Kristoff knocked softly on the door, shifting his weight from one foot to another as he waited anxiously for an answer. A few agonizing seconds later, the door opened slowly, just wide enough for Anna's puffy, tear-stained face to appear.

"Oh Anna," Kristoff cupped her face with his large hand, brushing away a falling tear with his thumb. "Please talk to me."

Anna nodded her head, biting her lip to keep the sobs from escaping. She stepped aside to let the substantial figure of her newly minted fiancé into the room. She closed the door behind him with a soft click, and turning around to meet him she was greeted with strong arms wrapping around her. One arm looped around her waist, and the other hand rubbed her back, the warmth of it soothing and calming her. She sank into him, nestling into his solid frame. She felt safe there, loved.

They didn't speak for a while, just holding each other, but Anna could feel the tension threaded throughout Kristoff's body. She also felt he needed an explanation as to why she left their engagement ball like she did. She sighed heavily, clearing her throat as she prepared to begin.

"Kristoff, I- I owe you an explanation." She began, but he cut her off.

"Anna, please don't feel you have to explain. I think I know what's going on." He sighed now, pulling away from her slightly to look her in the eye.

"Y- you do?"

"Yes, I do." He took her by the hand and led her to the nearby chaise, motioning for her to sit. Sitting beside her, he took her hand in his and held her gaze, his brown eyes intense.

"This… is about Hans, isn't it?" He hesitated slightly, but pushed through, his eyes never leaving her face.

Anna opened her mouth in shock, words escaping her. She finally dropped her gaze, shaking her head.

"H- how did you know?" she whispered.

Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck, and Anna suddenly noticed the creases in his brow, the dark bags under his eyes, and she felt a pang of guilt stab her in the heart.

"Ever since I proposed, you've been acting… different." He started, and fixed Anna with such a pained expression that her breath hitched.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed, and would have broken down more had Kristoff not taken both her hands in his, squeezing them and looking deeply into her eyes.

"No! Please don't apologize! I understand now." He stroked her face, tucking wayward strands of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. "Actually, I didn't understand at the time, but Elsa helped me."

"She did?" Anna was surprised. She had seen her sister and Kristoff interact casually, but she had no idea they had talked about such emotionally charged things.

"Yes, well, I didn't know what was happening. After I proposed, I thought you would be happy, but then you had gone to your room saying you weren't feeling well, and I got scared. Elsa found me pacing in the parlour, and uh, after much cajoling," Kristoff bowed his head sheepishly, "I finally told her what happened."

"What did she say?" Anna tilted her head in his direction, clearly anxious to find out what her sister had said.

"She told me you would probably be dealing with the fallout from what happened with Hans." Kristoff paused, shooting a tentative glance in Anna's direction. Anna only nodded her head, so Kristoff continued, "She said that it would probably bring up some painful memories, but that it had nothing to do with me, or the way you felt about me."

Anna nodded her head, absent-mindedly playing with the end of one of her braids. Kristoff watched her intently, unsure of how his words would affect her. She stood up and walked towards the window, Kristoff's eyes following her.

"She's right." Anna said softly, gazing out at the fjord, "My sister knows me so well, even after so many years apart." She bowed her head, fisting the front of her skirt in her hands.

"Hans was a scheming bastard, and he doesn't deserve another moment of my time, but he really got to me. He really made me doubt myself, doubt my abilities, my judgment." She stopped roughing up her skirt and started smoothing it now, running a flat palm against the rumpled fabric.

"But then you were there, and you loved me, and dispelled every doubt I ever had about myself that he had brought on, and I was happy." She turned to face him, bringing her hands up to her heart, a radiant smile finally breaking through.

"And then I proposed, and it threw you back to that time." Kristoff said, not unkindly, but just to help connect the thoughts, as much in his mind as in hers.

"Yes." Anna replied, smile fading, "Even though it was completely different, even though we've been together much longer, I just couldn't help it. I thought back to his proposal, and how earnest he had been, how I had wanted it so much. And then how it had ended, so very badly, because I was a stupid fool." She dropped her face into her hands, the sobs finally bursting from her, and Kristoff crossed to her in two long strides, gathering her into his arms.

"Next time, please let me hit him." He said through gritted teeth.

The following morning, they had been enjoying a lovely breakfast when Kai unexpectedly rushed into the dining room, stopping at the queen's chair and whispering urgently into her ear. Kristoff and Anna exchanged confused looks, their spoons hovering in mid-air.

Elsa had suddenly straightened up, her face pulled hastily into her unreadable queenly mask, and excused herself from the table. The only outward sign that anything was amiss was the faint trail of frost that followed her out the door.

"What do you think that was about?" Kristoff stood rooted at his spot, turning towards Anna. She had moved to the window, looking out towards the harbor.

"Oh no." The words had slipped shakily from her mouth before she covered it with her hand. Outside at the docks, a ship was moored, flying the familiar flag of the Southern Isles.

Elsa hurried along the pier, the frost trailing behind her crusting over to ice the closer she got to the ship. She no longer cared about the hushed voices and concerned stares as she made her way, she only wanted to get to the ship, and send it swiftly back to where it came from.

Prince Hans is here, Kai had told her, his face ashen.

He gave no prior notice that he was arriving. He says he's here to congratulate Princess Anna on her engagement.

Elsa's hands balled into fists, small shards of ice falling to the ground. Her anger threatened to overwhelm her, and she managed to calm herself to the point where the shards no longer emanated from her hands, as she took notice of the children gathering at the pier, their faces upturned. Ice remained on the ground behind her, however, and as soon as she passed the children screamed gleefully as they slid around on the temporarily slippery surface.

Elsa's heart softened slightly as she heard the children's laughter. Above all, she was a queen, and no matter how she felt about Prince Hans, she would have to conduct herself appropriately. She must be a role model to these youngsters, a queen her subjects could respect and admire-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a large mass of a person shoving past her, evidently more eager to get to the ship in question than she was. She opened her mouth to reprimand this ill-mannered citizen, when she looked up and recognized who it was. She stopped in her tracks, a smile curling on her lips.

When he heard Anna say where the ship was from, he was out the door without a thought. He could hear Anna shouting behind him, Kai's concerned voice following, but he only had one singular purpose clouding his brain. His long strides left them all behind, their attempts to catch up to him hopeless.

When Kristoff reached the pier, he saw Elsa up ahead, but while she seemed distracted by some children playing about, he looked forward and locked eyes with the object of his rancor. Prince Hans was standing on the pier beside his ship, surrounded by a few Arendellian guards no doubt dispatched by Kai as he had rushed up to the castle.

Prince Hans' eyes betrayed no emotion as he stood on the pier, his hands folded behind his back, boots polished, dressed impeccably. Kristoff could feel the heat prickle his skin, never taking his eyes away from the prince, as he barreled on. It barely registered that he had brushed the queen of Arendelle aside, bent as he was on his mission.

Anna ran as fast as she had ever run in her life, but she still couldn't catch up to the swift-moving mountain that was her fiancé. Beads of sweat formed on her brow, both from exertion and from the thought of what Kristoff might do once he reached Hans. Anna hoped that Elsa had gotten to him first, but this wish was crushed when she reached the pier and saw Elsa standing to one side.

"Elsa!" Anna called, and she wondered why Elsa wasn't responding to her. She followed Elsa's gaze and her heart sank at what she saw. Kristoff was only mere steps away from Hans. In a few seconds, a confrontation would be inevitable.

"Kristoff!" Anna tried to run past Elsa in order to stop him, but Elsa suddenly reached out an arm to hold Anna back. Anna looked at her incredulously, her mouth falling open in shock.

"It's alright." Elsa said calmly, and motioned towards the oncoming confrontation, "Let him."

The sisters watched as Kristoff finally reached Hans. At his approach the guards stepped back, leaving a wide opening for him to step through. Hans observed the whole thing with a bemused air, certainly never expecting the ice harvester to swoop through, right fist raised. Up until Kristoff's fist connected with his jaw, Hans was convinced that no one would have the gall to even attempt to do what Kristoff was doing. And indeed, as the pain started to reverberate through his jaw bone he was aghast as to how a queen could let her subjects behave in such a manner. His last thought, as he was falling into the fjord for a second time, was regret at having come to Arendelle at all.