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greatqueenanna · 1 year

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Should Hans Make a Return?

One of the burning questions that some have for Frozen 3 is if Prince Hans, the twist villain from Frozen, should return in the next film. He was absent in Frozen 2, only mentioned in passing, which was met with indifference from most Frozen fans, but disappointment from fans of the character who believed he was getting a redemption arc.

This idea originally stemmed from an interview with Hans' voice actor Santino Fontana who had hinted at the possibility that he may return. He mentions that the writers told him that they want to bring him back and redeem him. You can see this interview here, the Frozen segment lasts from approx. 15:35 - 19:35.

However, F2 had Elsa say that Hans is an irredeemable monster, and the songwriters had once compared him to a politician they don't like - giving off the impression that this wasn't actually considered, or the idea was scrapped.

The option has once again presented itself for Frozen 3, and I wanted to discuss the possibility and if he should even make a return.

Hans After Frozen

Hans' last film appearance was Frozen Fever in 2015, where we see him shoveling horse manure before being hit by Elsa's giant snowball.

Later that year, Hans appeared in the novel A Frozen Heart, where his point of view was explored alongside Anna's during the events of the first film. We learned quite a bit about his backstory, but this book's canon is debatable due to it being retconned by A Forest of Shadows in 2019 (the book gives a different description of what happened after Anna was hit by Elsa's magic).

Speaking of Forest of Shadows, Hans actually does make a brief appearance in this book. He appears in Anna's nightmare, one that shows her fear of Elsa thinking that Anna is useless to her.

The dancer bowed, the silver wolf mask nearly tipping off his nose. “As you wish, Princess Anna.” The blood in her veins turned to ice. Anna knew that voice. It was a voice she didn’t want to hear again. She peered uncertainly through the dark eyeholes of the mask. “Prince—Prince Hans?” “The very same.” A diamond ring suddenly materialized in his hand. “Your sister said I should give this to you when I ask for your hand.” “My—my hand?” Hans grabbed her wrist and jammed the ring onto her finger. “Your hand in marriage, of course. Your sister has given her blessing. She has no use for you.”

-Frozen 2: Forest of Shadows

Hans of course makes an appearance during live shows, most notably during the musical, and is given his own song, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. In F2, other than a brief mention during their charades game and Elsa later destroying his memory in Ahtohallan, Hans is, as said, absent in the story. As a side note, he also appears in Once Upon a Time's season 4 non-canon spin-off as a villain.

Other than these instances, Hans has yet to make a return as a character in the mainline story.

How Hans Could Benefit Anna's Development

One thing we have to consider is that Hans is part of Anna's story more so than Elsa's. Yes, the two interact, but Hans was always a bigger part of Anna's overall development. I bring this up because many Hans fans that are also Helsa (Hans x Elsa) fans tend to hyper-focus on how his return would affect Elsa - when Elsa would largely be irrelevant to his return in reality.

Thus, let's refocus the conversation back on Anna. After all, it was Anna who Hans hurt and manipulated. If we're talking about him returning either as a villain or with redemption, it would directly affect Anna in one way or another.

As of Frozen 2 - Anna is the Queen of Arendelle, is engaged to marry Kristoff, has Mattias as an advisor/General, and works with Elsa in the Enchanted Forest to ensure peace.

Anna being Queen opens up some interesting narrative opportunities with Hans. His main goal was for Anna to become Queen so he would be her King. Thus, now that Anna is Queen without him, how would Hans view this? How would he react?

More importantly, how would Anna react to his return? Would she immediately shun him and give him another punch? Would she be afraid or nervous, with the writers exploring any trauma Anna may have from him? Basically, if Hans is brought back, it would actually give some interesting development opportunities for Anna and, to an extent, Kristoff.

Thus, Hans could actually make a return if his story is somehow integrated into Anna's development.

Villainous Return or Redemption?

My personal preference would be for Hans to return as a villain and, as described above, to be a development point for Anna to overcome. It would also benefit the series so that we wouldn't have to introduce a brand new villain character to develop on top of the already over-stuffed cast list. Hans already has his villain backstory and relationship with Anna, so it would be less work to make him the main villain and explore his already-established lore. I would also love it if he had a pretty amazing villain song since the series has been lacking in this department for a while.

When it comes to redemption, I don't mind the concept at all but feel it wouldn't be as fun and just make things a bit more complicated. After all, a redemption arc is a serious endeavor and requires a lot of work and care. As I said in this post here, it is not as easy as making Hans do something heroic, say he’s sorry, and now he’s good to go.

And considering the lukewarm reaction towards the simplistic and avoidant approach the writers to Agnarr and Iduna's 'redemption' (if you feel that they needed redemption, the opinions here are very polarizing) in F2, Hans' redemption would be received even more negatively due to his serious actions if they chose to oversimplify it.

As I said in the above post linked, which I'll copy here, the following would have to be addressed if the redemption takes place -

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1. Having the villain learn why what they did was hurtful so that they genuinely feel bad about what they did.

This is difficult for a character like Hans because he is a Sociopath. It is not impossible to redeem a sociopathic character, but it requires a bit of nuance that not only has to disregard this aspect but may be too complex for a children’s title. Thus, the best option is to either retcon the Sociopath aspect or find a way to address the nuances in a way a child can understand.

2. Giving the villain quite a bit of time to reflect on everything and actually have the audience go on this journey with them. Thus helping the audience themselves believe that they have changed.

The issue here is that the interest is very low from audiences in the first place. People don’t want to see a Frozen 3 or Frozen Series focus on a Hans redemption- they want to see Anna and Elsa. Thus, this arc would need to take even longer because it would have to be a side story - more fitting for a series.

3. The victim’s pain needs to be the main focus, not the villain’s. Yes, understanding why the villain did what they did is important in any redemption arc. However, if the focus is too much on their tragic past, then it tells the audience that we need to feel sorry for them and not the victim.

In the case for Hans, the focus of his redemption needs to be what he did to Anna without any sugar coating or downplaying. He manipulated her, emotionally abused her after revealing himself, and then went to kill her sister after leaving her to die. The narrative would need to address all of this and let Anna express her pain to him, without his excuses.

With all this in mind, we also need to understand that it is Anna is not obligated to let Hans be part of the sister’s family no matter how much he’s changed. Even if she forgives him, letting him back in and giving him that trust again is a lot to ask. Forgiving ≠ letting back into your life. Basically, Hans would have to get his redemption and then be on his way to finding his own purpose in life. A forgive but not forget the idea.

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Conclusion

My personal view is that I would love for Hans to return to the series. He was a big part of Frozen's success, with both Love is an Open Door and his twist reveal, thus it would be a shame if he never came back. My personal preference is for him to return as a villain because the narrative opportunities would be much more fun, however, I am not against the idea of him having a redemption arc - as long as it is done with care and respect.

Even better if the writers can somehow accomplish both - bring him as a villain, but somehow redeem him haha. Just give me my villain song dang it.

#Hans #Prince Hans #Frozen 3 #greatqueenanna/analysis

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lelitachay · 9 months

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Frozen fanfiction: Søsken

Summary: An accident in the North mountain forces Elsa to spend several weeks in her brother’s apartment under Anna’s care. And during this time, Anna begins to notice there are peculiar things about Elsa’s life she wished she could understand. Everything starts to make sense after a family reunion.

Modern AU. Kristanna - Frohana - Kristoff & Elsa BrOTP.

Links:

Fanfiction.net - HERE

AO3 - HERE

Tumblr - Chapters 1 to 10 - Here Chapters 11 to 20 - Here Chapters 21 to 30 - Here Chapters 31 to 40 - Here Chapter 41 - Here Chapter 42 - Here -

If not for you

Leaning against his father’s car, Kristoff waited patiently for him to come out of the police station. Since early morning Kai had been trying to contact Anders or anyone at the police station who could help him find information about Marshall. For some reason Kristoff ignored, he’d had a hard time finding someone available when he called, forcing him to wait until things were settled in the office. And once they finally called back, they suggested he picked the information up in person.

Kristoff suspected his colleagues only wanted to find out the reason Kai needed it so urgently. It wasn’t unusual, after all, to check what the officers did when they requested information off the clock. Kristoff was thankful for that, especially since Kai couldn’t pretend barging into Marshall’s house was work related.

The wait at home that morning had given Kristoff enough time to explain to his parents everything he knew. He had talked about Marshall and his version of the story, as well as Elsa’s – from what he’d heard from Anna. He’d mention their quarrel in his apartment and why Elsa had finally made up her mind to go after him and talk. It had helped Gerda calm down and not worry so much, but for some reason, Kai hadn’t accepted his version of the story. He was convinced there was more to it and that had led to them quarrelling for a few minutes. Nonetheless, Kristoff had decided to accompany him – against Kai’s wishes – once the police station called. He wanted to prevent things from getting out of hand.

Even though his father was a down to earth and civilised man, someone who’d rarely use his position in the police force to get what he wanted; Kristoff was certain he wouldn’t doubt using it when Elsa was involved. After all, Elsa’s wellbeing had always been the reason he had seen his father stepping out of line in the past.

The sound of the big oaken door pulled Kristoff from his thoughts and he watched his father walk down the steps, still talking to one of his colleagues. “Thanks. I will,” he said, loudly. His tone of voice was friendly enough, but Kristoff knew he was tired of the conversation at that point. It was almost impossible for his father to hide how much chit chatting annoyed him.

“I've got the information that I need,” Kai then said to him. He showed a piece of paper with some information written on it, and before Kristoff had the chance to read what it said, he put it inside his pocket. “If Elsa shows up, call Anders.”

Trying to match his father’s stride as he walked to the vehicle, Kristoff said, “Wait, what do you mean ‘if she shows up’?”

Before opening the car’s door, Kai looked at his son over his shoulder and said, “You’re going home. Tell Gerda I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

“Kai, for the last time, I’m coming with you.” He watched his father get inside the car, ignoring what he had to say. He hurried to the other side and got in as well. “Marshall's not to blame for what happened. And I'm sure Elsa must be at the mountain. You know she spends a lot of time hiking when she's not feeling okay.”

“Let me ask you something,” Kai calmly said, as he fastened his seatbelt. “Have you ever seen Hålkesen lose his temper?”

“What?”

“Has he become irrationally angry in front of you or Elsa?” He clarified.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Yes or no.”

His father might have seemed calmer than before, but his patience was not nearly close to what it usually was. Choosing it was best not to get on his bad side, he decided to be honest. “Yes.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.” He started the car and began driving.

“No, wait,” Kristoff said the moment the car left the police station. “It was an unfair situation, anyone would have reacted—”

“What happened?”

Once again, he noticed that his father’s questioning was calm and collected, but it only worried him more. “Westegaard had just fired him, he was mad at his son. Where are you going?”

“To talk to him.”

“Please, let's try to find Elsa without jumping to conclusions.” He had no idea what Kai had found out, but it was best to stop him and worry about one thing at the time. To his disappointment, he continued driving, his mind set on one specific goal: finding Marshall.

Not feeling comfortable with his father’s idea, he tried to call his attention, “Dad. Dad,” he repeated when he realised he was being ignored. “Da– Kai! What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t ever act like this.”

“He spent a few days in prison five years ago,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road.

“What?”

Noticing the way he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, Kristoff worried about the answer he could give him. He had to admit he hadn’t liked Marshall at the beginning either. Two years ago, he’d have been on his father’s side. But the man who had sat with him yesterday was not a bad person. A madman prone to make mistakes? Certainly. But not someone who was inherently bad. He was certain of it now, and he had to admit Elsa had been right all along. His sister knew, subconsciously, the way a bad person acted and behaved. Even if her social skills were below standard, she had a way of knowing; and she was rarely mistaken.

“He beat a man to a pulp while he was working as a paramedic.The hospital terminated his contract immediately.”

“…that can’t be right.” Deep down he knew it could certainly be true. Marshall had scared him that night at Hans’ house. But he’d try to make sure Marshall didn’t end up on his father’s bad side.

Stopping the car abruptly on the side of the road, Kai turned to him and said, “if you don’t want to believe me, save my time and get out of the car.” Suddenly losing the last traces of patience.

“Wait, Kai, please,” he said, understanding it was best to accept whatever his father was telling him, and be there for him just in case things didn’t go as well as he was hoping. “I’m baffled, that’s it.

Even if he knew his father was overreacting, Kristoff tried to put himself in his father’s shoes for a moment. He had seen his mother struggle with the idea of losing Elsa when the whole ordeal with the Arendelles started, and now he was seeing his father go through the same. The ‘threat’ was different, but their main concern was just the same. He knew how much Kai adored Elsa and what she meant to him. Kristoff may have been their first kid; the one they’ve chosen. But Elsa was the closest thing they had to the daughter they had once lost. Even if Gerda had tried to deny it, he knew they had adopted a boy not to be constantly reminded of their unborn daughter. A couple of years later, however, when Elsa came into their lives, they realised having a daughter actually helped them. And they allowed her to fill that place in their hearts.

“Let me go with you,” Kristoff said, hoping Kai would see he was honest about wanting to help. He was relieved to see his father start the car once again, and decided to stay quiet until he was needed.

---

Once he arrived at what he believed was her parents' house, Marshall hurried to get Elsa inside as soon as possible. During the car drive, he had kept a close look on her and noticed she was getting weaker at an alarming rate. The walk to the car from his cabin had only worsened her condition, even if he had been supporting her weight the whole time.

"Els? We're here," he said when he opened her door. She was with her eyes tightly closed and she kept the blanket as close to her as possible. "Come on, let me—" He tried to help her move but she put her hand over his. To his surprise, her hand wasn’t cold as it usually was.

"I don't feel so good." Her voice was soft and he wasn't sure if she was mumbling so as not to worsen her headache or if the fever was making her struggle with her words.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

Glassy eyes looked back at him with determination, and Marshall couldn't believe she'd put up a fight against the idea even in her state. "I can't. I want to go home."

"Okay." It was against his better judgement, but he still took her words as a command. Help me get home. He'd do that for her and then he'd try to convince her family. "Let me help you get inside."

She struggled to move even in the slightest, and Marshall helped her support her weight again. He made sure there wasn't any ice or snow around her, and they began walking. They were a few steps away from the front door when Elsa spoke again, surprising him.

"They're mad at me," she said, her voice almost too low for him to hear.

"Who?"

"Kai and Gerda," she said, with a dry laugh. "I keep lying to them, but they already know I can't control my powers."

"I’m sure they aren’t mad at you." He had no idea what else to say. He barely knew her family, after all. But he was certain it was the fever speaking, and it wasn’t something she believed. "Come on."

"Am I snowing?"

He checked again, making sure there wasn't a trail of snow behind them. He took the opportunity to make sure there weren't any neighbours looking at them. "No. Don't worry about it."

"It should be snowing."

"You’re not snowing," he repeated, hoping she'd help him and walk the short distance to the door.

"I’ve got to—" She stopped abruptly and looked at him. "I think I need the snow."

"Elsa, you’re not making much sense. Please, walk. I can’t pick you up right now." His injured arm stopped him from carrying her the rest of the way, and so he gave a few long strides forcing Elsa to follow.

“I wouldn’t even find the door,” Elsa said when they finally reached the main door.

“What?”

“Without you.” She leaned onto him. “Thank you.”

He smiled and hugged Elsa close with his good arm, trying to offer some comfort. He then knocked and they waited in silence for someone to open.

"Mrs Bjorgman, I—" He tried to explain the situation as soon as the door opened, but Gerda was quick to react when her eyes fell on her sick daughter.

"Oh my God! What's going on?"

"Elsa's not feeling well. She's got a temperature. The options were taking her to the ER or here, and she insisted I brought her here."

"Temperature?" she asked, still trying to understand who he was and why Elsa’s eyes couldn’t stay focused. She then put her hand on Elsa's forehead to check it for herself. "My goodness, child. You’re burning!"

Elsa leaned on her mother for support when she felt her hand on her face. Gerda tried to stabilise her, but Elsa fell on her arms as dead weight.

"Easy," Marshall said, holding Elsa again and preventing both women from falling to the ground. "Let me help you get to a chair. Don’t crush your mother."

"Over the sofa, please," Gerda said. She closed the door and was soon by Marshall's side. "What happened?"

"Her hand is badly infected." It was a good thing he had met Gerda once before, since it helped him talk and explain himself, overcoming the awkwardness of the situation. "She wasn’t feeling well when she woke up this morning. I suggested she rest for a few more hours but it didn't help. It was a moderate fever an hour ago, but now I’m not so sure."

Gerda sat by Elsa's side and placed her hand on her forehead once again. She grimaced at the heat radiating from her daughter. "How high?"

"Thirty-nine degrees."

"Thirty-nine?" Gerda exclaimed, turning to look at him.

Surprised by her worried expression he said, “It’s high but there’s no reason to alarm.”

"This is not moderate. Elsa's body temperature is a degree or two lower than average." She moved Elsa's wet bangs away from her eyes and called her name. Elsa opened her eyes and did her best to hold her mother's gaze. Gerda offered her a small reassuring smile in return.

Had he known before, he would have done things differently. He felt like an idiot for letting Elsa convince him she was okay when the opposite was clear. Elsa's fever had been affecting her a lot more than he expected and now he understood why.

"Please keep an eye on her." Gerda's voice distracted him from his thoughts and by the time he nodded his head, she had already disappeared through a door.

Marshall sat down next to her and he apologised for not helping her sooner. Elsa's unfocused eyes looked at him for a brief moment and she smiled, making him feel better. At least for a short moment.

"Gerda?" she asked, and Marshall's worry increased. She was losing track of simple events going on around her.

"She’ll be back in a moment," Marshall said, caressing her back.

"I’ve got to—"

"Whatever it is you're thinking, you won't." Marshall ordered, putting his hand on her shoulder and stopping her from going after Gerda. He knew she wouldn't go far in her state, but the last thing he needed was for her to fall face first onto the ground.

"I found some antipyretic drugs," Gerda announced as she returned to the living room with a first-aid kit and a cold compress in her hands.

Marshall watched her tend to Elsa, offering a pill and some water that she reluctantly accepted. "Mrs Bjorgmam—”

“Gerda,” she reminded him. “Please, call me Gerda.”

He nodded, understanding her request, and continued, “Elsa insisted I brought her here, but I think it'd be best to take her to the ER. I've got my car outside."

"Don't worry,” Gerda said, patting his knee. “I'll call Nielsen. He'll know what to do."

"Nielsen…" He remembered the name clearly. He had been the director at the hospital the time he had worked there. A respectable doctor who had great knowledge and a calmness he envied. "You mean Dr. Nielsen? Isn't he retired?"

"He still treats some special patients." Gerda explained as she placed the cold compress on Elsa's neck, making her shiver. When she tried to get away from the cold, Gerda stopped her. "I need to lower your temperature."

"How can you stand this every day?" Elsa asked, her eyes tightly shut.

"What, dear?"

"The cold. It's unbearable." She breathed out.

Gerda and Marshall's eyes softened. They couldn't really imagine what it was for her to start feeling the cold so suddenly. Her body was a puzzle they couldn't comprehend and it made helping her a lot more complicated.

"It isn't always like this, sweetheart." Gerda moved the compress to make sure it didn't fall when Elsa’s body trembled, and so she asked Marshall to hold it while she called Nielsen.

Marshall did what he was told, and even if he knew there wasn’t much he could be doing, he couldn't stay still. He wasn't sure if it was his instinct kicking in, but he couldn't agree with Gerda's idea. He wanted to pick Elsa up and take her to the ER as soon as possible.

"Are you okay?" he asked Elsa when he saw her leaning forward.

"I feel sick." She said in between laboured breaths.

"Gerda’s calling someone."

"Am I snowing?"

"No," he said after looking around the room to make sure she wasn't. "Why are you so worried about—" He tried to ask, but Elsa interrupted him by pushing his hand away. She then extended her good hand in front of her like she had done the day before. This time, ice and snow didn’t manifest and a pained expression drew on her face. "What are you doing?"

"Elsa," Gerda called after her daughter from the other side of the room. She was still in the middle of the phone call but she rushed to her side and put her hand over Elsa's. "You've got a high fever. Don't force it. You know it's no good."

"Gerda, I don't feel so good," Elsa said, unsure of what to do.

Sitting down next to her again, Gerda put her arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “I know. But, please, don’t try to use your powers.”

This seemed to calm Elsa to some extent and she leaned onto her. Gerda checked on her once more and then continued her conversation. "Yes, I'm here. It’s an infection… I suppose."

"Lymphangitis," Marshall said. He remembered a case he had helped treat while he was still working in the hospital.

"What?"

"Check her arm."

Gerda did and noticed the red streak that contrasted clearly with Elsa’s pale skin. "Jonnas, please, I need you to come check on her," she begged. "She’ll need antibiotics as soon as possible. No. No snow, she just took a pill. I know. I know. We will."

Hanging up the phone, she turned to him and said, "he said he's coming." Noticing her daughter was almost asleep against her shoulder, she sighed and asked for his help once again. "Help me take her to her room before the antipyretic starts working and the ice becomes uncontrollable."

---

"Let me know if anything changes tonight. I don't trust this to go smoothly," Nielsen said to Gerda as they exited Elsa’s room. Tending to Elsa had proven to be harder than they both originally imagined, and Nielsen wasn’t feeling too optimistic.

From the very beginning, Gerda and the doctors involved in Elsa’s case had noticed a peculiar phenomenon occurring whenever her temperature rose above average. As the temperature increased, the ice and snow would recede and leave almost no trace in her body until the fever broke, or it was reduced with the help of medicine. Her powers would then react on their own, beyond Elsa’s control, making things difficult for whoever was trying to treat her. It had been a nerve-racking situation whenever it happened the first few years; but with time, Gerda and Nielsen had learnt to deal with it and knew what to expect.

This time, however, the drugs had kicked in sooner than expected, helping to lower her temperature on one hand, but causing her powers to start reacting before Elsa’s infected injury was properly treated. Not being able to control her powers made Elsa more nervous and a cycle started in which the powers became more and more uncontrollable, forcing Nielsen to take more serious measures to ensure they could help her. To their disappointment, the only safe alternative had been sedating Elsa against her will.

“Call me first thing in the morning. I want to know how the infection develops.” He picked his pen and wrote a prescription. “Here are the antibiotics she'll need to take,” he finally said, handing it to Gerda.

“These are quite strong,” she said, frowning. “She won't like the way they make her feel.”

“It's either this,” Nielsen said, pointing to the prescription. “Or admitting her to the hospital. And I’m certain you’d like to avoid that.”

Gerda couldn't do anything but agree with him. With the way things had gone just a moment before, she knew taking Elsa to the hospital would probably end up in disaster.

“Excuse me, Dr. Nielsen,” Marshall interrupted before the doctor had a chance to leave. “Was lying to her necessary?”

Marshall had stood by Elsa’s side when she had begged not to be given any tranquillisers, and he had only changed his mind when Nielsen convinced them both they’d only use local anaesthesia. As Gerda had expected, Elsa had fallen asleep in less than a minute, and Marshall disapproval had been obvious. He had remained quiet, though, refraining himself from saying anything at that moment. Part of Gerda felt proud Marshall was fighting for Elsa’s rights now that things were under control, and she felt guilty for not having explained to them what Nielsen was really about to do.

“Her powers can't be controlled. The tiniest mistake could result in one of us getting hurt,” Jonnas said, not feeling in the mood to explain himself. “Explaining the situation to other doctors or police officers is a lot more stressful than falling asleep, trust me.”

“I understand that but—”

“Trust me,” he repeated, letting Marshall know his decisions were not up for debate. “Oh, and, Hålkesen?”

Gerda could see his cold, sharp eyes glaring at Jonnas in disapproval, but still he remained quiet, limiting himself to answer his question. “Yes?”

“I don't know what you know about Elsa, but not a word to anyone. Am I clear?”

Gerda sighed in relief when Marshall nodded, his expression serious and trustworthy. It was clear that beyond his anger he could understand Elsa's situation was more delicate than he could comprehend.

Once Jonnas had left, Gerda closed the door behind him and turned to look at the young man still standing in her living room. She had only met Marshal briefly once; and now, there he was helping her take care of Elsa and agreeing to keep silent about things he probably couldn’t understand.

“Thank you for your help today,” she said, honestly. “You did the right thing by bringing her home.”

“This isn't the first time things like this have happened, is it?”

“You mean the infection?” Gerda said, as she began tidying up the living room. The first thing she did was fold Marshall’s blanket and lay it neatly on a small table, then she continued with her first-aid kit. Keeping busy helped her order her thoughts about everything that had happened since Elsa showed up at her door that rainy Sunday.

“I meant having Nielsen take care of her instead of going to the hospital.”

“Sadly, no,” she admitted. There was no point in keeping information from him at that point. After all, he had helped not only Elsa, but Jonnas and her too with everything they needed. “You may have noticed that taking care of Elsa is… ”

“Extremely complicated?” he said with a dry laugh.

Gerda nodded her head and felt grateful that he was understanding their situation so well. It wasn’t easy to accept that Nielsen and she had avoided taking Elsa to the hospital as much as possible during those years. It even felt like they were denying Elsa proper care. Anybody could blame them if they wanted. But Marshall seemed mature enough to understand it was for the best. “We try to avoid going to crowded places for this reason. You never know who could find out about her… abilities and try to harm her.”

“Why would anyone try to harm her?” he asked, in deep thought. Gerda found it endearing that he couldn’t comprehend why someone would try to do it. It let her see the person he was underneath and made her happy to know Elsa had found a good man in that lonely mountain.

“I need to stay alert in case Elsa needs me. Would you like to keep me company while I wait for her to wake up?” She offered, hoping he’d accept. She was dying to meet him and see what had become of little Hålkesen after so many years. Part of her was hoping he’d remembered who she was.

“I thought you wouldn’t let me stay…”

“I'm sure Elsa would love to see you after everything you did.” She enjoyed watching him turn a deeper shade of red and she understood why Anna loved pestering Elsa so much about the mountaineer. “Please, stay. I’d like to talk to you if that's okay.”

---

For the next two hours, Marshall and Gerda stayed in the living room, keeping a close look on Elsa’s open door as they talked. From time to time one of them would take turns checking on her, even though they knew it would be a couple of hours until she woke up.

Talking to Marshall had been awkward at first, since their main topic of conversation was sleeping peacefully. However, Gerda had soon found a way to win him over by telling him who she was and what she remembered about his childhood and family. And to her surprise, as soon as he realised who she was, his shy and overly polite demeanour began to change. He became more talkative and even excited to mention a few things he remembered about her. He had spoken about her raspberry pies and even admitted to having lain in wait for her to show up at Oaken’s shop to offer her his help. Carrying groceries to get some pie in exchange was one of the things he loved about summer time.

Gerda had been delighted to know he still held her in high esteem, even if he hadn’t known her name. His whole life he had called her the “Pie lady” and that made Gerda extremely happy for some reason.

“How come you didn’t realise Elsa was my daughter?””

“I was a kid at the time,” he said with a sheepish smile. “I had no idea what your real name was or what you did for a living. All I remember was you spent some summers at the mountain and at the time you didn’t have kids who’d play with me.”

“What about the cottage?”

“They all looked the same when I was seven.”

“Well, it's true you were only a kiddo—” she began to say, but she got distracted by the sound of a key opening the front door.

Kai entered the house and only then did she remember the heated argument Kristoff and Kai had shared that very morning about Marshall. Everything that happened with Elsa had made her forget about her husband and son’s whereabouts and the fact they were after the man sitting next to her. She felt stupid for not trying to contact them, or at least let the police station Elsa was home, so they could use the radio to contact Kai.

"Gerda," he said as soon as he locked eyes with her. "I need your help—" He stopped as soon as he saw Marshall sitting by her side, and Gerda stood up, knowing he’d react before he thought things through.

"What are you doing here?” Kai asked, not giving Gerda a chance to say anything. And even she felt uncomfortable by the angered stare that he sent Marshall.

The young man stood up and looked at him unsure of what to do. Something told her he was waiting for her to do or say something first. She took a step forward and blocked Kai’s path. “Before you do or say anything, there’s something you need to know…”

Ignoring his wife’s request, he took a few steps closer to them all the time keeping his eyes fixed on Marshall. “Where is Elsa? You’re the last person she was seen with, and now—”

“Keep your voice down,” Gerda interrupted. She put a hand over his chest to try and calm him down. “She’s here. She wasn’t feeling well and so he brought her home.”

“Here?” Kai looked over Gerda’s head and in the direction of Elsa’s bedroom. The door that usually remained closed was now open.

“What happened?” Kristoff asked behind his father and only then she realised her son was there with them.

“She had a high fever. The wound in her hand is badly infected.”

“Bad enough for her to be in bed?” Kai asked, sceptical, his eyes falling on Marshall once again.

“Yes,” she said with a tired sigh. “Nielsen left an hour or so ago.” She knew there was a lot more she’d need to explain to them both, but all it mattered now was making sure Kai stopped targeting Marshall over something that was beyond his responsibility.

Walking past her, Kai stood in front of Marshall and asked, “What happened between Elsa and you? And where have you been?”

“Dad, for goodness sake,” said Krisotff exasperatedly. It was clear he had dealt with his father’s anxiousness all afternoon, and he had no more patience left. “He brought Elsa home. That’s all that matters.”

“You were looking for us?” Marshall asked, unsure why he was suddenly on Bjorgman’s bad side.

“I'm talking about the accident on Saturday.” Kai said, turning around to make sure Kristoff understood what he was talking about. “Elsa doesn't lose control of her powers that easily. He must have done something to her. And she wouldn’t disappear on her own either.”

Gerda paid close attention to the two young men and noticed the confused look they shared with each other. It was more than obvious they both agree Elsa disappearing was more common than Kai realised. Even Gerda herself knew that.

“I have no idea where Elsa’s been. And as I said the other day, I didn’t do anything.” Marshall said, annoyed he had become Kai’s scapegoat. “I told you to talk to Elsa the other night.”

“Look,” Kai said, taking a step closer to Marshall. “The realisation Elsa had hurt you got me by surprise the other day. I was desperate to come here and check on her. That’s why Anders and I let you off the hook easily. But I need an explanation now. A real one. What happened between you two?”

“I didn't hurt her.” Marshall’s seriousness left no place for an argument and Gerda worried it wouldn’t sit well with her husband.

“You had a fight. That much is clear.” Kai said with unfounded certainty. “The two of you ended up being hurt.” His voice steadily rose up and he pointed to Marshall’s injured arm to make his point clearer. “There was blood everywhere… Don’t try to minimise whatever it is you did!”

Marshall frowned at him. “I didn’t hurt her and we didn’t have a fight. Elsa and I—”

“Elsa did whatever was in her power to avoid you these last few days.”

“That isn't true!” Marshall spat, and Gerda could see the hurt in his eyes behind his anger. Kai wouldn't let Marshall explain himself and Gerda felt it was unfair.

“Okay. Enough of this. Stop.” Kristoff said, putting himself in between the two of them. “Elsa made a mistake, all right?" he said to his father. "She got hurt and lost control. Marshall got hurt because of it and ended up getting caught in all this mess.”

"Is that good enough for you? Or are you going to call your ridiculous partner to help you interrogate me?" Marshall barked, unable to control the anger he felt.

"For fuck’s sake, mate," Kristoff complained, pushing Marshall slightly to keep him at bay. "Shut up and let me talk."

Kai held Marshall's gaze until he decided it was best to deal with the mountaineer at some other time. Walking towards the door, he opened it wide and ordered, "I want you out of the house. Now."

"Kai, there’s no reason to—" Gerda tried to intervene.

"It’s okay, Gerda," Marshall said, his voice softer than before. "Thank you for your hospitality."

She watched him walk out the door and Gerda felt incredibly bad for him. She had seen the concern in his eyes when he brought Elsa home. She had seen the way her daughter relied on him when she was feeling weak or threatened, and that was enough for her to know he was incapable of hurting her. Not thinking twice about it, Gerda went after him.

She looked around and noticed the door of an old SUV closing with a loud bang. She got closer and saw Marshall hitting the steering wheel repeatedly. He was letting out his frustration on the car and Gerda thought it was best to stop him. She knocked on his window, and waited, hoping he'd listen to her.

When he finally turned to look at her, his tearful eyes made Gerda regret not saying something sooner. She knew she should’ve stopped Kai from throwing all the blame on him when they were all inside the house. "Please, open the door," Gerda said with a small, apologetic smile.

He didn't say anything; but to her relief, he rolled down the window and waited.

"I beg you to forgive my husband," she said even though she knew he wouldn't, at least not that night. "I know you care about Elsa and I can't thank you enough for that."

He looked at her for a moment, only to nod his head twice.

"I'll make sure she calls you once she wakes up."

He ended up thanking her for coming after him and he made her promise she’d let him know if Elsa needed help. She did and asked for his phone number. She then bid him goodbye and watched him go.

When Gerda got into the house, Kai informed her Kristoff was in Elsa’s room. They both had argued when she had left the house after Marshall, and Kristoff had chosen to go spend some time with his sister, even if she was still asleep.

Understanding her son’s feelings, she picked Marshall’s blanket that had been left forgotten on the small table and walked to Elsa’s room as well. She wanted to spend the rest of the evening with both her children and let Kai on his own, thinking about the things he had done wrong.

---

I think I like this chapter better than chapter 42. I personally didn’t like the way the previous one turned out and there are a few things I’d like to change (about my writing, not the plot itself), but I thought it was best to continue the story rather than start making small changes here or there.

I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the ones before. Several things I opened over 10 chapters ago are starting to come together and that might make these following chapters kind of convoluted. I hope that doesn’t make them too slow paced, but I want to start closing things, you know.

You may have noticed that Kai may seem sort of OCC in this chapter. But I did it on purpose. See, I like to think of him as that kind of person who’s calm and collected until the day the people he cares about are in “danger”, even if the danger is created by his own anxiety. I think all the stress about seeing his daughter so out of sorts finally got to him. I also revealed a bit more why Kai and Gerda are so overprotective of Elsa all the time — besides the obvious reason that’s Elsa’s past, of course. When I began this story I wanted to give every character a “backstory” of their own, and now you know more about Kai’s and Gerda’s.

As always, let me know what you think of this chapter as well as the rest. Your opinions always help me know what I’m doing right and wrong, so keep them coming.

Hope you guys are doing perfectly well! Read you soon.

Tags:

@swimmingnewsie @melody-fox @kristoffxannafanatic @kristannafictionals @neptrabbit @skneez @ellacarter13 @wondering-in-life @who-i-am-8 @fanfictionrecommendations-com @815-allisnotlost @khartxo @joannevixxon @betweenthedreams @burbobah @rileysfs @earlvessalius @blood-jewel @snowycrocus @the-sky-is-awake @disneyfan103 @anamaria8garcia @welovefrozenfanfiction @bigfrozenfan @bigfrozenfan-archive @frozenartscapes @deisymendoza @zackhaikal123 @cornstarch @roostercrowedatmidnight @showurselfelsa @when-dawn-arrives @tare-disney @wabitham @just-your-local-history-nerd @dontrunintofirexoxo @daphmckinnon @poketin @luna-and-mars @anotherpersondrawing @lovelucywilde @shimmeringsunsets @aries1708 @wabitham @agentphilindaisy @spkfrozenkindikids123 @jimmi-arts @snowmanmelting @loonysama @elsathesnowqueensblog @hiptoff @loonysama @tare-disney @frozenwolftemplar @true--north @holycolordreamertree

Those who don’t want to be tagged anymore, please let me know on PM!

#Sosken #Søsken #fanfiction #frozen #elsa #anna #kristoff #gerda #kai #marshmallow #frozen modern au #chapter 43 #found family #angst #hurt comfort

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anderstrevelyan · 1 year

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What is one of your favorite snippets that you've written recently?

Thank you for the qualifier of "recently" or I would have absolutely blue-screened!

I’m really into the chapter I’m working on now—we’re heading to the Blackmarsh to find Kristoff and getting stuck in the Fade, as you do, but I’m taking creative liberties in how that plays out.

We’re stuck in surreal dreams:

When Anders opens his eyes, he’s in the Circle. High-set windows, cold stone ceiling, an incredibly uncomfortable bed beneath his back.

And then his heart starts to race, and his breath goes shallow, and he’s crushed under the realization that everything—Amaranthine, the Wardens, Amell stepping in front of him and declaring no templar could have him—had been a dream. A fantasy his mind had clung to while he’s been here, languishing.

He darts to his feet.

Things look off. Shifting colours in the light, an Andraste statue missing her head, the shelves strangely devoid of books.

Has he had too much lyrium? He can’t feel the taste on his tongue, can’t remember if he’d even been in the clinic, let alone handling an emergency that would have him guzzling an unreasonable number of potions.

He hears footsteps, and pivots to the hall. Karl? It can’t be Karl. But it is, oh Maker it is, and he rushes after him and reaches for his hand.

What are you doing here, when did you get back? he’s about to ask with breathless relief—but Karl doesn’t react. Anders’ hand passes right through. That’s when he realizes Karl’s robes are the wrong colour, and he reaches for his own right ear—no piece of gold, no pierced hole for it to slide through—this is the past.

This is the Fade.

We’re struggling to convince everyone that’s what’s going on:

“Look, Oghren. You know who I am, yes?” He wiggles his fingers as the dwarf looks at him skeptically.

“Sure, sparklefingers.”

“When did we meet?”

“The night…the night the darkspawn talked.”

“Right, which was after this. I can’t be here.”

His brows draw closer together. “But you…you knew him before. From the magic tower or whatever.”

“Yes, but before he was a Warden. And you weren’t there, unless you’ve been hiding something from me.” Palm to his chest, he gasps in feigned disbelief. “Could you…possibly be…a mage?”

“Sod off!” But he pauses, considering. “So you’re saying…”

“You’re in the Fade,” he offers again. He hopes he’ll accept it this time. He’s lowered the axe, at least.

And the fic is officially earning its E rating with some spice along the way. 👀 (Though not between Anders and Garrett yet, as much as Anders wishes that were the case.) It’s been a lot of fun figuring out where each character would end up.

#thank you for your other asks too!!#I need to rotate them in my brain for a bit #my writing #anders #garrett amell

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ravinewreyn · 1 year

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Suns and Cigarettes

Rating: T Pairing(s): Hans/Elsa, minor Kristoff/Anna

Did I write this right after the other one? Yes. Another challenge from @artemis0122 , actually, lucky gal to have her challenges back to back.

Put this song on loop when you read this, or not, whichever suits you.

“You don’t smoke.”

He knew, because he had spent years with her, had heard the countless times that she had complained regarding people’s habit of smoking wherever and whenever—polluting the air that everyone else was breathing, in her words exactly—he knew because he had stopped smoking for her, because she would only accept his proposal if he promised to fulfill this wish of hers.

Her hair was still damp, dripping bits of water to the fake wooden flooring they had installed on the small balcony of their apartment, a result from their shared bath just a short while ago. He had scrubbed and shampoo her long platinum blonde hair, and in turn her fingers had massaged his scalp as he shut his eyes and lean into her touch.

The top she was wearing was powder blue, it’s strap loose and hanging off one shoulder while she leaned against the railings, smooth pale legs in clear view as she wore nothing but white shorts. He liked this side of hers, at her most casual, compared to the uptight and reserved image that she held high in public. This side of her was for his eyes only.

Carelessly tapping the ash of the cigarette trapped between her fingers, nails freshly painted to match her outfit, Elsa had chuckled humorlessly. “The world is ending, Hans. What more could I lose from smoking, now of all times?”

Standing by her side, he was not dressed so differently from her, in his deep maroon shirt and gray sweatpants, not his usual suits and tie that he would wear to work each and every day. Not something funeral worthy, in his opinion, but it was comfortable and comfort is the one thing they desperately needed.

“Did you call Anna?”

Elsa hummed, nodding, as she took another deep inhale of the nicotine, breathing out the off-white puff of smoke from between her lips. “Yes. She cried, of course, but Kristoff is there.”

He knew what she wanted the most was to be with her sister, in the last day of her life—all of their lives really—but they couldn’t travel all the way across the world to where she was, not with what the world has spiraled into. To stay here, in their apartment, listening in and watching as people below turned into utter chaos, was the best for them.

Pressing his lips against hers, he could taste nothing but the thick nicotine and the smoke instead of her usual flavored lip balm. Her lips were unmoving for a split second before she had kissed him back, and when he had pulled away he could see the tears that she was trying her hardest to blink away. So, he didn’t bring that up and instead had taken the cigarette from her grasp and inhaled that same poison she had been nursing, even with the faint traces of her lipstick.

“What do you want to do now?”

Her head was tilted to the side when she had turned to look at him, not even asking for her cigarette back—only God knows where she had even got it in the first place considering her deep hatred toward the thing.

And he could only shrug. Because what did he want to do? They had a literal countdown to when the world was ending, broadcasted everywhere before TV stations had collapsed and they were left with nothing but statics on their screen. But they, sick and tired of everything, had managed to set the alarm that they got from their bedroom, so they could see the ticking clock counting back if they wanted to, they set the alarm on their coffee table after all.

“The sun won’t shine tomorrow.” It was what they had said, on TV, because it wouldn’t exist tomorrow. It will explode into nothingness because the sun was an old star that was dying, and when it died it will bring down every planet that orbited around it, including earth.

So the world was ending.

“Do you want to dance, Hans?”

They barely dance, only at official parties and their wedding day, because Elsa didn’t like dancing and he was fine with that. He never forced her to, she just kind of accept her fate if it was needed for her to dance.

So her question was new, but so did everything she did today, didn’t it?

Nodding, he had disposed of the cigarette—putting it out by pressing the end against the outdoor round glass table Elsa had insisted on having—and normally she would be absolutely furious over the act, but now she had only watched wordlessly before he had taken her hand in his and tugged her back inside.

They didn’t have music to dance to. Just swaying in the quiet of their living room, both keeping their eyes on one another, refusing to even take a glance at the alarm clock on their coffee table. But then they had music, kind of, when Elsa had started to quietly hum to herself, pressing her body closer to his until her cheek rested against his shoulder.

He didn’t know what she was humming, he wasn’t sure it was an actual song to begin with, but he held her close either way as he dared himself to look over her toward the clock as he had nothing else to lose.

They had exactly ten minutes and four seconds until the world caved in.

#helsa #hansla #iceburns #hans x elsa #elsa x hans #hanselsa #frozen #modern AU #I just like the aesthetic of their clothing #that's why I was more in detail in describing them than usual #world ending #don't smoke it's dangerous #ravine's fic

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punkpoemprose · 1 year

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I’ll Be Home for Christmas- 1940′s Kristanna Fic

Universe: 1940′s/ WW2 AU

Rating: G (General Audiences, fluff)

Length: 2136 Words

Summary: Continuation of my other WW2 oneshot Pen Pals that no one asked for.

A/N: Kristanna Advent 2022 Day 14. I was doing research for a holidays throughout history project for work and I just couldn’t help but daydream about this AU a little bit while I was working. I love a good historical AU.

Anna was, as always, grateful for Kristoff’s assistance as they loaded his truck with the gifts she’d spent hours painstakingly wrapping in bits and pieces of used wrapping paper. With rationing weighing so heavily on everyone this Christmas, she’d wanted to do her due diligence as a patriotic young lady, as a head hostess of the USO, but she’d also wanted to ensure that everything looked sufficiently merry and bright for the children. They’d drop the paper off to the chamber of commerce when they were done, along with the newspapers they’d both been collecting, so that they could be reused for the war effort.

“Oh the moms are all so excited that the children will have a real Santa this year. One of the gal’s moms was Mrs. Claus last year and while the boys and girls weren’t disappointed, it’s just so much more exciting to see Kris Kringle himself.”

Kristoff chuckled as he closed the gate on the back of his truck. For someone who had once come across as unfriendly and cross, Kristoff was one of the most jovial and kindhearted men she’d ever met.

“Kris Kringle,” he said, grinning at her, “Isn’t that a laugh with how often you’ve been calling me Kris lately.”

“Don’t you like it?” she asked, feeling a bit self-conscious as she flushed under the weight of his attention. They’d only been going steady for a few months now and she was starting to worry that maybe he didn’t like the silly little things she did, like giving him nicknames, and just didn’t have the heart to tell her. Her ex-boyfriend had had no such compunctions and had frequently made her feel quite stupid for the ways in which she’d expressed her affections. When Anna had mentioned that, mentioned him, in passing Kristoff had seemed more likely to punch the man’s lights out than he would ever be to emulate any of his behaviors.

“I do,” he said with a dazzling grin, “I just wonder if maybe that’s why I agreed so easily when you asked me to play the big man in red, because I was already used to being your Kris Kringle.”

She laughed in return, unable to help herself when he was teasing her with such good-natured fondness. Truthfully, she couldn’t resist laughing at every chance she could with him, as she never quite knew when their good fortune and joy might end. He’d been back home for a couple of months now, and she’d been enjoying every moment of it, but there had been no word from his commanding officers or the army doctors on when, or if, he would be returning to the warfront.

They both lived on a knife’s edge, knowing that each day together could be their last, knowing that the war that had brought them together may rip them apart again. It was something that woke her from a hard sleep in the middle of the night and made her wish, beyond all things, that he could be there in bed with her so that she didn’t need to worry that he might have vanished overnight. She dreaded the day that she would only be able to send him letters again, the day when she’d have to worry about whether she’d ever receive a reply again. It was torture to not have answers, and yet each day that she didn’t know was one more day he spent on US soil with her.

“I think you agreed because you’re a good man Mr. Bjorgman. If all of us USO ladies were so lucky to have a big strong man like you at our beck and call, we’d have the entirety of the enlisted forces entertained, in care packages, and generally positive before the new year.”

He walked around the truck and wrapped his arms around her as snowflakes fell softly around them.

“No Ms. Arendelle, that’s just something you aim to do. I think if most of the USO girls had a man to help them out they’d just as soon quit the work altogether.”

Anna knew that he was at least partially right. Many of the girls, those who were not already in a relationship or uninterested in a relationship, were members of the USO to enjoy the attention of the servicemen and servicewomen and potentially catch themselves a G.I. sweetheart. Anna was one of the few that continued her work for the USO after getting with a man who was at home, but that was because she’d never been doing her work to find a man, that had merely been a happy accident. No, she had joined the USO because she knew it was what she could do to assist with the War effort, and if that meant putting on a victory red lip, curling her hair, and planning parties, she would don her gay apparel like battle armor and plan events like a military strategist.

“It’s hard work,” she admitted, “I can understand some gals wanting to stop or cut back, especially when they’ve got someone else to care for.”

Kristoff ducked his head down to press a kiss to her lips. He always kissed her so gently before she was due at an event, and he never even once so much as smudged her lipstick before they left for the night. Coming back, of course, was a different story.

She kissed him back, melting into his arms as snowflakes collected on her woolen coat, in her hair, and on his broad shoulders, where she rested her gloved hands.

If they didn’t have children to give a Christmas to, she would have stood there all night until they both froze or their love kept them warm.

***

Kristoff was, absolutely, the best Santa Claus Anna had ever seen, and she’d seen several. The way in which he understood the children, his patience for them and the way in which he listened as they sat upon his lap, had Anna, and many of the moms in the room, absolutely melting. She almost wished that she could tell the children that beneath the santa suit they were speaking to Private First Class Bjorgman, an American serviceman, just like their fallen fathers.

She’d been nervous asking Kristoff to be Santa for this reason. Their yearly USO sponsored Christmas supper with Santa was held for widows and orphans of the war, and Anna hadn’t been sure how Kristoff would feel acting like a jolly old elf for the children of fallen servicemen in their hometown. He likely knew some of the children’s fathers, either from school or from town before the war if he hadn’t known them in the service. Sometimes it was hard for Anna to keep a brave face when she looked into the eyes of children and women who had lost someone so near and dear to them, but Kristoff did it with great poise and with a joy that seemed more than dutiful.

Anna still didn’t know how she’d managed to be so lucky as she watched him carefully set a little girl, present in hand, to the floor with the utmost gentleness. She’d never thought that she’d find a man like Kristoff, and she’d managed to do so by sending letters halfway across the world. She was certain that there was no woman alive as fortunate as her.

“How is your leg,” she asked quietly as some of the other girls served plates of cookies and glasses of milk to the children and their mothers.

Kristoff, still in Santa mode as the children could see him, merely smiled.

“Oh, it’s not so bad,” he said as one of the photographers walked in their direction, having just taken a photo of a little girl, “feeding” her newly unwrapped dolly a cookie, “You could even sit on my lap if you wanted, tell Santa what you want for Christmas and the USO gets a good PR photo to put on their recruitment poster.”

Anna gave him a good long look, observing the man behind the beard and finding his response both honest, Kristoff couldn’t ever lie to her and she always knew when he was in more pain than he was saying, and also a bit cheeky. She tried to tamp down her flush as she realized that he wanted her to sit on his lap, and that she wanted to do it as well.

“Well if Santa must know,” she said, sitting as gracefully and lightly onto his lap as she could manage, balancing her weight more onto his uninjured leg than the healed one as best as she could, “I don’t want anything. I have everything I could want.”

“What a good girl,” Kristoff replied, his voice low and without a trace of the santa voice he’d been using with the kids, even as the photographer approached them, “Not even a few more ration stamps?”

She tsked in mock annoyance, “Santa, how dare you even imply such a thing, I am a good patriot and I use my ration stamps sparingly. I haven’t even bought sugar this month unless it was for a USO event.”

“Well you’re sweet enough without it,” he said, clearly teasing her.

The photo was taken as she was looking at him with great affection, and she wondered if maybe, if she asked the photographer kindly after the event, she might be able to get a print to give to her penpal PFC Bjorgman, just in case he was called back to service and needed something to remember their time together by.

***

Kristoff kissed Anna like a man starved as his truck idled in her driveway. Once Santa had been done for the evening, PFC Bjorgman had arrived at the event in his dress uniform and had spoken to the children briefly about how proud he, and the other servicemen were of them for staying strong and brave for them all, and Anna had cried over it.

He’d kissed her by way of apology for making her cry once they’d arrived, and she’d pushed his olive drab garrison cap from his head to have easy access to his hair. Her fingers were tangled in it as she kissed his greedily, pulling him as close as his truck’s layout would allow, stealing time until she had to go inside without him.

“You never told me what you wanted for Christmas,” he said, breathing heavily between kisses as if she’d really taken his breath away by her attentions to him.

“I did, I just really don’t want anything… or at least nothing that Santa could bring me, nothing someone can buy at a store.”

He leaned in to kiss her again, and she gladly accepted the kiss, even if it was slower than what she wanted, and somewhat lacking in heat, it was tender and made her melt. Kristoff reached over as he kissed her, to turn down the radio volume. They’d been listening to the news on their way home, but now they were playing a new Bing Crosby song called “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and it was providing a lovely bit of background noise to their time alone.

“Well if you won’t give me an idea…”

He released her and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling something white from within.

“This is for you, I’ll get you a real present too, but I’ve noticed lately that you’ve seemed worried so when I got the letter yesterday I thought I’d best show it to you.”

He handed her a letter and in the dim light of the truck she slid it from its envelope and began to read what she could see of it.

PFC Kristoff Bjorgman…. Temporary medical discharge… Honorable… Thank you for your service…

“What does this mean?” she asked, squinting at the paper, trying to make out more of the words and feeling her heart race in her chest as he mind swum with the possibilities.

“It means that I’m no longer an active duty serviceman because of my injury because it’s as healed as its ever going to get. It also means that if I’m called back to service I’m likely to be called for some sort of work on US soil. In the meantime I’m going to go to the city firehall and hope they meant it when they said they were going to keep our jobs for us while we were out fighting, because I’m going to need to do something for a living.”

Anna felt relief flood through her as she leaned forward to kiss him again. This time he didn’t hold back, pulling her into his lap and kissing her with all the energy he could muster after a long evening of assisting her with her work, which was perhaps unsurprisingly, quite a lot.

#kristanna advent 2022 #kristanna #WW2 AU #1940s AU #USO Girl Anna #Soldier Kristoff

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27emailsicantsend · 2 years

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Hi! On Twitter, people love your analysis! There is any ''small'' HC'S or wishes you have for the next episodes? Mine are: 1) I want Ricky to take a polaroid of Gina for editing purposes. 2) I want a water war scene (I doubt it because I think they film in winter poor actors) but that would be so cool and special it would be like hsm2 and also camp rock. 3) Ricky giving Gina flowers with some meaning for opening night I don't know much about it but something that means something special.

This was literally the cutest 🥰❤️ first of all, thank you so much anon for telling me about Twitter. I had NO idea that my post was on there until you sent me this 😂 it literally made my entire day. I take a lot of pride in my writing because it was something my dad was good at. So knowing people enjoyed it did my heart so much good. 💕

And your hc’s are just 😭😭 the Polaroid one made me need to sit down for a minute! What a beautiful contribution to Rina society ❤️

1) Ricky sings kristoff’s lullaby because he sees gina and EJ together at the dance, thinking they’re still a happy couple. He watches them get in a fight and Gina pours another drink on EJ’s head. ❤️ she walks off crying and Ricky goes up to her and says, “I feel like I’ve been here before”. She tells him her frustrations but he talks her into coming back into the dance. So in an effort to make Gina smile again, Ricky asks Gina to dance with him. He acts like a silly goose and does fun things like spinning her/dipping her etc to cheer her up 🥲

2) They sing “Night to Remember” from HSM3 and Corbin says something dumb like “hey! I actually does remember that part of the movie”

3) EJ and Kourt have a talk about their anxiety

4) Kourt stands next to Jet at the dance and he shyly says something like, “you look nice” and they just have this cute little smile and blushing moment (I’m not quite a Jetney stan yet but I absolutely see the potential)

5) Maddox has some funny “I told you so” moment with Ashlyn 😉

6) Corbin leaves still knowing nobody’s name but Kourtney’s and his own 🙄

7) EJ and Val have a conversation that makes us believe they might go somewhere romantically in a later season 👀

8) When Gina first walks in the dance we get that “awestruck” look from Ricky that you see in movies ❤️ he doesn’t even say anything about how beautiful he finds her… you can just TELL from his face.

#high school musical the musical the series #rina #gina porter #ricky bowen #hsmtmts #Ricky x gina #asks #send me asks #anon #headcanons #cute #predictions #season 3

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annaofthenorthernlights · 2 years

Text

All you need is love... actually

Fanfiction Frozen modern AU, Disney crossover (my first go)

Pairing: Kristoff/Anna (main), Sven/Honeymaren, Mathias/Halima, Ryder/Merida

Rated M (for some nudity)

I owe nothing but my headcanon - which is loosely based on the Christmas movie "Love actually"...

Hope you have fun!

Find the fic on AO3

Chapter 25 / 28

The sight of love

The school play was about to start, and Anna sat next to Elsa, while the auditorium filled with more and more parents and relatives to watch the children present their spring term play.

The scenery showed a picturesque landscape with sheep and fields, trees and a simple makeshift cottage decorated the stage on the right-side edge.

Anna glanced around and spotted Sven in start position to manage lights and requisites for the performance. Honeymaren stood a bit afar to help the children backstage with changing costumes or soothing their edginess, while the English teacher traditionally ran around to make the last one nervous with her fuss.

Elsa mentioned this tradition will most probably remain till they were old and grey, and the two sisters amusingly remembered their own old times when they were little and nervous before their own performances of that sort.

Anna smiled and turned to watch the rows fill more and more only to get a glimpse of Ryder and Merida coming along and sitting down only a bit further away. They quickly waved at Anna and Elsa and then continued their apparent eager discussion. Anna mused over their cute bond. Rumours had it that Merida was determined to stay in Arendelle. Gosh, that girl was so brave.

The young artist tried to shake off the odd feeling in her chest and she squared her shoulders and took another glance around the auditorium, when a tall figure entered the room. She would recognise that blonde mountain man anywhere and if they were at the ends of the world. Her heart set out for a beat of a second and she quickly turned back to face front.

Of course, he came to see the play for which his friend was part of responsible for. Just like she had come to be here for Elsa’s sake.

He must sit somewhere in the back. Had he seen her? Was he watching her from behind? Was he mad at her? Should she go and say hello? She wished, she could. And then? Pretend that everything was alright? Well, they had not had a fight, and they still liked each other, or did they not? But she could not go and ask him just that, could she? If only she were gone already…

A loud boy´s voice on stage caught her attention.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, dear parents, dear siblings, and dear guests from near and far!”

Olaf was quite the charmer as speaker, and the lovely dark-haired girl by his side completed the catching appearance to perfection. Gale had something about her that gave her a swirling expression, pulling everyone with her.

“Welcome to Arendelle school spring festival and we hope you enjoy the play!”

The kids were doing a fine job and so had done all the teachers helping to prepare the event.

Afterwards, there was a buffet with cakes, lemonade, and coffee. Anna stood a bit forlorn aside the crowd and watched Elsa talk to her colleagues to say her goodbyes. The people mingled and talked enthusiastically. But she didn’t feel like chatting today, she was too excited and nervous but then she was glad to be here and not staying home brooding at the same time.

“Hey!” The sudden addressing startled her, and Anna almost spilled the orange juice she was holding in her hand.

“Hey!” She returned the greeting with the secret longing of jumping at the man instantly, when Kristoff crooked his head and gave her a genuine smile.

“That was nice, wasn´t it?”

“Yes, it was. Well, I think it´s always nice when children do something like that. They do their best and little mistakes and mishaps are so easy to forgive because they are all so cute.”

“True. And are you nervous about your performance, then?”

“What performance?” Anna glared at her glass of juice in her hand, not daring to look to deep into those beautiful warm and loving eyes.

Shit, get yourself together… he´s just as kind as always… don´t make this difficult for him…

Little did she know that Kristoff himself fought the urge to pull her close and tell her how painful it was to see her and yet he had to let her go... But he could not rule over her life…

“Well, the exhibition of final projects. Opening tomorrow, right?” Kristoff inquired quietly.

Now, Anna glanced up. He had remembered that date?

“Yes, it will. And yes, I am a bit nervous to be honest.”

“I believe you. And your examinations went well, then?” he asked with honest interest.

“Uhm, they did. Thank you for asking.” Anna put a hair strand behind her ear. “What about you? Do you have anything special running those days?”

“Quite alright.” He shrugged with a casual smirk, and Anna nodded silently.

“Will you go to see?” she asked shyly.

“Of course. After all, you have hidden your project from me all that time and made me curious!”

Anna thought for a moment and then realised she would not see him there again. By the time the exhibition will open for public, she was already on her way to Corona… And then… it was only a project painting after all…

__________________________

Two days later…

The exhibition for the art school´s finalists´ projects was hosted by the town hall and the ground floor was filled with sculptures, portraits and still arts. The interna opening for the artistic school scholars, staff members and some journalists had taken place the evening before. Now, the exhibition was open for public interest.

Each project was titled with the name of the artist and the theme to the work.

Sven and Honeymaren strolled along the rooms and took in the different styles and exhibits. The creativity showed no ending, and some figures or paintings were stunning, or then simply diffusing or difficult to comprehend.

“The artist´s freedom”, Sven chortled, “some brains are hard to gasp.”

“Don´t be so sarcastic. It´s their way to express themselves. You don´t need to love them all. Say, where is Anna´s work?”

“I don´t know, let’s look at the situation map.” Sven glanced at the program and project numbers, and they hurried to get to see her artistic expression right away. When they bent the corner to the adjoint room they scanned the little alcove chamber and then gasped upon detecting the searched piece and stepped closer to get a better view.

Honeymaren let out a little cry and reached for Sven´s hand, who stood mouth agape himself. He swore inwardly that Kristoff was not here, though understanding that the man was scared to see Anna´s work, and to be reminded of her adorable kind that way. But there was no excuse because this was a must-see, now!

“This is amazing.”

The lovely woman by his side breathed, and Sven squeezed her hand affirmingly, only to pull out his mobile instantly to call the one who should be standing here in the first place. And while the phone rang, he looked at Honeymaren and then back to the painting before him, when the awaited clicking sound at the end of the line resounded.

“Kristoff? You better come over here right at once!”

_____________________

The airport hall was packed with people in need for spring vacations.

Anna sat on the bar stool and sipped her Cappuccino absentmindedly while her thoughts drifted to the town hall, and she wondered if Kristoff had seen her picture yet. But it would not matter anymore anyway. She sighed and decided to focus on her journey instead and glanced over at her sister.

Elsa was deep in conversation on the phone with their cousin Rapunzel. Punzie, as they called her, was so excited that they were on their way now and in the background her husband Eugene occasionally mingled into the conversation to calm down and that they could continue their chat once the girls had arrived.

“Hey, Miss Heart?!” A boy´s voice made Anna look up and turn on her chair. Elsa had not heard him, but the boy looked from one to the other with big eyes and a broad smile on his face.

“Hey, have I not seen you on the school play a few days ago?” Anna leaned towards the boy.

“Yes, I am Olaf and I figure you are Miss Heart´s sister? You are moving away, right?”

“Right. How do you know, young man?” Anna blinked, amused by the boy´s precocious expression.

“Sven told me. He is my friend, you know, and we talk a lot.”

“Uhm, I see. What else has he told you then?” Now, Anna was simply curious to hear what the guys have been talking.

Olaf crooked his head and shrugged, “oh, nothing exciting, really. Only that it is a pity you are going away since Kristoff will miss you so much.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes! Sven says that he loves you, and that´s why it´s so hard for him that you are leaving.”

Anna stared at the boy and felt her stomach twitch. Why was she stupefied to hear that, or that those words made her heart batting? Those three little words made her go all numb and she whisperingly spoke more to herself than to Olaf.

“Kristoff…. loves me?”

Olaf sighed, “oh you really don´t know much about this, do you?”

Anna cleared her throat, realising that she was after all talking to a boy. And then it would not help to commiserate about something dreamy that cannot be.

“Well… I... will miss him, too, you know.”

“I do. Sven said so. And that things seem difficult and complicated, after I asked why you were going away in the first place. And then, we will Miss Elsa, too. She was very kind to us kids.”

“I know….” Anna mused and then quickly glanced around, wondering what Olaf was doing here all alone. She´d better take care that kid didn´t get lost instead of whining after her own lost love…

“Say, where are your parents? Don´t tell me you are here at the airport all alone?”

“No.” Olaf waved off a dismissive hand and rolled his eyes, “my parents are over there at the end of that queue, see?” he pointed into the direction of the check-in lane and two adults waved back and beckoned the child to come back to them. Anna lifted a hand in greeting and motioned that she had understood.

“Well, then, Olaf. It was nice meeting you. Who knows, maybe we will meet again? Where are you flying to, then?”

“To Spain. We long for some warmth and summer feeling.”

“Oh, that´s nice! Well, then, safe journey and take care!”

“You, too, Miss Anna. And please tell my regards to Miss Elsa!”

“I will!” Anna chuckled and lovingly pinched the boy´s cheek.

She turned back to sip on the by now cold Cappuccino, which didn´t even bother her. When they had been at the film-set her beverage had turned cold all the time because David always rushed them through the breaks.

She missed that time so much…

_____________________

Kristoff entered the town hall and was greeted by Sven and Honeymaren in the entrance. They didn´t say much than a brief hello and Sven swung an arm around his buddy´s shoulder.

“Come on, this is brilliant.”

“Sven! I said I´d come to visit, alright?! But why dragging me out of bed when I planned to sleep in.”

“Pitiful excuse! You got scared of seeing what Anna had done and tried to hide, right?! Besides, you never sleep in.”

Kristoff looked at Sven and grimaced, “sometimes I really don´t like you.”

“Yeah, I know. But Kristoff, you must see this.”

“Sven is right, Kristoff. I know it hurts, but maybe… “ Honeymaren kneaded her hands before her waist and glanced at the two men with a shrug.

“What?” Kristoff frowned. What was that fuss about?

“Maybe it helps you to understand what you mean to Anna?”

“What do you mean? It doesn´t matter anymore because Anna is gone!” Kristoff stomped away and Sven hurried to show him the way to the cosy adjoint room where Anna´s painting was exhibited.

And when they entered the alcove, Kristoff stopped just as abruptly as his friends had earlier. None of the visitors seemed to see what he saw, and certainly none could imagine what the image before them triggered in the young man's chest.

His heart began to race, his knees felt numb and for an instant he wished that Sven had still his arm around his shoulders because he felt like buckling. The picture that caused his racing mind made his mouth go dry and rushing blood roared in his ears.

If ever Kristoff had sensed what love must look like, this was “the sight of love” smiling back at him…

The painting was a pencil sketch, the lines, and curves lovingly detailed and precisely accurate, proving the immense time, concentration, and effort the artist must have put into that work. Not to mention the expression of care, comfort, trust, and… love!

On a bed a woman laid on her side with her back to the viewer, a thin sheet covering casually her legs and pelvis, leaving to see her fine curved bare waist and upper back. Her head rested comfortably on the man´s underarm who held her cautiously while his other hand laid trustfully on her hips. The girl´s hand was placed on his upper arm, a slender and gentle touch that underlined the difference of the man´s muscular body and her delicate figure. His bare upper body was close to hers, but he braced his weight on his elbow. His glance was full of care and warmth and looking at the girl must give him that peace which anybody watching this picture must crave for. His tender smile underlined his loving eyes. The girl´s face was only partly visible, but her eye glinted with joy and her smile a beaming happiness.

That couple could have been anyone… but it was them…!

Kristoff swallowed hard. He did not care nor listen to the surprised mumbling of some visitors nearby who recognised the young man standing there as the one on the canvas. The similarity was astonishing…

The simple text that was printed on a tableau next to the painting gave him the goosebumps…

The sight of love… to me… I shivered and you panted air to my skin… the touch of love! I was all silly and you laughed with me (not of me)… the sound of love! I mistakenly hit you and you playfully pinched me back… the merriment of love! I laid in your arm, losing myself in the kindness of your eyes… the sight of love!

“When is that plane leaving?” Honeymaren whispered to Sven, who gasped and looked at Kristoff.

“Man… you better hurry and tell her before she´s gone!”

Kristoff silently looked at Sven with a shrug, he was too overwhelmed right now.

“Just tell her!” Sven put an encouraging hand to his buddy´s shoulder.

And suddenly life returned to the man.

“Right… Yes… Taxi… we need a taxi!” Kristoff exclaimed rather hysterically, like waking from drowsiness, and some people withdrew from the odd scene.

“Already ordered!” Honeymaren held out her mobile triumphantly and the three emerged the hall and out onto the pavement where the taxicab stopped right in time in front of them.

Sven ushered Kristoff to the front door while he and Honeymaren crawled into the back seat.

“To the airport, please, fast!” Kristoff exclaimed staring out onto the road like he could make the cab speed off by inner magic.

“Please hurry! It´s an emergency – there´s love at stake!” Sven called from the back.

“I take this as a command. Let´s go!” The driver chuckled, pressed the accelerator and the car roared off with squealing tyres!

Kristoff turned his face now; he knew this voice.

Mathias!

_____________

Note: I tried a little something again… but keep in mind, that Anna´s final project painting is of course 1000 times better 😊

#fanfic #frozen modern AU #kristanna #Anna #Kristoff #Elsa #Sven #Honeymaren #crossover #love actually #school play #airport #town hall exhibition #final art project #the sight of love #Mathias

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loonysama · 2 years

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Happy Anniversary!

I posted my first story to AO3 one year ago today! Here's from -- The Best Pick-Up Line There Is (rewrite of the original The Office and the Orphanage):

Anna scurried across the lobby, practically running, so she could take the certifieds to the post office before it closed. This was her second day and she did not want to get fired on her second day. Worse yet, she didn't want to get yelled at by Yelena and the other paralegals if she couldn't get to the post office in time. She hardly had time to think about how her shoes squeaked and slid against the marble floors. She had to curl her toes just to make sure they didn't fall off. The backs rubbed against her heels and burned. But she didn't have time to think about that either. The only thing that mattered was that the door was open.

Kristoff had just opened the door to the lobby when he saw a woman running towards him at full speed. He was momentarily mesmerized by her bright blue eyes, and he nearly didn't get out of her way in time. He didn't know what else to do but hold the door for her. He got an even better look at her eyes as she scooted past him, her face inches from his. Her hair whipped against his cheek and the scent of flowers lingered beneath his nose. He didn't even think she noticed him but then he heard her shout "Thank you" as she broke into a full sprint down the street.

"What was that?" asked Sven.

Who was that? Kristoff wondered.

"I guess she's in a hurry," he shrugged. He watched her run until she was out of eyesight.

Anna got there just in time. She was dripping with sweat and her feet hurt, but she made it. She would have been in so much trouble if she hadn't gotten them out on time. She was so relieved, but now that she didn't have to run anymore, it was so hot, and she was still wearing her work clothes. She was sticky and uncomfortable, so she took off her sweater and tied it around her waist, and fanned herself for a moment. Then she piled all of her hair on top of her head and just held it there for a moment so she could feel the breeze on the back of her neck. She didn't have a hair tie so she wanted some temporary relief before she walked back to her apartment. She wondered who that guy that held the door for her was. She wished she could remember what he looked like. He had the most amazing smile, but that's all she could remember.

Kristoff and Sven headed back to dispatch and Kristoff, on the passenger side of the van, noticed that the woman he held the door for had slowed her pace and he got a better look. He watched her remove her sweater and pile her hair up, and he didn't think he'd ever seen a more beautiful woman. He had only noticed her eyes before, but now he realized how strong and graceful she was. He craned his neck as they passed her.

"What are you looking at?" asked Sven.

"Nothing. Just a cute...dog."

"Do you always smile like that when you see cute dogs?"

Since then, I've posted a total of 29 fics (5 are WIPs, and I promise I'm working on it!) for a total of 660,480 words. Here's some of my favorites in case you want to check them out:

Always {kristanna; background elsamaren} Kristoff’s plane gets grounded when Mt. Hansyevik erupts unexpectedly, and he worries that he might not be able to keep his promise to his girlfriend Anna that he’ll be back by Yule. Stuck in the cockpit, he spends his time thinking about their future, while a worried Anna, stuck at the airport, escapes between the pages of a romance novel about another Anna and Kristoff. (M)

Heart of Gold {kristanna} Kristoff has lived his whole life entirely focused on being a better gymnast, to the exclusion of everything else. Everything changes for him when he gets to know his coach's granddaughter, a gymnast named Anna, while training for and competing in the 2020 Atohallan Olympic Games. (M)

Secret Santa and the Ugly Sweater Contest {kristanna} Coworkers Anna, who loves ABBA just as much as the next girl, and Kristoff, the cranky IT guy, barely speak to each other, but that’s about to change when they get assigned as each other’s Secret Santa! (T)

Sophisticated Grace {kristanna; elsamaren} Elsa, who is recovering from debilitating OCD, drags her newly divorced sister Anna to see HM’s punk band the Reindeer Herders. Anna never planned on falling for HM’s guitarist Kris, though. This story follows the sisters’ relationships with the bandmates over several years, each time they have a show in Arendelle, and everything in between. (E)

The Refugees {Frozen x Tangled} Kristoff, a refugee of the Northuldran genocide, and Anna, an Arendellian immigrant with a hole in her heart, fall in love and have a complicated and intense relationship. (M)

#frozen #frozen fanfic #kristanna #happy anniversary to me!#here's to another year

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xserpx · 4 years

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Do you ever think about how in TTS Rapunzel turned down Eugene’s proposal at her princess coronation because she didn’t want to make a commitment when she was still so young and because she felt pressured into making a lot of important life changes all at once? How spending so long in Gothel’s tower affected her and how the show acknowledges that it robbed her of the freedom and opportunities she should have had as a child/teenager, and how she felt trapped by being given royal responsibilities too soon after escaping that life? How Eugene, although he was established as wanting to live in a castle from the get-go, still struggled with figuring out how he fitted in and felt weird about having an official job when he’d spent so long as a thief? How they often sat and talked through their problems as a couple?

Then do you think about the ending of F2 and how we’re just supposed to assume that Anna is automatically fine with taking on the responsibility of being Queen without Elsa around, and that Kristoff is automatically fine with the decorum and expectation that comes with his position as her husband despite having lived his entire life out of doors, and how we’re supposed to think that everything will be all roses and sunshine for them even though neither of them were prepared for this and even though they spent almost the entire movie being both emotionally and physically distant and never sat down to discuss their problems beyond a sentence or two?

Honestly, Anna needs her own TTS to untangle the mess the Frozen writers left her with.

#princess anna #kristoff bjorgman #tangled the series #frozen #frozen 2 #i’m sorry anna #it’s not that i don’t think she can handle it #or kristoff tbh #but they have a looooot of work to do #and i wish kristoff had backed off from asking her #esp when she was in a state of heightened emotion

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bad-at-names-and-faces · 2 years

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Midsummer

Day four of the February Ficlet Challenge... Elsa and Kristoff...

Elsa drove further along the highway, into the unknown. She didn’t quite trust the GPS to get the right address, but there hadn’t been any cross streets for miles, so she couldn’t have taken a wrong turn. She was singing to herself, since the only radio stations out this far were not exactly to her taste in music. She wasn’t much for public performances, but singing in the car by herself was a little secret indulgence.

Rolling farm fields began giving way to hilly woods. She glanced down at her phone. There was no service whatsoever out here. Probably the hills took care of that. Elsa didn't mind this drive. She liked Anna’s boyfriend--well, now he was her fiance, and by tonight they would be married. Kristoff had said he was from nowhere in particular, but Elsa hadn’t realized that he was really from this far out in the middle of nowhere. He was nice, though, and since Anna had first brought him home, she had trusted him. He had become a good friend, so even though this wedding was a bit sudden, she had given her blessing and jumped at Anna’s request to be her bridesmaid.

“I just wish she would have agreed to ride with me,” Elsa caught herself saying out loud. She sighed. Anna would be there, but she insisted on driving herself so that she could pick up a few last minute items, and she wanted to make sure that someone got there on time so that Kristoff wouldn’t worry.

“In five hundred feet, turn left,” the GPS voice suddenly announced.

Elsa blinked and shook her head. She had zoned out. Lifting her foot off the gas pedal to make sure she had time to turn, she put on the signal despite the complete lack of other cars for miles in either direction. There was a dirt road to the left, but still no houses in sight.

The road was bumpy and rutted, curving this way and that, slowly winding up the hill. The woods began giving way to rocky clearings. Around a rock outcropping, she saw a group of irregular houses, and what she could only guess was a tent for the wedding.

“You have arrived,” the GPS informed her.

“That’s obvious enough,” she muttered at the electronic voice coming from her phone.

She slowed down, the rattle of the gravel quieting down as she pulled to the side of the road at the first house to the right.

Any other cars must be parked elsewhere. She stepped out of the car, and grabbed the dress hanging in the back seat. She needed to find where she could change clothes. Why couldn’t they have planned to at least have an overnight before the ceremony? Anna said she’d never been to this place, either, but Kristoff insisted that they weren’t allowed to be there until right until the ceremony.

***

“Who even does that?” Elsa asked.

“Sorry,” Kristoff apologized, “it’s how my family does things.”

“Where are they from, anyway?”

“Mostly nearby,” Kristoff shrugged. “It’s… kind of their own thing. I guess it’s kind of new. I mean, it’s not new, don’t tell them I said it was new, please…”

“Wait, is this like-”

“It’s a kind of a commune, okay? I promise they don’t do anything too out there. I know there’s that Norwegian movie-”

“I saw it, but it’s Swedish, not Norwegian,” Elsa corrected, immediately realizing she was missing the point.

Kristoff groaned. “Right… People keep talking about that movie when I tell them about where I grew up. I swear it’s nothing like that. I’ve told Anna about what’s going to happen at the wedding, so just… play along?”

***

Elsa stood by her car holding the dress in its plastic cover, looking around. Thankfully it wasn’t raining this week. The place would get entirely too muddy. She could see why Kristoff had brought up that movie. Kristoff didn’t give her bad vibes, unlike- she wouldn’t think about Anna’s ex. She never liked him.

Elsa walked toward the closest house. “Hello?”

She heard some commotion, and some women came out of the house.

“She’s here!” several said.

Elsa smiled nervously. “Is this where I can change?”

“Don’t worry about that,” one woman said, taking the dress from her.

“You can change into that later after the ceremony,” a younger woman assured her.

Kristoff had said to go with it. This was for Anna.

They helped her put on a long, plain tunic. This didn’t seem that strange.

Now one of them was braiding her hair. This was nice, really. Now there was some kind of veil over her head, and they were blindfolding her. Maybe a little creepy now, but she had promised to be understanding. This wasn’t some death cult.

The women led her back outside. Perhaps this was like the idea of not seeing the bride on the wedding day, but more egalitarian? It had been a while now, and maybe Anna was here already. She must be. Someone nearby had started speaking, and everyone else had gone silent. It was surreal, alternating between the people around singing and the one person speaking, and she couldn’t tell where Anna even was. Suddenly, someone grabbed her hands and guided them to some others. This was very odd. But she was supposed to go along with what they were doing. More words. Now everyone was saying something in unison.

She could feel people gathering around her. She was briefly blinded by the sunlight as they removed the blindfold and veil. Everyone cheered.

“Elsa?!” Kristoff exclaimed.

She blinked and smiled. “Kristoff, I said I’d be here. Congratulations!”

“But where’s Anna?” he whispered.

“Wait, what?” Elsa looked around. Everyone was lining up to shake their hands. A cloud of dust was moving along the road in the distance, and she could just start to make out Anna’s car approaching.

“Congratulations, Anna, it’s so nice to finally meet you,” an older woman smiled sweetly, shaking Elsa’s hand.

Elsa looked at Kristoff in a panic.

“Ma, I-”

“I was so worried you wouldn’t want to have a wedding with your family,” she continued.

“Mrs-” Elsa realized she didn’t know anyone’s names. Because why would she?

“Oh, Anna, dear, please call me Bulda!”

“Um, Bulda,” Elsa almost stammered. “I’m not Anna.”

#FFC 2022 #frozen fanfic #elsa #modern au

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jrob64 · 3 years

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Self-promo Sunday

This is chapter 2/5 of “Reception Redos and Jellymoons”, the story which first posted in 2019. Last week, the chapter ended with Emma and Killian getting ready to pay a visit to the rooftop where they were married.

The first chapter posted last week and can be found here. The entire story is posted on Ao3 & ffn.

*********

When Killian pushed the door open, he wasn’t met with a dark, silent rooftop as he’d expected. Instead, it was decorated just as it had been on their wedding day, with twinkling lights and bouquets of flowers. In addition, every person he had ever met in town was milling about, whispering to one another. Suddenly, Leroy looked toward the door and loudly announced, “The happy couple! They’re here!”

The silence was broken as everyone burst out in cheers of congratulations. People jockeyed for a spot to declare their best wishes to the couple. Killian just stood with his mouth agape for the second time that day. He turned and looked at Emma, who was watching him with an uncertain look on her face.

“Did you know about this, Swan?” he asked.

“Know about it? She planned the whole thing!” Mary Margaret declared, as she put her arms around both of their waists to pull them into a hug.

Killian reached for Emma’s hand as he asked, “Truly?”

“Yeah. I just hated that the Black Fairy’s curse cut our wedding reception short. We missed out on so many traditions that I was really looking forward to. I mean, I loved that day and everything that it represented, but…”

“I completely understand, my love.” He lifted her hand to his lips to brush a kiss across her knuckle, right above her wedding ring. “This is amazing!” he added as he pulled his eyes away from her to look around at all the people who were gathered.

Music began to play and the crowd started to break into groups to dance, or to help themselves to some of the food that was set out on long tables. Emma and Killian found the rest of their family immediately and shared hugs with all of them. Then they started to take notice of some of the other people who were on the outskirts of the circle.

“Is that Elsa? And Anna and Kristoff?” Emma questioned.

At the same time, Killian was noticing Ariel, Eric, Jasmine and Aladdin standing together off to his left.

When the newlyweds turned back around, they saw Emma’s parents chatting with Ruby and Dorothy, while Aurora stood nearby beside Phillip, who was holding a toddler in his arms.

“Mom, Dad, do you know how all these people from other realms got here?” Emma inquired.

David answered, “Well, now that all the curses have been broken, communication and travel between the realms is pretty easy. As long as there’s access to a portal or a magic bean, everyone can travel freely.”

“When you started planning this a couple of weeks ago, I contacted everyone and asked them to come. Almost everyone was able to make it. They were so happy to be able to celebrate with both of you,” Snow added.

It was Emma’s turn to stand with a slack jaw. She thought she had pulled off the ultimate surprise on her husband, but now her parents had added to it even more.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go start enjoying your party!” Mary Margaret exclaimed.

The next hour was spent greeting and talking to as many guests as possible. They found everyone from Merida, to Lancelot and Guinevere. Ursula sang a special song for the couple in her clear, beautiful voice while her father Poseidon looked on, beaming with pride.

Then, Henry was standing on the bandstand with a microphone in his hand.

“May I please have everyone’s attention?” he said, somewhat nervously. All became quiet and turned to look at him. “Um, I was the best man for Mom and Killian’s wedding, but I never got to give my speech, so I’d like to give it now.”

Emma started to feel tears welling up in her eyes as her husband wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her snuggly into his side. Her little boy was so grown up, and she couldn’t be more proud of him, or so she thought.

“My mom is the most unselfish person I know. She proved this from the moment I was born when she allowed me to be adopted so that I would have my best chance at a good life. When I found her and brought her to Storybrooke, she started being the savior almost right away, and she’s always put other people first. Nearly everyone here can honestly say that she has helped them in one way or another.”

Henry paused, then moved his eyes from his mother, to his stepfather.

“When my mom first started dating Killian, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. But he was so good to her, and she was happy with him. He put her first and stood behind her through every challenge and curse that they had to face. And he’s also become a real father figure to me. He’s been there for me time after time, and treats me as if I was his own son.”

Emma glanced up at Killian and found his eyes swimming in tears as well.

Henry continued, “I love both of you guys so much, and I’m really happy that you found each other. I hope that you have a very long and happy marriage. Please join me in toasting Mr. and Mrs. Killian Jones!”

Everyone raised their glasses and gave a cheer before taking a drink.

“And now, Mom and Killian, it’s time for you to share your first official dance together.”

Killian swiped at his eyes and turned to his wife. “May I have the honor, Mrs. Jones?” he asked, giving a slight bow.

Emma gave a watery smile and moved into his arms. The band started playing “I See the Light” and as soon as Killian recognized the tune, he looked at her and raised his eyebrow.

When the two of them had started living together, Emma had introduced him to Disney movies. They’d made a playlist and were working their way through it. Nearly every Disney movie made was on it, except for “Peter Pan”, because Emma told him that there was no way that either one of them would enjoy that one. They liked comparing the characters in the movies to the people that they knew personally.

One of the first films they had watched was “Tangled”, which had been recommended by Ashley. She said that Alexandra loved it, and that so many things about it reminded her of Killian and Emma’s relationship. The first time they watched it, the couple had to agree that Ashley actually did have a point, and by the time the song “I See the Light” came on, Emma was sniffling in his arms. Killian had just tightened his hold on her as he held his own emotions in check. Ever since then, that song had held a special place for them both. Often, they would play it while they swayed together in their living room, with Killian murmuring the lyrics into Emma’s hair.

So when the band asked for her playlist, specifically the song that she wanted played for their first dance that evening, Emma hadn’t hesitated. Others might have thought the choice of a song from an animated movie a bit odd, but for her and her groom, it was the perfect one. The rest of the crowd faded away as they moved around the dance floor together. Not only were the song lyrics falling on Emma’s hair that night, but also Killian’s happy tears. He had come so far from being the ruthless Captain Hook, and it was all because of the wonderful, brilliant woman that he held in his arms. She had indeed shown him the light, and had changed his dark world completely.

The song came to an end, but the couple continued to dance, oblivious to the silence and all their guests watching them. The band fidgeted awkwardly until Aladdin nudged Jasmine toward the stage. She picked up the microphone and motioned for the band to play the song again. This time, she sang along as Emma and Killian remained in their own little world with each other. As the second verse neared, Prince Eric joined Jasmine on stage to add his deep voice and harmony to the song.

As the last notes faded away, the crowd began to clap, which seemed to bring the loving couple back to the real world. They shared one last embrace and kiss, then turned to their friends with wide smiles on their faces.

Killian felt a tap on his shoulder and heard his father-in-law clear his throat. “Do you mind if I have a dance with my daughter?” David asked.

“Not at all, Mate,” Killian answered, as he placed Emma’s hand into her father’s.

The two of them headed back to the middle of the dance floor, and Killian turned and caught sight of someone that he hadn’t seen earlier. “Nemo?” he questioned, walking in his direction.

“Hello Killian,” the sea captain greeted. “I’m sorry to be arriving late, but submarines can only travel so fast, you know.”

Killian reached out to shake his friend’s hand as he replied, “That’s no problem. I’m just very glad to see you.” Then he glanced around a bit before he added, “Is my….”

“Hello, Brother.”

Killian spun around quickly to find his younger brother standing there. He pulled Liam into a firm hug and pounded him on the back a few times. “It’s good to see you, Brother,” he grinned.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, Killian. I was so sorry to miss the actual wedding, so when Emma’s mother contacted us about this party, Nemo and I started back to Storybrooke right away so that we could make it. Congratulations! I’m very happy that things worked out for the two of you.”

Killian turned to scan the dance floor, where he saw Emma’s father spinning her around. “So am I. But our wedding day got cut short, which is why my wife planned this whole thing to surprise me.” He went on to tell Liam and Nemo about all that had happened immediately following the wedding ceremony.

“Your wife is a brave and strong woman, Killian,” Nemo noted when the story had been told.

“That she is,” Killian responded proudly.

At that moment, the subject of their praise appeared back at his side.

Killian slipped his arm around his wife’s shoulders and made the introductions. “Emma, this is Captain Nemo and my younger brother Liam.”

“Oh!” Emma exclaimed. “I’m very glad to meet both of you at last! Killian has told me so much about you. When did you get here?”

“Just a few minutes ago as you and my brother were having your dance,” Liam answered, pulling her into a hug. Then he passed her off to his Captain so he could do the same.

The four of them chatted for a long while until Emma stated, “I’m glad you both came! I’ll be back to talk with you some more, but right now there’s someone else that I need to dance with before the night is over. Please excuse me.”

All the men nodded, and she started searching the crowd. When she spotted Henry, her face lit up and she walked over to him quickly.

“Hey Kid. Would you mind dancing with me?”

“Of course not, Mom. I was planning to ask you after you were done dancing with Grandpa, but then I saw you talking to Liam and Nemo. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

He took her hand and Emma swallowed the lump in her throat that formed when she realized his hand was that of a grown man, and that he was nearly taller than her. The band started to play and the two of them began moving to the music. As they danced, they chatted about their upcoming trips, among other things. Then Emma said, “Thank you for that wonderful toast, Henry. It meant so much to both of us. I can’t tell you how proud we are of the man that you’re becoming.”

“I love you, Mom. You and Killian. I was happy to have the opportunity to do that. Operation Best Man has been my favorite operation of all.”

Just then, the song came to an end and Emma pulled her son into a tight hug. “I love you, Kid. And I know that Killian does too.”

They started to walk off the floor together, but before they reached the edge, Regina appeared and asked for a dance with her son. Emma gave him a kiss on the cheek then turned to try to find her husband. She didn’t see him immediately, until she looked across the floor and saw that he was dancing with her mother. Emma smiled as she watched the two of them talking and laughing with each other. She loved that he got along so well with both of her parents.

******

The rest of the evening passed in a blur of dancing, eating and catching up with all their friends. After they bid goodbye to everyone and things were magically cleaned up by Emma and Regina, the happy couple started home arm in arm.

“You’re not upset with me, are you Killian?” Emma asked quietly.

“Whatever would make you think that I’d be upset with you?” he replied.

“Well, we leave for our honeymoon tomorrow, or rather, later today,” she said, glancing up at the clock tower to see that it was nearing two o’clock in the morning. “And now we’re going to be exhausted from this party. I don’t want to ruin the plans that you’ve made.”

“Emma, we are not on a time schedule. We can sleep in and leave any time we like. Tonight was wonderful, and you’re a bloody marvel for planning all of this. I loved every second of it.”

Emma stopped walking to turn and face him. “You really did?”

“Of course I did, Love. All of the thought that you put into it, and then to have your parents invite all those people with whom we’ve shared so many memories? It was the perfect night.”

“Well, nearly perfect,” his wife giggled as she leaned in to kiss him. “I can think of a few ways to make it even better. That is, if you’re not too tired.”

Killian answered with a growl as he swung his bride up into his arms to carry her the rest of the way home.

******

After they had added even more beautiful memories to their already special evening, the two of them lay in each other’s arms. Emma rested her head over her husband’s heart, which was still beating at an erratic pace. She trailed her fingers lightly over his bicep as he pressed kisses into her hair, whispering his love for her.

“When did you know?” she asked.

“When I opened the door and saw everyone.” Killian said.

“No. I mean, when did you know that you were in love with me?” she inquired, propping her chin on his chest so she could look at his face.

Killian got a faraway look in his eyes as he stroked his hand up and down her back. “When we were on our way to Neverland. You had jumped off the Jolly to stop all of us from fighting with one another, and it seemed like an eternity before your father found you and got you back on the deck. You weren’t conscious and I was afraid that you were gone. Then when you were revived and opened those beautiful eyes, I could breathe again. I realized at that moment, that I didn’t want to live in a world without you in it. I had already lost my heart to you.”

Emma searched his face. “That long ago? I mean, I knew in Neverland that you were starting to have feelings for me, but I didn’t know that you were actually in love with me.”

“Aye. I knew I couldn’t express those feelings to you outright, though I did allude to them in the Echo Caves.”

“Yeah, I remember that. I also remember you telling me that you would win my heart, and you certainly did.”

Killian chuckled. “May I inquire when it was that you finally realized your love for me?”

“That night outside of Granny’s, after we returned from the Enchanted Forest. When you admitted that you had traded your ship so that you could find Henry and me in New York, I knew that I couldn’t deny my feelings any more. That ship meant everything to you. It was your home. I couldn’t believe that you would give it up.”

“She was my home. But her place in my heart was replaced by a certain lovely but fierce lass.” He looked at her with a twinkle in his eye, but then his voice took on a more serious tone. “I told you that I never wanted to live in a world that didn’t have you in it, and I had to endure that for over a year. I was willing to do anything to find you and bring you back, no matter what it cost me. You are my home now, Emma, and you always will be.”

Emma let out a happy sigh. This beautiful man never failed to melt her heart.

They lay quietly for several more minutes, thinking about the declarations that each had just made.

“We’d best get some sleep, my love. Everything is ready for our trip, but it will take a while to get to our destination.”

“Still not gonna tell me where it is that we’re going, huh?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Good night, Darling. I love you tremendously.”

“I love you too, Babe. More than I could possibly tell you. Good night.”

*********

I hope you’re enjoying the story. I’m posting this from my son’s hospital room. He was in a car accident early this morning, broke a vertebrae in his back and is facing surgery. If you have any thoughts or prayers to send our way, they would be very much appreciated!

Tagging: @hookedmom @xsajx @kymbersmith-90 @kmomof4 @lassluna @pirateherokillian @teamhook @stahlop @elizabeethan @whimsicallyenchantedrose @resident-of-storybrooke @therooksshiningknight @jennjenn615 @lfh1226-linda @ilovemesomekillianjones @killianswannn @stories-enchanted @eleveneitherway @withheartfulloflove @kday426 @lyssapup27 @swanlovato @djlbg @kristi555 @laschatzi @xarandomdreamx @lkles08 @wyntereyez @bubblegum1425 @xhookswenchx @yasbio2015 @tiganasummertree @winterbaby89 @wefoundloveunderthelight @hollyethecurious @let-it-raines @jonesfandomfanatic @searchingwardrobes @dreamingdreamsalways @oncechicagolove @andiirivera @vvbooklady1256 @gingerchangeling @everything-person @klynn-stormz @qualitycoffeethings @vampcoffeegyrl23 @enchanted-swans @cassy1511 @ohmakemeahercules @donteattheappleshook @bluewildcatfanatic @the-darkdragonfly @demisexualemmaswan @lavenderbudd @grimmswan @spartanguard @flslp87 @ultraluckycatnd @sarahpaq08 @thisonesatellite @captainswan21 @zaharadessert @mariakov81 @snowbellewells @xouatxcs @kiwistreetswan @batana54 @nadine200179 @probalicious17 @courtorderedcake @julesep3026 @jackieorioncat @whatthehell102082 @xemmaloveskillianx @jarienn972 @sthonour @linda8084 @carpedzem @pirateprincesslena @daxx04 @winterbythesea @artistic-writer @cocohook38 @chrisilybrooke @pcrcabcth @captainswan4life85 @molly958 @kingofmyheart14 @badwolfreturns @itsfridaysomewhere @chamomileandmint @fallingforthecaptain @lovethelifeyoulive1106 @onceratheart18 @strangestarlighttree @omgmarvelous @justanother-unluckysoul @mrs-potatos-but-likes-tomatos @anothersworld @deckerstarblanche @purplehawkcaptain @therealstartraveller776 @superchocovian @k-leemac @citygirlscowboy @laughterandbooks

#csff #reception redos and jellymoons #jrob64 #self promo sunday #cs canon compliant #cs fanfic #CS fic #ouat fanfic captain swan #captain swan fanfic #captain swan fic

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cartoonfangirl1218 · 2 years

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Twisted Tales: Conceal, Don‘t Feel review

Another solid book for the Twisted Tales series but not one of Calonita’s best compared to the other two she wrote for the series.

It starts out well with its intriguing “What if” the sisters had never met. How so, you ask? Simple, they were split up before either could really form memories of each other (Not true. There’s a more magical reason but I don’t want to spoil it). Elsa lives in the palace, learning how to become a ruler from her parents, she also doesn’t have powers.

Anna lives in a distant village in her adopted family’s bakery. In this case, she is aware that she’s adopted, but her Mom and Dad are so bubbly and huggers, I‘d believe them to be related to her. Anyway, I found their small family very sweet, and it gave Anna an additional aspect to her besides being quirky and lonely like in the movie. She’s a creative baker, which I felt perfect,y suits her.

And Elsa, without her powers, is still reserved but it comes out more in shyness that she admits makes her wish for more permanent playmate than just advisor’s children. She wishes for a sibling.

I enjoy the split seeing how their personalities, still similar to the movies, are changed from the movie. They felt a bit more mature to me. I’m not sure how, but I felt it and I enjoyed it.

Also it gave some more depth to Agvarr and Idunna seeing Elsa’s interactions with them, without the fear of powers. Idunna is secretive and sad for obvious reasons and Agvarr is perceptive and kind father.

All this sets it up for the big tragedy that you just know is coming even though it hurts. The king and queen die at sea. The grief sparking Elsa’s powers. She manages to keep it a secret, hiding in her room, and continues to do so. Only coming out for lessons and her duties over the three years. In the privacy of her room, she continues to experiment with her powers and creates a new friend, Olaf.

However, coronation day is when things starts to head back to the movie plot. Her ice powers revealed, she leaves Arrendale in eternal winter. Anna, who had always wanted to head to the kingdom’s capital city takes the chance to go and investigate what happened.

Now this is where it went a little off for me. It was a variation of the movie plot. Kristoff and Anna fight wolves, Elsa makes ice palace, ends up in jail, Hans tries to get to Anna after finding out Elsa won’t fall for her advances, Kristoff realizes he loves Anna etc.

Now it is not completely the same as the movie as again, there is a curse and secret sisters thing that make it unique and keep it compelling so it’s not dull. There would be a twist to certain scenes like the dungeon scene but then it steer right back to movie scene. It just felt like lost opportunity.

Another thing that felt off was Elsa building ice palace scene, not only does she describe what happens in let it go, but uses some of the lyrics from the song to describe Elsa’s internal thoughts that just took me out of it. It just made me want to put on the song. Another thing that took me out of it was the one chapter from Hans‘ POV and Kristoff’s two POV chapters. They offered no new internal depth or characterization or scenes that we haven’t already seen in the movie so I felt it was unneeded. However, I did like Hans’ chapter if only because it was so charming even as it revealed his true colors.

Really, what I most enjoyed were Calonita’s original additions to the story. Describing the traditional Nordic pastries Anna makes in her bakery, the matured personalities of Anna and Elsa, and the servants that were Elsa’s psuedo-family. I especially loved that she named two of them, Kai and Gerda. The protagonists of the Ice Queen of which Frozen is based. I was slightly disappointed it didn’t have them in more prominent roles.

Generally, I felt like it could be more creative. Calonita was given such leeway to create such an original beginning for the story, totally unlike the movie (just as she had with the other books) that it’s a shame she felt compelled to keep whole scenes from the movie.

Also disclaimer, this came out in 2019 when Frozen 2 came out. Obviously, the book was written before that so no mentions of anything that came from that movie like Elsa being the fifth spirit or whatever. Also no “If only there was someone who loved you” line, not that it would have made sense in the story but still just saying for anyone who enjoyed that Hans line.

#twisted tales #conceal don’t feel #my reviews #frozen #princess anna #princess elsa #jen calonita

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bigfrozenfan-fanfics · 3 years

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Chapter 10 - Skalastet

Links: Chapter overview, Character list, Map, Glossar Rating: M over all Publishing cycle: each Friday at 6:00 pm CEST dst/UTC +2:00 on (link)

Remarks: all my chapters contain carefully selected music tracks. It’s your own decision if you want to use them or not while reading. The purpose is to musically support the respective mood of the plot. If you can please use a browser for reading (not the Tumblr app) due to the text formatting and music.

Ryder stood there with arms crossed, leaning against a kota and watched their friends from Arendelle talking to Elsa. The wrong moment to disturb Kristoff for a serious talk; he thought. But maybe that was just as well. He pondered and weighed his options, but he just couldn't decide what to do.

He was constantly thinking about what he had learned at the Norting, and he was now very worried about all of them, but especially about Kristoff and his great love, Anna. If this son of Gyda, what did Yelana call him ... ah yes, Kolgrimr, was capable of all these things then ...; Ryder could not and didn't want to imagine what could happen then. His father had patted him on the shoulder and congratulated him on his first Norting in adulthood and that he was proud of him. But he almost wished now that he hadn't known about any of this. What was he going to do? Should he just ignore Yelana's warning and warn Kristoff and the others anyway, or wait and see? What if they stayed here in the camp a little longer? They would perhaps unknowingly find themselves in great danger. Would they even believe this story and warning?

Behind him he heard soft footsteps rustling in the grass and turned around. In front of him stood his sister with her battlestick in her hand.

“Fancy a little Skalastet?” Honeymaren asked cheerfully and grinned broadly, “You need some practice“. But her grin quickly evaporated when she noticed his depressed mood. She came closer and put one hand on Ryder's shoulder. “What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“Me? No, there's no ... everything's fine. But stick fighting? Now?” Ryder warped the corners of his mouth.

Of course, it had been a long time since they competed, Ryder knew that and he also realized his sister was right about it. Since the forest had been liberated there was no reason to defend their home against soldiers from Arendelle, they had already returned to their home. But he could still remember too well the bruises Honeymaren's battlestaff had inflicted on him often. She was just one of the best fighters among them, fast and agile. Most of the time he had no chance against her, even though he wasn't so bad himself as he thought. Honeymaren nudged him in the side with the end of the stick and grinned mischievously.

“Oh come on, do we have to do this?” he asked.

“It keeps us fit,” she replied, grinning a little wider. It had been too long since she had shown him which of them had the say in the duel. But of all of them he was still one of the best training partners, she had to admit. She took two steps back, whirled her stick over her head and looked at him challengingly. “Go on, get your staff.”

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And Ryder sighed, “All right. But let's not overdo it like we did last time.” He walked the few steps to their kota and grabbed his long polished birch stick.

They walked a little way until the trees were a little closer together and started to tactilely stalk each other. “Come on Ryder, try to hit me!” She took her staff in her left hand, turned it casually around her wrist, and then went into a defensive stance.

Ryder dared a lunge and tried to hit her, but was too slow. His staff missed Honeymaren by far, she only had to take a step to the side and in one flowing movement effortlessly gave him a slap on his wrist. He cried out briefly in pain.

She laughed. “Come on. You can do better than that.” She bounced on the ball of her foot and made the stick spin around her waist.

Ryder looked at her grimly. “Whatever you say.”

Then he grabbed his battlestaff in the middle and struck with the ends of the sticks in quick succession, alternately, sometimes above, sometimes below. And each time, she parried his strokes, but moved further back. They danced around each other and the sequence of strikes accelerated. Sometimes he struck, sometimes she did. They jumped and ducked to avoid the opponent's strokes. Of course, both of them took light hits every now and then, that could not be avoided, but that was the purpose of the exercise, to be faster and more accurate.

The forest echoed back from the clacking sounds when their sticks met. They circled each other while searching for a gap in the other's defense, skillfully avoiding the surrounding trees. It was a constant back and forth, neither of them slowed down noticeably.

“Slowly I'm getting the hang of it again,” Ryder pressed out at some point, coughing but triumphant.

Meanwhile a few Northuldra, attracted by the sounds of the fight, had gathered nearby and watched their dance from a proper distance. Most of them cheered on Honeymaren, but there were also some voices shouting the same to Ryder.

Honeymaren slowly but surely gained the upper hand and pushed her brother back. In a desperate stroke, he raised his stick and swung it against her shoulder. But his sister was able to duck in time and in the same movement pushed her battlestick with force against his stomach area. However, he pulled his belly in just in time and made a leap backwards, directly between two trees standing relatively close together.

Honeymaren had intended exactly that, and with quick short strokes drove him back even a little further behind the two birches and then jumped forward. But not directly towards him, instead to the trunk of one of the two trees. She pushed off there, repeated it on the other tree trunk and in this way was six feet high in no time. Only now she jumped directly towards Ryder, the battlestick raised high above her head. This was a dangerous situation for any opponent.

Ryder followed her movements with his eyes and showed himself surprised. But in reality he had foreseen her move, timed the right moment and then whirled his staff around behind his back. He took advantage of the momentum, let it slide through in his palm on the other side, held the end in time and pushed the staff upwards. He hit Honeymaren at the thigh with force, causing her to groan in pain, and therefore took her out of her balance. Her intended strike missed its target and she hit the ground behind him and rolled to the side. Ryder, standing with his back to her, laughed out loud and raised his battlestick with both hands triumphantly over his head.

He was about to turn to her with a grin when a forceful strike against his feet took him off his legs and he crashed hard to the ground. His staff slipped out of his hands and rolled towards Honeymaren. She cleverly caught it with her tip of her foot and delivered it into her free hand with momentum. Ryder stared at her speechlessly.

“Well, little brother, you'd better watch your guard,” Honeymaren said, grinning but out of breath, and with these words held the ends of both sticks to his throat.

In the background, loud howling and the clapping of their audience could be heard. She finally took both sticks in one hand and with the other grabbed his arm to help him up on his feet.

Ryder rumbled softly, “Next time it will be different, for sure.”

They reached out conciliatory hands to eachother, but Honeymaren didn't let it be taken on whispering in his ear, “Dream on, little brother ...” when she pulled him to her.

One moment later, they both had to laugh loudly about it and walked exhausted and satisfied between the still clapping Northuldra. Some patted Ryder on the shoulder and one even gave him the compliment that he was getting better and better and it had been a great fight.

~~~

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Arriving at the camp, they first laid back their battlestaves, then Honeymaren looked at him with a serious expression while she rubbed her thigh where he had hit her. “You can't hide anything from me, Ryder, you know that. I know you too well for this. There's something important on your mind today. Please tell me.”

Ryder put his head back and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he looked at her with a forceful look. “All right, but you have to promise me it's just gonna be between us, okay?” His sister pulled her eyebrows together and then nodded.

“I promise. So ... shoot. I suppose it has something to do with the disappearance of the men this morning, doesn't it?”

“How do you know?” Ryder asked and looked at her in amazement.

Honeymaren tilted her head and looked at him reproachfully. “I'm not naive. I overslept today and father woke me very late. If he had been in the camp, he would not have hesitated so long, as angry as he was at me. So what happened?”

Ryder sighed and nodded. “Yes, you're right. There's been a meeting, a Norting. My first, as you can imagine. Yelana called it out and told us something I can't handle.”

“So that's it, a Norting.” She lowered her eyes and had a bad premonition. She felt her stomach begin to contract and said in a low voice, “Tell me.”

“Not here. Let's go somewhere quiet and unobserved.”

“Let's go into our kota,” Honeymaren suggested. He nodded and as they sat inside, Ryder told her in a low voice everything he now knew. Honeymaren listened very attentively and her face became visibly gloomier.

~~~

“Hello, Kristoff. Do you know where Elsa is? I was going to check on her, but she's not in her kota and I haven't seen her anywhere else,” Myrtha asked, who just stepped next to him. Kristoff looked up and rose. He now noticed another woman standing behind her.

“Hello, Myrtha. She's with Anna right now and hasn't been gone long.” He pointed in a direction where the four monoliths stood at the edge of the forest. “They were going to the waterfall to have an undisturbed private conversation. Sisterly conversations, I guess.”

His eyes fell on the small wicker basket she was holding in front of her. It was full of little birch wood boxes of various sizes, some of them open and filled with all kinds of pastes in greenish colours, next to them were various small bundles of herbs and a small mortar with a wooden pestle. The woman behind her carried a small bucket of water, and also some cloths and leather straps over her arm. He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Myrtha noticed his looks and smiled at him. “Oh, that's not all for Elsa. I'm just making my morning rounds. There are always minor injuries and it is my job as healer to make sure everyone is comfortable. This is Ikka, my young assistant, by the way. I teach her everything.” Ikka gave Kristoff a shy nod. “Is everything all right with Elsa? What is your impression?” Myrtha then asked.

“Everything seems to be fine again, as far as I can tell. At least physically.”

“That's good. Some exercise will certainly do her some good. I'll come by again this evening, but I must be going now.” She nodded at Kristoff and left.

When Ikka passed Kristoff, she hesitated briefly and smiled shyly at him, but said nothing and then quickly scurried after the healer. Kristoff looked after them, thought for a moment and then shook his head before he sat down again.

“She likes you,” Olaf said after a few moments and smiled at him.

“Who?” asked Kristoff, who was already thinking about something completely different.

“Well, Ikka of course. Didn't you notice her looks when you talked to Myrtha?”

Kristoff laughed. “Yes, I noticed. But she's still young, and I'm obviously very attractive to her. She also doesn't know that I'm already engaged.”

“That's true,” Olaf confirmed, and fell into Kristoff's laughter.

“Which part of it do you mean? That I'm so attractive?”

Both snorted with laughter.

~~~

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I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a comment if you liked the story, I would be pleased to read your opinions, even criticisms. If you want to be tagged as soon I publish the next chapter please let me know.

Remarks: For the training scene with Honeymaren and Ryder my beta reader and I would have liked to have a fanart of HARU (@ xlayers), but since Ryder is not yet available as a model I took the liberty to make a small edit based on Jin Kim's concept art. It's just a pity that Ryder was apparently not intended to be handled with a fighting staff.

Tagging: @karma26 @whether-near-to-me-or-far @annaofthenorthernlights @igotelsapregnanthelp

#frozen #frozen2 #frozen3 #fanfic #epic novel #the broken bridge #chapter 10 #bigfrozenfan

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punkpoemprose · 2 years

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A Convenient Arrangement Part 11

Universe: Canonverse Arranged Marriage AU Rating:T Length: 3840 Words A/N: Finally finished this speed-bump of a chapter. Hopefully now that it’s written it won’t take me nine months to do the next bit.

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9] [Part10]

The last thing Anna wanted was to let him leave the castle. Frankly, she wanted to lock him in the room and keep kissing him until they were called away to their duties, or until they fell asleep, whichever happened first.

Probably sleep.

She was exhausted. She’d been tired all week, and while their day’s reprieve had been a comfort, she still felt a deep fatigue that seemed to settle in her very bones. He was tired too. She saw it in his eyes when he broke their kiss. If she would have led him to the bed, wrapped them in blankets and promised that they could stay like that for the rest of the evening, he would have wanted to stay.

I should have convinced him.

Instead, she’d encouraged him to go see his family. She knew that it was the right thing to do, that he wouldn’t have wanted to leave her unless it was important. She didn’t want to interfere with his traditions and when he didn’t invite her along, she knew that it must be for a reason.

She didn’t have the time to ask him all the things she wanted to, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to see him off at the gates without running after him, so she’d watched him from a window instead. She’d stood and quieted every voice in her head that told her he wasn’t coming back. She’d watched dutifully, keeping her feet still and her hands braced on the windowpane as he and Sven rode off until she could no longer see either of them.

She’d only allowed herself to move when she knew that it would be impossible to follow them, when the sky started to darken, and she was certain that she would only get lost if she tried to tail them up the mountain. Even then, knowing all she did about exactly how it would go, it took all her energy not to follow.

Her lips still felt the ghost of his upon them. She wished that she would have stolen a goodbye kiss, a goodnight kiss, or a just because kiss because she knew that she’d be missing the feel of it until he returned.

Instead of marching to the front doors, her feet carried her on autopilot to her sister’s office door.

She knew that Elsa would be in her office. There was nowhere else she would be on an evening without courtly duties. Someone who was not in the know might imagine that she would be in her bedroom, or relaxing in the library, but Anna knew that her sister would be pouring over paperwork.

It was difficult for Anna to knock on her sister’s office door. Physically speaking it was, of course, quite simple, but making her knuckles rap against the door and having to trust that her sister would answer was still difficult. She had forgiven Elsa for the years of isolation they’d both faced, but she hadn’t forgotten. She was certain that she and Elsa could grow close and communicate daily for the rest of their lives and Anna still wouldn’t ever forget what it felt like to knock on her sister’s door and have it go unanswered.

It had felt like she was mourning the death of someone who was still very much alive.

“Come in.”

Anna didn’t need to be told twice. She could feel the muscles she’d not realized she was tensing relax in her arms and legs. The anxiety in her stomach quelled.

Pushing the door open and then closed again behind her, Anna found Elsa very much as she had expected her. Her pale face framed by mussed blond tresses that were, themselves, almost as white as the piles of paper around her on the desk.

“Oh! Anna, I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you were spending the day with Kristoff?”

Anna wasn’t sure what made her happier, the way her arrival seemed to be a splendid surprise to her sister, or the way that Elsa so pleasantly mentioned Kristoff by name. It surprised her how quickly Elsa had gone from thinking her husband was some brute, to calling him by name and occasionally indulging in his company for brief moments.

Anna wondered if with a little more time, they might begin doing things as a family. She did think that Kristoff and Elsa could be friends with time, so she was pleased that they were something like acquaintances now. Anything was better than strangers, particularly now that Anna knew that her feelings for her husband weren’t only reciprocated but that they were fated.

“I was. He’s had to head up to the mountains to speak with his family.”

“The trolls?”

“Yes, the trolls,” Anna quickly replied.

“Ah, is there something going on?”

“Well yes, but it will take some explaining.”

Elsa nodded, seeming entirely too pleased to shift the pile of papers she’d been working on off to the side of her desk. Anna knew that Elsa had been making efforts to get closer to her, to get to know her better, and as infrequent as their moments alone were, Anna couldn’t help but to feel surprised that she was so ready to set her work aside.

She smile was somewhat sheepish when she returned her full attention to Anna.

“I should have taken a break hours ago anyway.”

***

Kristoff supposed he should have expected his family to fawn all over him when he arrived in the valley. He just hadn’t anticipated the sheer amount of raw chaos that would be created when he held up the pink crystal he’d brought along with him and said “Anna is my soulmate.”

In hindsight he probably should have expected it. He’d simply been too wrapped up in his own excitement to think of how anyone other than Anna and himself might react. Anna only really knew the half of it at any rate, and of course his family, knowing even more than he did about the matter, would be ecstatic.

He was being buffeted about the space, pushed and pulled by stone hands. There were plenty of congratulations being tossed his way, as well as questions.

“No, no, really I don’t want to do a feast or anything… I’m sorry I didn’t bring Anna, but… thank you! Of course, I’m thrilled… no, I came right here after… I don’t think.”

“Hush!”

He’d never been more grateful for his mother’s loud and commanding presence than he was now. She’d somehow broken through the throng of questioning and congratulatory family and was in the process of putting everyone in their place, clearing the way for Pabbie, who was walking through the chaos toward him.

A hush fell over the valley as the elder troll walked to him and extended his hand. Kristoff for his part was grateful for his grandfather’s calm aura, his ability to pull the chaos from the collective and replace it with quiet attention in a way that rivaled his mother’s commanding shout. Kristoff couldn’t help but think that he would need to take lessons from them in both skills if he and Anna ever decided to have children.

He felt the flush creep into his face as he got ahead of himself, but he was able to tamp it down when he stooped down and took Pabbie’s hand. He’d long since figured out the best method to walk in a dignified manner at his height while being led by the much shorter troll, following him back toward the center of the valley where he most often held court over the assemblage of relatives.

“You were right,” Kristoff managed to tell the old troll as they walked through the space, “Anna and I… it was fate.”

There was a rumbling laugh from the troll and Kristoff couldn’t help but smile.

“Of course! It was all but written in the stars, I don’t know how I didn’t notice sooner. I am happy for you, for both of you. Not all things that are fated are positive, but you and Anna have made the best possible choices with your hearts, and the crystal knows that.”

“It did.” He knew he would never, so long as he lived, forget the surprise and joy on Anna’s face when she saw the crystal glow under her touch. There was nothing so perfect than knowing that her joy came from understanding what it meant, that she knew that they were connected and that the love they felt for one another went deeper than their arrangement.

“I assume you came home to make arrangements then?”

“Of course he did! He may be doing all of this out of order, but he’s not going to keep his mother from seeing him married properly.”

Kristoff couldn’t help but laugh, hearing the voice from behind him. His mother, bless her, could be silent no longer.

“Yes Ma.”

***

“Soulmates?”

Anna could understand how the concept would be foreign to Elsa. Her sister was not necessarily opposed to forming relationships with others from what Anna could tell, but Elsa was still new to the process and as such it was probably impossible for her to wrap her head around the idea that two people could be meant for each other.

“Yes! Well, according to his family’s traditions. It’s a kind of magic.”

“That doesn’t really explain it,” Elsa said, her fingertips making, then catching a large crystalline snowflake, “I’m kind of magic, but I didn’t look at the two of you and think ‘this is fate’, I thought ‘gosh I hope I didn’t just doom my sister’ and then later… after we had our whole… thing… I thought ‘wow I’m glad he’s good to her, she deserves that’.”

Anna pouted, but understood where Elsa was coming from. She supposed she should be happy about hearing that her sister’s views on her marriage were positive, but she wanted Elsa to understand the importance of the fate element to her. She’d never felt like fate had much planned for her beyond repeated failure.

“To be fair until recently you haven’t done too much looking at anyone.”

The comment wasn’t supposed to bite, and despite a moment of caution that flashed in Elsa’s eyes, it didn’t seem to land that way.

“Fair enough.”

Anna took a sip of her wine and it burned all the way down. She’d been the one to suggest a nightcap, but it was clear from the level of relaxation between them that neither of them had much of a tolerance to alcohol.

“It’s just… I believe it Elsa. I believe Kristoff and I are soulmates and I… I love him Elsa, I really do. I wanted so badly for it to glow when I touched it, and it did!”

Elsa for her part still seemed slightly unconvinced, but not in a way that was upsetting to Anna. She didn’t need her sister to believe in magic crystals, though Anna thought given her magical abilities that she should, she didn’t need her to believe in anything but her.

“I don’t know how magic crystals work Anna. Seems like an Earth magic thing? I guess it’s probably different than snow magic?” She yawned a very unladylike yawn, wide mouthed and rather loud before draining the rest of the wine from her glass, “But I’m happy for you.”

Anna felt the last of the tension leave her body. She’d told herself a thousand times that she didn’t need her sister’s approval, particularly not given the fact that her sister had been part of the reason for the arranged marriage in the first place. Having it though, having her say that she was happy for her, made Anna feel lighter than she had in a very long time in her sister’s presence.

“Good. That’s all I wanted to hear!”

Elsa quirked a brow, then flushed.

“Oh, I probably should have opened with that, you know… instead of arguing the finer points of magic rocks.”

“That you don’t even know about.”

“That I don’t even know about,” she confirmed.

Anna wasn’t sure which one of them laughed first, but she was grateful for it. She was grateful for her sister, and that felt strange and new.

It’s the small victories.

***

The sun was peaking up over the horizon when Kristoff broke through the clearing edge and began slowly by surely making his way into the city proper. He wanted nothing more than to spur on Sven, to rush him along the streets and to the castle, but even though he knew the deer could comply, he would not push him after so many hours without a good long rest.

Despite this, Kristoff noticed that Sven was racing toward the castle of his own accord. He wondered if he could sense his anxiety to return to Anna, or whether it was a much more personal desire to get back to the palace stables for his morning feeding. With Sven it could be either, or both.

He let a groom take Sven from him when he came to the stables. Normally he wouldn’t leave Sven under anyone’s care but his own, but he knew that the reindeer wouldn’t hold it against him. The grooms probably gave him more treats than Kristoff anyway.

He still felt strange walking into the castle. Sometimes he wondered if it wouldn’t be better for him to use the servant’s entrance to enter, but between Anna and Kai he’d been encouraged to embrace his role in the castle hierarchy. He had to admit that he was feeling more up to the task now, holding proof of his belonging in his pocket.

He took the stairs two at a time, maybe even three at a time as he sped up to the direction of his and Anna’s barely separated rooms. He knew that she was a deep sleeper, that she was likely to not wake for another hour or two unless she was required to be awake on some business. Yet, he didn’t feel foolish for his rush to return, not when being in the same place as her, even in the walls of the palace, felt more like home than he’d ever felt in his cabin.

He thought about opening her door, walking in and waking her. He thought about knocking, or about slipping into the room without bothering. He had a feeling that she wouldn’t mind. He could still remember the look in her eye as he left, the way she’d faked a smile for his benefit as he made his plans to go.

She wouldn’t be upset by the intrusion. He knew it as well as he knew that, roles reversed, he wouldn’t mind either. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to even knock on her door. They’d had an exhausting week and were about to face another and he couldn’t bring himself to steal her sleep, not even for what he had to give her.

If this weren’t so entirely out of order…

He didn’t have the energy to think on it. He didn’t have the energy to think about how, had he met Anna in any other way he would have been able to wake her with a gentle kiss and show her what he’d brought her because they would have surely been in love for months and had already told each other such.

He pushed his hand into his pocket, feeling the cool metal and stone within.

Out of order or not, he couldn’t help but feel incredibly lucky. He still hated that Anna hadn’t had a real choice when they’d married. He hated that he hadn’t either, and more than that he hated that he would have been unlikely to ever meet her if it weren’t for everything that went wrong for her before they met.

And yet we did.

He gingerly ran a finger around the edge of the thing in his pocket, once, twice, and then he slid his hand out from the fabric and allowed the trinket to be left alone. He took his eyes from Anna’s door as he did so, turning instead down a door to his own bedroom.

It can wait.

***

When Kristoff opened the door he glanced toward the door between their rooms and found it closed. He did his best to not allow the pang he felt at the realization of this to affect him. Anna was of course always welcome to close the door between their rooms, to maintain her privacy. It was just that he had hoped to steal a glance at her sleeping before he allowed himself to lay down for an hour of shut eye for himself.

He shucked off his boots, tossed aside his tunic, and made a weak effort at untying his pants as he approached his bed. He normally would have made more of an effort to keep his things together, to be neat knowing that despite his protest a palace maid would likely feel the need to clean up the messes he made, but he was tired enough to have the care overrode by the desire to disrobe and sleep.

Except, as he approached the bed, his hand slipped away from the lacing of his trousers, allowing the knots he’d been untangling to stay blessedly tied. He felt his breath catch in his throat and felt a warmth come to his face, because while he and Anna had shared a bed before, he was awestruck by the realization that he’d just walked into his room to find her in his bed, wearing nothing but one of his tunics.

Her hair was splayed wildly about the pillow, she’d evidently decided against braiding it before she fell into his bed. He couldn’t help but reach out to her, to brush a strand that had fallen over her face away.

“Gods you’re beautiful,” he whispered into the still half dim space, studying the slight upturn to her mouth, the sprinkle of freckles that played across the half of her face that wasn’t pressed into the pillow below her.

He’d never really found many women beautiful before, but Anna had ruined him for anyone else for as long as he lived. He was sure he’d never find anyone as beautiful as he found her.

My beautiful wife. My soulmate. My everything.

He tried to hold onto the words as he thought them about her, thinking that he may very well want to tell her as such when he offered her what he’d created for her. He’d never been very good with words, but he wanted to be when he asked her to marry him… again.

She stirred, only slightly, and he couldn’t help but feel for a moment like he was well and truly in limbo. He loved her. He loved her so much that he was beginning to find the pomp and circumstance of his new life to be worthwhile so long as it meant that he could be at her side, and yet he also didn’t know whether she was ready to hear it.

Once again, he wished that things could have been just a little simpler between them, that he’d been able to court her properly… in whatever way she deemed proper. He wished that he knew what she’d want him to do now. He wished his body wasn’t begging him to just fall into bed beside her without another thought.

“Bed,” she muttered as if reading his thoughts, “Sleep.”

Despite his careful study of her sleeping form, he hadn’t noticed the slight flutter of her lashes as she stirred.

“I can go sleep somewhere else if you want Anna.”

One naked leg was exposed to him, the other was tucked underneath the coverlet, and he wasn’t such a stubborn man that he couldn’t admit that it was likely a factor in distracting him from her face.

She’s so small.

The image his brain concocted with their relative sizes and her exposed skin was so risqué he had to think long and hard about his promise to her on their wedding night to shame himself into forgetting about it. They would never have to be intimate. Not if she didn’t want to. Not if they both didn’t want to. Not even though he very, very, much wanted to.

“Shuddup, bed. Now.”

Her sleep addled voice and unamused demanding tone almost caught him as off guard as her current clothing situation, but he was exhausted, and she was in his bed after all.

“Okay.”

He thought he heard a little sound of satisfaction come from her throat when he carefully settled onto the bed at her side. He knew he heard it when she pulled herself against him, that uncovered leg hitching up and over his waist, entangling him. Her hands were on him in an instant, one interlacing their fingers and the other splaying across his chest.

“Missed you,” she muttered, seeming half asleep but still somewhat coherent.

He turned his head slightly to look at her, feeling true peace for the first time since leaving her side the night before when she turned her head in return and brushed her lips against his so gently, he could have almost believed it was an accident.

Almost.

“Missed you too,” he replied, “I rode all night so I could get back to you. I didn’t sleep a wink.”

She seemed to stir a little more, and after an extended processing time she smiled at that.

“I tried to stay up until you got home. Elsa wouldn’t wait up with me, so I came to your bed in case I fell asleep before you got home.”

He could all but feel her lips brushing his again with every word.

“I see.”

“Can I kiss you goodnight?” she asked, still clearly not fully awake, but seemingly aware enough of the situation to ask and add, “That’s why I stayed up… You’re a good kisser.”

He wasn’t certain of why that made him blush even more than the feeling of having her leg draped over him. The compliment was unexpected to say the least.

“Yes… always Anna.”

“Always?”

He swallowed, staring down at her lips through the scant space between their faces.

“Always. You can always kiss me goodnight.”

She didn’t need more encouragement. Her lips were on his in an instant and he felt all the wakefulness train from his body as if he’d been running on nothing but adrenaline for hours. He may as well could have been, and her mouth on his knocked all the fight or flight out of him.

He settled his hands across her back, fingers gently rubbing circles against the fabric of his shirt that she wore.

When she pulled away from his lips it was such an imperceptible distance that it was almost as if the kiss didn’t end at all. There was barely a hair’s breadth between their mouths, and it seemed as he allowed himself to begin drifting off, that it was exactly what she wanted.

#kristanna #frozen fanfiction #A Convenient Arrangement #Arranged Marriage AU

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