I'm Afraid of What I'm Risking if I Follow You

Part 12

"I deserved it," he sighed. "But I've felt worse. Especially after Yelena told me about the spirits. And after you..."

Eyes widening, Elsa shushed him. "Not here," she decided, looking around. Sure, everyone was engrossed in their own tasks, whether it was children playing, fishing at the river, gathering firewood for the evening... but she wanted this to be private. She had to figure this out away from prying eyes, even if she trusted every soul here.

"You're right," he said. "Lead the way."

They seemed to kind of have their own... spot now. Somewhere further in the woods, downstream. A clearing for them to sit by the river, naturally taking their shoes off, dipping their feet in the water. But they'd been here so often since the Northuldra found him, that they seemed to gravitate here almost naturally. First Elsa did it out of contempt, to keep watching him, but now...

"The kiss broke the ice," he stated. "You can try to deny it, but I know that's what it was. I could feel it—dunno if it was just a beat, but... it happened."

"Well... Bruni dove down there first. I couldn't just let him be alone." Elsa looked down at her feet. "I heard what your mother said. It must have been difficult to hear her confirm all your suspicions before you were even born."

"In a way, it's a little cathartic, to know the truth," Hans confessed. "Even at what it cost."

Elsa supposed she understood that sentiment, the first time she ventured down. She figured out the truth about her grandfather, why her mother saving her father had been so important to the spirits. She just nodded. "I've never been cold until I dove into Ahtohallan. It's such a strange, foreign feeling. I hated it."

"Well... welcome to how most of us feel every winter," Hans teased, nudging her lightly. Bruni nuzzled into him, as if to respond.

"I bet Bruni's never felt cold before then, either," Elsa pointed out. Bruni stuck his tongue out in agreement.

"He's feeling a little warmer now," he confessed, looking over at the little salamander. "I guess this curse is breaking, albeit slowly." Hans dared to even take her hand, reaching over. To be fair, they were sitting relatively close. "Thanks to you."

Elsa shook her head. "I'm just doing what's right. The spirits have taken a liking to you, and acted up once you were frozen."

"And you?" He squeezed her hand a little tighter. "I suppose it's foolish of me to think anything of what happened, but I thought, with how we've been growing closer..."

Elsa sighed, she hated confronting this. But it was inevitable, after... Closing her eyes, she thought about what she wanted out of all this, her conversation with Yelena. "Hans... I do want to help break your curse," she confessed. "But don't you wonder about the others out there like you? The cursed ones, thirteenth children, conceived more from magic? What if... we could help them?"

Looking up, she watched Hans tilt his head. "We?" he repeated. "As in... teaming up together?"

"Don't make me say it again." She flushed. "But hearing about Moana, and how you're not the only one... Much as I love learning about the Northuldra, and where my mother hails from, and being in tune with all the spirits..."

"Elsa, you weren't meant to stay here forever," Hans assured. "I could have told you that from the beginning, but you refused to believe me."

She just nudged him again. "I'm incredibly stubborn," she said, and she hadn't done nothing to get rid of the hand on hers. "But it took all this... to see that's true. I want to find the others like you and help them. I... want to meet Moana, if that's even possible."

"With the things you can do, it's possible," Hans replied. "Had I not been so stupid and selfish, and just thought for a moment... I would have drawn the same conclusion. Eventually."

Maybe Elsa could play devil's advocate for a moment. "Well, with the hell the majority your life has been, I suppose I understand why you did what you did." Elsa rolled her eyes, but there was a playful glint behind it. "Doesn't make it any less foolish. All the pieces to breaking your curse are there. Now it's just a matter of time."

"Well..." Hans inclined a little closer. "You might just be a key component in breaking that curse."

Her breath hitched, and she certainly wasn't prepared. Elsa leaned away a little too much, and stumbled into the river. Hans, who still had his hand on hers rather tightly, got dragged under a moment later. Bruni leapt off his shoulder to the ledge

When they both resurfaced in the shallow end, both able to stand. And then... Hans laughed. Not maliciously, not in that cryptic way that had her worrying. But a good, healthy laugh, one she'd yet to hear from him. He flicked his ponytail over his shoulder and stepped a little closer to her.

She allowed it, her lips parting slightly. The sincerity was there, in those green eyes. Eyes that didn't see her as some otherworldly spirit or a former Queen. Just... Elsa. Elsa, who could help break his curse. Who was starting to get to know this man who was finally starting his life, after his mother had tried to dictate it for so long.

"I like you," he decided, cupping her face gently. "You're unhinged, now, more beautiful, sure of yourself. And yet you... want to do this together? Despite it all?"

Elsa nodded, finding herself leaning in. Hans was finally shedding his former life, and she was there to witness it. "Together," she agreed, her heart pounding.

He closed the gap, his lips soft and sure. And Elsa leaned into it, daring to rest her hands on his chest.

There was a warmth under her palm not even she could place, the cloudiness in his curse clearing up just the barest bit.