asked, watching as Elsa sat down near the end of the bed. "I wanted to check on you."

"Go check on your lover." He scoffed, disgusted with her that she even had a different lover. "How long has that been going on?" He asked, closing his eyes and laid his head back onto the pillow.

"Arden, I want a divorce. We can have a priest divorce us then we can finally be happy with our significant others." She said, taking him completely by surprise.

"No, I won't do it. I will not be embarrassed from my wife cheating on me then divorcing. I won't sign any documents, listen to any priests and quite frankly, I'm your husband and you will listen to me," He said, watching as her anger boiled to the surface and he could tell she was ready to snap.

"Do not speak to me like that," She snapped, not taking anymore nonsense from him. "I am sorry for what has happened between us but I can't change how my heart feels."

"Just leave. I don't want your empty apology, and I most definitely do not want to hear about that man." He snapped. "Go return to Arendelle today. No questions."

"I don't know if I can do that." She said, standing up from her chair and heard Hans across the large infirmary.

"I am your king. It wasn't a question, I am ordering you to return to Arendelle." He said.

"I am not your property." She snapped, leaving his part of the infirmary to go over to Hans.

Hans laid in the infirmary bed, scratches and blood across his face and an older nurse wrapping his hand, it must've been broken from Hans breaking Arden's nose.

"Oh, Hans." She said, coming over to him and laid a hand softly on his arm, unsure of every place he was hurt. "I am so sorry," She whispered, watching as the nurse started cleaning off his bleeding knuckles then looked up to the nurse. "Would you happen to have a cloth and some water so I can clean the cuts from his face?"

"Yes, your Grace. I do and if you do not mind to put a healing ointment on the cuts, it would help me immensely." She smiled, making Hans flinch and pull his hand away. Elsa nodded and went out of the curtained area, grabbing a pan of warm water and a white cloth to wipe his cuts.

"I'm sorry, Hans." She whispered, dapping the cloth into the water and went to the cuts on his forehead first, making him wince. "You're not speaking to me."

"My whole face hurts and I'm trying to focus on something else besides my hand being cut open." He muttered. "You did nothing wrong. I haven't been mad at you for a second because I started that fight with him."

"I feel terrible that you're hurt." She said, wringing out the blood into the pan of water, going back to wash more of the blood from his face.

"At least I'm not Arden, I know his nose is broken. I felt it crack the second I punched him," He said, wincing again at the nurse who was now stitching his hand up. "It was worth it, I protected you and wasn't going to stand for him hitting you."

"He's never hit me before," She mumbled, moving to his cheeks where the cuts were a little deeper. "I talked to him just before I came in here."

"What did he have to say?" He asked, not really caring to know what Arden had to say but he wanted to know if she was leaving.

"He wants me to stop this relationship and leave today to Arendelle, with or without him," She sighed, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. "I told him I don't think I can leave. I can't just leave you or I'd be leaving a part of me behind."

"And once you leave, he'll never let you come back." Hans whispered, terrified of her leaving. He couldn't lose her again. How could he let her go this time when he knew she loved him too?

"I also told him I want a priest to divorce us so we can both be happy." She said, cleaning off the cuts on his other cheek.

"I'm assuming he didn't take kindly to that, it probably hit his self esteem." Hans said, watching as the nurse finished his stitches, feeling the stiffening in his hand then she applied a healing ointment. "Miss, I'm hoping that I won't have to stay in the infirmary since my injuries are quite small."

"I'll release you once the Queen is done. You have to apply this ointment to your stitches everyday for a week then come back to me and I'll remove them when ready." She smiled, letting his hand drop to the bed and started to apply the ointment to his forehead and cheeks.

~~~~~~

Hans ended up getting released from the infirmary almost immediately, being told the steps to heal his wounds again then was released with Elsa. They spent the rest of the night together in his bedroom, the doors locked, and sometimes she would start crying, not wanting the next day to come and have Hans be ripped away from her. He was her life now, everything about him, and she couldn't let her first and only love go. Not like this.