Aftershocks

In the past, Anna trusted everyone without condition. Her parents, her sister, even when answers were secret and mysteries unsolved. The door to Elsa's room remained shut, the lock perpetually unyielding. Still the foundation of faith stayed firm, unheeding of the earthquakes to come. Of how the tremors' aftershocks would still rattle Anna's fragmented trust, the hairline cracks never quite leaving, their presence visible, even at their thinnest. If it weren't for Hans, perhaps this would never have happened. But now the damage was done, a permanent hairline fracture, and all because of twelve words: "Oh Anna…if only there was someone out there who loved you."

Sticks and stones leave brief grazes and bruises that soon heal and fade with time. As long as nothing vital was hurt, the injuries would leave. Heavens know that Anna had sustained a few from climbing trees, riding horses, and cuddling kittens a little too tight for their own comfort. Cat scratches and bumps sustained from being thrown off horses faded in no time. At worst, the deepest scratches would leave behind a faint scar, barely noticeable to the casual eye.

It was an ancient truth that words were potent, with a dual personality, able to embrace with warmth but also to slice deep into a heart with abject cruelty. Words could heal and they could harm. One sentence could sooth, but with just the simple subtraction or addition of a word, it could slice into the soul. Wounds of the flesh could be cleaned, bandaged, and kissed better by the loving lips of a mother, but how did one heal an injured heart? The eldest healers were both love and time, around long even before the human race first took form on Earth. But what these two ancient healers could not do was erase memories. They could smooth down the jagged edges of pain, soften the cutting knives of betrayal, and dull the ache of loss, but only death could truly remove memories for good.

So it was for Princess Anna, even weeks, months after the Great Thaw had elapsed. She loved Kristoff and Elsa, and knew in her heart of hearts that they would sooner die than deliberately hurt her. Still, a whisper echoed in her subconscious, the lingering remnants of Hans' cruel words that day in the library. Hans' words were lies, she knew that as well as anyone, and yet splinters remained, tiny and painful.

Of course Elsa loves me, Anna would remind herself when one of the splinters moved, and so does Kristoff. They have done so much for me, especially Elsa.

The first person to hear about these shards of pain still embedded in her soul was not Elsa, but Kristoff, during one of the pair's frequent get-togethers, often involving a picnic with much finishing of each other's sandwiches. Occasionally Kristoff's reindeer, Sven, would come along, but usually it was just Kristoff and Anna alone together. It was a beautiful thing, and Anna appreciated and desired his company.

One particular noon, Anna and Kristoff were huddled together side by side under the shade of a huge, ancient tree with copious leaves and branches dappling the ground with their shadows. Having put aside their finished picnic, saving the dessert for later, both had decided to spend some quiet time just sitting next to each other, enjoying their presence. It was in these precious moments that Anna settled into a peaceful silence, her ceaseless chatter stopped for a little while. Her little fingers would interlace, confident and strong, with Kristoff's fingers, holding on tight to his hand. He would return the gesture, holding her hand gently in his, bringing it up for a little kiss on her knuckles. Anna would then lean her head against his muscly, broad shoulder, the shoulder of an ice-harvester. A little sigh of contentment and pleasure would escape her lips as she closed her eyes, savouring Kristoff's presence, and his head leaning on hers in turn. The way he would gently plant kisses into her hair, inhaling her scent, grateful she was not lost to him forever, as he had feared that day not so long ago, when she had literally frozen solid in sacrificing herself to save Elsa's life.

It was just like so on this particular day, when Kristoff tenderly tucked two fingers under her chin, lifting her face so he could kiss her, see the way her eyes were bright with so much love and trust. But today, her smile seemed more wan than usual, her beautiful blue eyes not as wide with love. At the last moment, two azure eyes disappeared under closed eyelids, her lips brushing against his in the softest of kisses. Drawing her to him, one arm around her waist and the other cupping the back of her neck, Kristoff deepened the kiss, feeling Anna return it with equal fervour. His eyes closed, he was only aware of this beautiful young woman held in his protective arms, clasped to his chest, her heart beating against his.

Then she pulled back, her eyes opening, face lifting slightly so she gazed directly at him. Her smile showed she had taken pleasure in his kiss, but there was an unhappy shadow behind her expression. He brought his other hand to cup the other side of her neck, stroking his thumbs along her jawline, always so gentle with his Anna.

"Anna? Are you alright?"

Anna brought her hands up to touch Kristoff's arms, bowing her head with a small sigh. She didn't speak for a few seconds, before lifting her head up again, her fringe ruffling slightly in the swirling breeze around them. But then her mouth slowly curved into what she believed was a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine."

Kristoff still heard a tiny tremor in her words.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, well, it shouldn't be bothering me anyway."

Anna's hands caressed his arms as she moved them away to embrace him about the waist, her head lowering to lean against his chest.

"What's bothering you, Anna?"

"Just…something Hans had said," Anna explained, "I mean, it was two months ago, and I know you love me, and so does Elsa—I mean that Elsa loves me, and you. Wait, what?"

Unease stirred in Kristoff at hearing her babbled words.

"What did Hans say?"

Anna took a deep breath. "Told me…" Her words faded away.

"You can tell me anything, feisty pants."

"I know."

Kristoff's voice turned a little sharper, but only out of worry for whatever Hans had done to Anna.

"What did he do to you?"

"I know it's not true, but I still can't help but think of what he said to me."

"What did he say?"

"He said…" Here, Anna's arms wound tighter, clinging on to Kristoff for dear life. Kristoff wrapped his arms around her, bestowing kisses on her head, a brief nuzzling into her hair.

"He told me no one loved me."

He jerked his head up, accidentally smacking it against the tree trunk behind him.

"What?" Kristoff shifted his arms and brought a hand under Anna's chin, cupping it, lifting her face so she gazed into his eyes. "Anna, that is absolutely not true! You know I love you, and that Elsa loves you too."

Anna withdrew a hand to clasp one of Kristoff's. The ice harvester grasped her hand between his own bigger ones. Her hand was so much smaller than his, but still warm and almost fragile. But that fragile little hand, he knew, could deliver an impressive punch, as he saw once not so long ago.

"Some days, when Elsa is really busy with her duties, I worry that she may shut the door again, as she had for thirteen years."

Kristoff squeezed her hand, "I think now she has her sister back, she will always leave the door open for you when you need her. There are no more shut doors between you, and I know she would do anything to know you're happy and safe." Kristoff paused, hesitating before in a rush, "You're safe with me too."

Anna smiled up at him, "I know, Kristoff, but I still have days where I worry it will happen again. Elsa shutting me out, you going away and…and…"

"And what?"

A near whisper, "Never come back."

Kristoff unclasped her hand and pulled her into a strong embrace, the fingers of one hand reaching to stroke her hair.

"I will always return for you, Anna. Always. You know that as well as anyone else. And anyway, even if I didn't, Sven would drag me back to Arendelle kicking and screaming."

Anna giggled at the image of Sven dragging a reluctant Kristoff back from the mountains all the way back to Arendelle.

"There, feisty pants," Kristoff said, clearly relieved she was a little cheerier, "I made you laugh."

Anna smiled against his chest. "I want to see that."

"See what?"

"Sven dragging you kicking and screaming back to Arendelle," Anna admitted, a little note of teasing in her words, "I'm gonna tell him."

Kristoff playfully tapped her nose with a finger, rewarded with another smile from her, "Don't you dare."

Anna's warmth still rested flush against him, but Kristoff could not tell if her thoughts had been relieved of their subconscious worry.

"Anna, you don't still think about Hans do you?"

"Sometimes…but only when I think of what he said to me."

"You shouldn't do that…you know what he said wasn't true."

A small sniffle. "I used to trust without condition…and now…I don't know."

He broke her trust, Kristoff seethed, my loving Anna's trust.

He remembered how trusting Anna had been that he would take her up to the North Mountain. He had been a stranger, but she'd shown no fear or caution despite this. She'd never wavered in trusting that he wouldn't let her down, even after his sled was destroyed. Only when Hans had betrayed her, it seemed, her trust then crumbled like a house caught in an earthquake.

"I trust you, of course," Anna assured, "and I trust Elsa, yet, sometimes it's like that trust just…you know…shakes a little."

Because of Hans, her trust isn't as strong as it used to be. Because of that man, she can't trust as readily again.

Kristoff wrapped his arms around Anna, holding her to his chest, not wanting to ever let go. If Hans ever came back, he would personally run him over with his sled (with reindeer attached). How dare he hurt his Anna, how dare he shatter her trust, leaving her to pick up the pieces! Even if her trust was fully intact again, the hairline cracks would still be there. He wanted to make her happy, to see her cheery smile, her energetic mannerisms and movements. He wanted Anna to be safe, to know she will never be harmed, as long as she had Elsa and himself around. Anna deserved to be loved, she didn't deserve what Hans did to her.

No one deserves it, Kristoff realised, No one deserves their trust to be betrayed. Not someone as loving as Anna.

He kissed her on the forehead, letting his lips linger on her flesh there. "The first time I knew I loved you, Anna," he whispered, "was when you threw that snowball at…what was its name again?"

Anna looked up at him, "You mean Marshmallow?"

Kristoff nodded, remembering Olaf's nickname for the giant snow monster. "Yeah, him. When you threw that snowball at Marshmallow, I knew then I loved you."

Anna's face alighted with her grin, her eyes now happier and brighter. "You did?"

"Hey, who else but you would throw a snowball at a giant, angry snow monster?"

Anna snorted, her laughter bubbling from her lips. "Kristoff!"

Kristoff tucked an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear, now smiling himself, happy that she was her cheery self again.

"Only you, feisty pants, and that's why I love you. Who wouldn't love someone fearless enough to risk a giant snowman's anger by throwing snowballs at him?"

"And you," Anna poked his chest playfully with a finger, "Who else but you would sing duets and hold conversations with his reindeer?"

"Hey!" Kristoff protested, but he grinned all the same, glad, so glad that Anna, even despite her fractured trust, could still trust him so.

Even if she was troubled by the past, haunted by ghosts that still lurked in her soul, Anna would always be Anna. The same, trusting, beautiful Anna he had met not so long ago, demanding him to take her up the North Mountain, even if her trust would never fully heal, he would always love her.

Always.