#ttfh

Because who desn't deserve a second chance ?

It had been almost an entire hour they had been discussing in the meeting room already. It was starting to become awfully boring, and even she, the Queen, couldn't deny it anymore.

  "Your Majesty," King Elias began, unable to keep his mouth shut for more than a couple of seconds. "I am once again truly sorry for my youngest brother's behav—" he apologized but was cut off mid sentence by Elsa's exasperated sigh.

  "I think I've had enough of this, King Elias..." she remarked flatly, trying to remain calm and look interested. "I have taken my decision, and the traitor, formerly Prince Hans, is going to stay here for as long as needed."

  What am I doing ?

  From the dark corner of the room, the strawberry blonde princess, irritated-looking, was patiently waiting and listening to whatever her sister and the King would say, Kristoff standing straight by her side.

  "Y—Your Majesty, I believe it would be wiser if I let you think about this until tomorrow and then—"

  "It's enough, there's no need to do that." she addressed him casually. "I am the one who takes decisions and give orders here, especially when it comes to the safety of my kingdom ; and I am a victim. Remember that you yourself told me I had the honour to decide of Hans punishment ?" she declared as she spared a glance sideways to Anna who frowned when she talked about victims. "Moreover, do you believe it is useful for me to remind you that the prisoner has already escaped once while in your custody ?" she added coldly in an attempt to impress the older King. "I'd rather keep him locked up in the dungeons of my castle than send him back with you to the Southern Isles for now."

  His eyes went darker, in an almost threatening way he tried his best to hide from her and the Council members who were attending and taking notes. For a second, she caught herself wondering what life might look like in his kingdom with a King as susceptible as he was. As he stayed silent, looking anywhere but at her, she cleared her throat.

  "Fine. This is settled, Your Majesty. I'll keep you informed about his state, if you want to, that is."

  She calmly rose from her seat and faced him again, locking eyes with his.

  "Still, you are free to stay here as you helped us find me and Hans, unless you do wish to do otherwise. I'll only ask you not to disobey my rules. I also have some things to discuss about, just you and I. It's about an important matter, King Elias." She offered, pulling her chair back against the huge wooden table. "But it will have to wait, there are some other things I need to fix up, too."

  A rather unpleasant sound escaped the King's lips, and it shoved away any attempt of interpretation. His hoarse voice didn't spare some time for her to even try to understand its meaning.

  "Your concern is much appreciated, Your Majesty,  albeit I wouldn't abuse of your hospitality, this is so politely offered that I cannot decline. And since you have some important matter to warn me about, I guess I will be able to stay here without transgress any of your rules." He thanked her and bowed slightly after standing up. "We won't leave until everything gets back to normal, and I would gladly welcome you to the Southern Isles once we will be done with this whole thing." He said, and it only made Anna's frown deepen.

  Something was wrong with the tone he used to answer. There was a little thing indescribable that caused her thoughts to overwhelm her. Moreover, if Elsa was thinking she would let her go there like that, she was mistaking herself.

  This whole thing.

  "I'll think about it, King Elias." she stated, giving him a polite smile which he replied by a grin that disappeared as soon as it had come.

  His words weren't clear for her, though. What was everything, or this whole thing supposed to mean ? Did he really consider his brother and his acts this way ?

          "You aren't going back to the Southern Isles." she repeated, a little louder this time.

  She hadn't thought he would react that hard. She expected to receive a polite thank you or at least some kind words muttered to her. It would've been enough. But no.

  "Until when ?" were the only words that came out of his mouth.

  He seemed to be more annoyed than thankful. And there was no teasing, no smirk curling up his lips, no glowing green eyes welcoming her and her news as she had expected. Nothing.

  "Until... I decide to send you back to your kingdom." she hesitated before steadying herself in front of him.

  She sighed.

  "What's bothering you again ?" she questioned, exasperated.

  She received as a reply nothing more than a sigh than looked exactly like the one that had just escaped from her lips.

  "You should understand that I can't bear being forced back in a cage. I've lived all my life in one." he stated, emotionless, looking at her with those hypnotizing eyes of his. "And you call this a life..." he mumbled to himself, and she could tell he didn't want her to hear it.

  "And what should I say ? I lived the same life !" she shouted back, irritated.

  Conceal, don't feel.

  He chose not to answer to that, he perfectly knew she had herself noticed she had crossed the limits. He had a childhood far worse than she had had. But it was nothing comparable.

  "Moreover, isn't it better than going back to were you were treated like shit ?" she blurted out to start back the conversation.

  He had to take conscience that he was given a chance by staying here.

  "Yeah, I guess nothing's worse than returning to the Southern Isles." he shrugged, burying his hands in his pockets and balling them into fists.

  She cautiously stepped forward, closing the gap between them.

  "Hans..." she breathed, gazing at her feet. "I didn't mean to hurt you or anything else..." she apologized.

  There was a short silence that was soon broken by the sweet sound of her voice.

  "I just wanted to give you the chance you never got." she confessed, blushing slightly, eyes still staring down at the cold ground covered in a thin layer of frost.

  His head turned in her direction. More than never he could see the woman that had endured so much, just like he had. He reached out a hand that he placed under her chin and lifted it slightly.

  "I'm sorry." he muttered, his eyes locked directly with hers, those he could still bear staring at for a lifetime. If not more.

  "I don't believe you'll remain locked up all day. I shall think about finding a job to occupy your days, or just... I don't, know, something to do that implies you can go outside." she declared, trying to avoid his gaze that couldn't leave her face.

  She was perfect, and this, no one could ever deny it. 

  Even tired as she seemed to be, she still looked gorgeous. The most beautiful creature he had ever laid his eyes on, albeit his brain was desperately trying to reason with his heart, they couldn't come to match ; his whole being was constantly a fight zone for them to determine which would be the strongest. He had never thought once his heart could beat his brain one day. But yet it did. More than once. And he was the first to be surprised about that.

  "Elsa, I..." he carefully spoke, but his soul couldn't come to chose the rights words."Thank you."

  It looked like those two were the rightest he could manage to say at the moment. And it literally sent shivers down his spine when her glimmering light blue eyes glanced up to meet his. And it seemed to do the same to her when she made eye contact with the emerald green of his irises.There was a way her name escaped his lips that would always made her blush like a teenager experiencing her first love adventure. But after all, had she ever known anything about love ? The closest contact she had always had was the touch of her clothes on her silk skin, that wasn't much of a suitor, was it ?

  Of course not, and his voice - a very pleasant one - reached her ears like a soft whisper that would affect her in some way she had never experienced before and she couldn't describe whenever she thought of it.

  And then she thought of her, the one who had never given up on her albeit they had spent so much time torn apart.The one she had left alone after her parents' death, when she had the opportunity to open the door for the first time in thirteen years. An opportunity she forgot to seize. And she still regretted it years after.

  I buried our parents alone !

  They would be ashamed to have a daughter who couldn't even face reality when it struck her in the face. A daughter who could finally be free, but who yet was reluctant to open a door she decided afterward not to open. A daughter who was born with a curse she couldn't control, arriving to the point where she would hurt her own family members. A daughter who didn't attend their funerals and left this whole responsibility as burden to carry onto her younger sister's shoulders.

  They say have courage, and I'm trying to...

  A younger sister who had forgiven her everything since the very first second she left her icy room to be crowned Queen of Arendelle.

  "Elsa ?"

  His voice awoke her from her trance, like a hand that had grabbed her arm, preventing her soul from falling down the cliff she was unsteadily standing on the edge of. Then, she noticed his fingers weren't under her chin anymore.

  "You looked... worried..." he confessed, his arm wrapped tightly around his body, shivering from the violent drastic drop of temperature. "You are cold as ice... I believe the sun itself would freeze at your touch." he said ironically, letting appear a shy smile he wanted to reflect on her pale face.

  She backed up a little and looked up to the ceiling, at last noticing the light snowfall that was already starting to cover the whole room under a layer of biting, immaculate snow coat.

  Love will thaw...

  But love wasn't something you could dispose of as you willed. It didn't work that way forever, and no matter how many times she waved her hand in an attempt to make it disappear, the snow remained still, like something that was actually meant to be here until the end of time. Unfortunately, she had to remove it before someone would show up and think the prisoner had bothered her.

  Seeing her getting angry after mere tiny snowflakes she had created with her own power kind of made him chuckle slightly, a hand before his mouth. It was a pleasant sound that didn't bother Elsa at all, but she wasn't prepared for this. She turned her head toward him, bursting in laughter.

  "What was that ?" she playfully asked, still encountering some troubles to calm herself down.

  "Uh, it was... nothing worth talking about." he hesitated, his eyes scanning the empty space throughout the entire cell, mouth agape.

  It cut their laughter short. The snow was gone. None of them had even got the time to notice it melting, it had completely disappeared. Nothing could've betrayed it, somebody who would be coming wouldn't have a clue that, seconds ago, the room had put on its winter cloak. Inside of the castle. Yes.

  A noise coming from the stairs drew her attention away, and for a few seconds, she didn't dare to utter a single word, nor did Hans.

  She carefully headed to the door, attempting to make no sound as she progressed slowly, making sure her ice heels wouldn't clack too louder on the stone floor. But, as she spared a last glance at Hans, he couldn't keep quiet for too long.

  "What's goin—"

  "Shhhh !" she whispered-yelled, pressing her forefinger over her lips and gazing threateningly at him, wide-eyed.

  He stood still in the middle of the cell, bringing his hands in the air before him before laying them back at his sides as she cautiously stepped forward. She peeked her head through the door and, seeing nobody around, she slowly disappeared in the corridor.

  He waited. What for ? A sound ? A glimpse of her platinum blonde locks ? Her light blue eyes, ice dress ? Some frost creeping up the walls ?

  A potential danger to save her from ?

  Whatever he was waiting for, it didn't come. He stood motionless for what seemed to last forever, not daring to break the silence, not daring to bounce to the door. He didn't even know for how long he remained frozen in time, alone. Or was it the time that was frozen ? It could've lasted an entire hour, days, or mere minutes, it made no difference at all to him. He couldn't even hear the usual tic-tack of the clock hanging on the wall where the guards used to always stay.

  It seemed to be even more silent than it had ever been, wherever he had found himself in, when