"ANNA! ANNA!"

His leg hurt even more from his descent down the snow-covered roofs of the palace, and with the cold winter wind biting at his face, he had never so cold in his life.

"ANNA!"

He knew his words were being drowned out by the wind, but it never hurt to try, despite the fact that every time he opened his mouth, it felt like he was being frozen from the inside out.

Oh… wait.

Glancing down, he noticed how the tips of his fingers were turning to ice. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he continued moving forwards, not aware that Anna was doing the same not too far away.

…..

"Anna!"

The cry was weak, but Anna heard it nonetheless, glancing around as the snow swirled all around her.

"Hans?! HANS!"

She ran off in the direction that she heard the call coming from.

…..

Elsa ran through the storm as quickly as she could, hands up in the air in a desperate attempt to step the snow from stinging her eyes. Behind her, she spotted three shadowed figures getting closer and closer.

"Elsa!" Caleb cried out, "You can't run away from this!"

"I don't care what you do to me!" She snarled back at them, "But Hans is my heir! You can't so anything to change that!"

"Your brother?" Caleb turned to his brothers in amusement, "He returned from the mountain, weak and cold. He said that you froze his heart!"

"No! I- "

"We tried everything, but it was too late."

Elsa felt like her own heart was breaking at the news as she desperately shook her head.

This couldn't be happening.

He couldn't be about to say what she always feared would happen.

"His skin was ice! His hair turned white… your brother is dead! Because of you!"

"No." Elsa felt like her limbs had turned to jelly, as she stumbled backwards, before falling to her knees. The instant her knees hit the ice, time seemed to freeze.

Snowflakes stopped mid-air and the wind stopped completely, clearing the air, meaning that everything could now be seen.

….

Hans couldn't move another inch. If it weren't for the fact that he was still breathing, he would believe that he'd turned into a solid block of ice.

And then he spotted someone in the distance.

"Anna!" He tried to call out, his voice only coming out as a whisper, as he tried to walk forwards.

"HANS!"

She ran towards him, and Hans couldn't help but sigh in relief… and then he heard the sword being unsheathed. Glancing over to the left, his eyes widened at the sight of Caleb striding towards the form of his crumpled sister, sword at the ready.

"Elsa." He whispered, glancing back at Anna as she slipped and slid on the ice in her effort to reach him.

He knew what he had to do.

Grunting in head, he used the last of his strength to reach his sister, skidding in front of the sword and holding up his cane to try and stop the blow.

"NO!"

He saw the sword coming towards him… and then everything went black.

….

Elsa heard the sword shatter and the three brothers cry out in alarm. Slowly, she opened up her eyes and turned to see what had happened.

The first thing she saw was the ice blue hand of her brother, stretched out as though trying to shield her.

"Hans!" She pushed herself to her feet, reaching out to touch her brother's cheeks, only to wince at the sensation of touching cold ice, "Oh, please no." She begged, throwing her arms around the frozen figure, "No, no, no! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"Hans?" She heard Princess Anna whisper behind her, clearly on the verge of crying herself.

"Hans, please." Elsa begged, starting to hum the old song she had heard her brother sing so often, outside her bedroom door.

"Yes, I want to build a snowman

I'm sorry that it took so long.

I didn't know, I needed you… I really do

And now you're gone.

Please just ask me once more

Just one more time… I promise I'll open the door.

Yes, I wanna build a snowman."

The quiet song echoed off the ice, as everyone bowed their heads in mourning.

And then Elsa felt the body she was curled around, soften and warm up, a quiet gasp escaping closely followed by a yelp of pain as Hans crumpled to the ground.

"HANS!" Elsa wrapped her arms around him, clinging onto him tightly, as his eyes widened in shock.

"E-Elsa? What are you- "

"- Why?" Elsa pulled away to look her brother in the eyes, "Why would you sacrifice yourself for me like that?"

"Well… You're my sister. I love you."

Behind them, Anna gasped. "That's it! An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart!"

"Love…" Elsa pushed herself to her feet, stretching out her arms as Hans frowned in confusion, "… of course."

The snow and ice started to rise into the air, a ship rising beneath their feet as a snowflake appeared in the sky, before disappearing, revealing the warm blue sky of summer again.

"I knew you could do it." Hans beamed, allowing himself to be helped to his feet, thankful that his cane hadn't been broken after blocking the sword with it.

And then they heard the groans and moans of pain from the three brothers. Elsa stepped forwards, a look of pure anger on her face, only for Anna and Hans to grab an arm each and hold her back.

"I think we can handle this." Anna beamed, striding over to her brothers, who stared at Hans in shock.

"Prince Hans?" Caleb whispered, "But… she froze your heart!"

"The only frozen heart around here is yours." Anna interjected, "And I will be telling Daddy about this."

"But- "

As Anna punched her oldest brother in the face, sending him careering into the sea, Hans tripped Rudi and Runo, until they went over the side of the ship as well, everyone cheering from the balconies.

Shyly, Hans turned back to his sister and held out his arms, beaming when she went in for yet another hug, Anna watching fondly from the side-lines.

…

Caleb, Rudi and Runo were sent home in disgrace with the King of the Southern Isle's promise that they would be severely punished for their actions.

Once the Duke of Weselton and his daughter were successfully thawed out, they too, were sent home in disgrace, the engagement broken off, as well as any trade agreements.

Hans eagerly led Anna through the streets as they avoided people and poles alike.

"So, did this Kristoff appreciate the new sledge you bought him?" Hans asked.

"Yep! He tried to return it, but I explained that the Prince's orders that he keep it." Anna smiled, "He said he was so happy that he could kiss me."

"D-Did he?"

Anna looked amused, "Why? Jealous."

Turning red, Hans tried to look away, only for Anna to grab his collar and pull him into a spine-tingling kiss.

"The only person I'm kissing, is you." She whispered, "Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good. Now come on, I think your sister is making an ice rink in the main courtyard!"

"Ice…. Great!"

….

"Ready?!"

The crowd cheered as Elsa beamed, slamming her foot down on the ground as ice covered the cobblestones. The water in the fountains froze into beautiful sculptures, and snow gently fell from the sky.

As the crowd all started to skate around, Hans slowly made his way over to his sister, almost falling into her arms.

"I think I'm going to practice making little paths for you." Elsa seemed unwilling to let him go just yet.

"I'll get used to it!" Hans protested, finally steadying himself and beaming at his sister, "I really like having the gates open."

"I promise, that we will never close them again." Elsa then smirked, "Now hold on." She grabbed her brothers' hands and started to skate backwards, giggling as Hans panicked slightly.

"Elsa, I- "

"- I've got you." She reassured him, "I've always got you."

A promise she was determined to keep.