Jump Into the Fog

It's Not a Big Problem with Me, Love

So was Gerda right? Were she and Hans really that compatible? They definitely had a lot to talk about, and he seemed to respect her as a person, not just as a queen…

No, she had to stop thinking of Hans like that… He was unattainable. He'd been Anna's. How could she disrespect her sister's memory like that, despite the fact that Hans had advanced on her? She was racked with enough guilt over Anna. Elsa didn't need another reason as to why she was a horrible sister.

"You're going to blow then all out of the water," Hans assured in her ear, giving the hand on his arm a light squeeze.

-

Hans would be able to like Elsa a bit more if it weren't always so damn cold around her. And while Hans was getting more used to a cooler climate, he still couldn't get behind the fact that he could see his breath practically wherever he went. Though it was unequivocally Elsa's fault, he still did pursue her.

She just needed to learn to control her powers, and he had to show her how.

Not that he actually knew how, but… he'd have to do some research, he knew.

Because the blanket of snow out in the royal cemetery wasn't the right setting for Anna's funeral, and people kept staring at Elsa, blaming her still for this winter.

To keep all the hatred off her, Hans used his new influence in Arendelle to fabricate a few lies—Anna had died at the hand of an ice harvester during her trek to save her sister at the palace, and that Hans was teaching Elsa how to control her powers. People still called their queen a monster, but the people were divided: there were the citizens who knew and respected the previous rulers, and the ones who didn't care about that; Elsa was a freak of nature and needed to be destroyed.

Hans knew, of course, that if he wanted Elsa and her powers, he needed the people to rally for her. That's what he hoped this eulogy and hymn would do; he needed Arendelle to love its queen again in order for him to be the king he wanted to be.

Elsa stood before the weighted coffin, speech in a shaky gloved hand as she faced her people. Hans, of course, followed her and stood by her side as he always did. After all, a few harmless rumors about them wouldn't hurt. If anything, Hans was sure it would push him and Elsa closer together. The pressure, especially on a queen who just wanted to do well by her people, would get to her, and with Hans as the only royal who didn't see her as a witch or a monster, would cave in around her.

After looking over at Elsa a moment, he gently placed a hand on her waist, trying to calm her and giver her enough confidence to deliver Anna's eulogy.

The people were dead silent, out of fear and curiosity, as many blamed her for what was going on in Arendelle.

Elsa took a deep breath, holding the parchment before her eyes. Hans could tell she was trying to keep her focus on her speech. The air, though cold, was completely still and peaceful.

"Citizens of Arendelle, we gather to celebrate the life of our recently passed princess: my sister, Anna of Arendelle," she announced, her voice already commanding attention. Every pair of eyes drew to her. "Despite her early departure from our world, Anna lived her life to the fullest, getting as much enjoyment out of everyday as she possibly could.

"Anna has been, and always will be, a part of me. Her energy surrounds me—surrounds Arendelle. Anna emits the spirit of our most positive selves; Anna brought out the best of us. She never saw us as bad natured, or horrid-tempered. She saw the good in humanity, the good in all of us. What we can hope to gain, from experiencing such a loss like this, is to find what Anna saw in us, and bring it to light. She did not see us as monsters, but as humans—and not just as humans, but as good-natured people. There's a sweet naiveté behind a mentality like Anna's, one I believe we can all try to emulate, at least a bit. In trying to live up to Anna's spirit, we can still feel her here, with us. Thank you."

Now, while Hans felt Elsa's eulogy was rather forced and a bit too optimistic, he also felt that maybe it was the right tone to go along with the people of Arendelle, who could use a speech like this in such a dark time. He just flashed her a soft smile, knowing it was time to move onto the hymn.

The whole eulogy could have been easily forgotten, though, as soon as Elsa let her voice waft over the crowd. They were all captivated, all mesmerized by the Queen's melodic voice and the way it carried every emotion she felt about her sister.

Some were in tears.

Some gaped at the Queen in shock.

Hans just felt shivers travel down his neck and spine. Haunting, ephemeral, absolutely stunning… Easily Elsa's best trait was her beautiful voice.

Once done, she was greeted in silence out of respect for the dead, though Hans could see in the corner of his eye as he led the Queen back to her seat, that people seemed quite tempted to burst into applause.

-

Elsa was just about ready to collapse on her bed in her funeral dress, that's how exhausted she was. After talking to too many people, hearing too many condolences over Anna, and shedding too many tears, Elsa just wanted to be alone.

Of course, wherever she went, Hans pretty much always followed. It wasn't getting annoying, per se, but other than at night Elsa saw him practically all the time…

Escorting her back to her room definitely wasn't an exception.

"I can't wait to just fall asleep," Elsa confessed, suppressing a yawn.

Hans chuckled a bit, patting the hand she had on his arm. "Shall I call some tea up?" he asked, stopping before her door. "I wanted to talk to you about something before you retire for the night."

It took a moment for Elsa to reply, as she wasn't sure what Hans wanted to talk about. She'd hoped it wasn't about what happened yesterday; Elsa knew how wrong it would be to give in to his affections. It wouldn't be in good taste. "Yes, that's fine," she told him with a nod, letting Hans into her frozen room.

She just wanted her corsets off, but Elsa also knew she couldn't expose herself so indecently…

Hans stopped a maid in the hallway, asking for tea to be brought up. Elsa sat on her bed, pulling her gloves off slowly and setting them on the nightstand for later. The lamps and candles in the room had already been lit completely. Kicking off her shoes, Elsa flexed her toes a bit and sighed. Already she was a bit more comfortable.

Hans joined Elsa by the bed, just standing before her. "You said you wanted to talk about something…?" she brought up, crossing her legs.

Shrugging, Hans took a few paces before Elsa, more engrossed with looking at the floor than at her. "I was thinking… we're both kind of on the same boat here…" he rambled, and Elsa looked up at him, confused.

After clearing his throat, Hans finally faced Elsa. There he went, with that incredibly sincere look…

"I want to help you control your powers," he announced suddenly, and Elsa's eyes widened in surprise.

"You don't know anything about my powers," she replied defensively, drawing her eyes down to her hands, which were perched palm up in her lap. "How could you possibly help me?"

Hans kneeled before Elsa, taking her hands gently in his gloved ones. Elsa realized she'd never seen him without them on… Slowly her eyes met his green ones. "I know your emotions control them," he said knowingly. "I know when you're fearful and timid they become more commanding, to the point where they become too out of hand. Obviously the key to controlling this is to unlock the emotion most associated with them… positively, anyway."

Blinking, Elsa stared at Hans, still wide-eyed. "You know all of that just from a few observations?" she asked in disbelief.

Hans nodded. "You're not entirely mysterious, Your Highness. After all, we have been spending quite a lot of time together." Was it just Elsa, or did his voice emit a bit of coyness?

At that, there was a knock at the door, and Hans withdrew to take the tray of tea from the maid. Placing it on Elsa's nightstand, he prepared to take his leave.

Not before taking her hand again, of course. "Consider it, won't you, Your Highness?" he asked, pressing a kiss to her hand.

"Of course, Hans," she murmured, watching as he left the room silently.

After all, what did she have to lose?