#kristanna son

[avitha]

A Good Listener

Stefan and Romeo

[kristannafever]

Big Sky Ranch - 15

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 3404

Chapter Index

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Anna was nervous about meeting Mr. Weadick’s daughter.  The old man had been extra surly all afternoon.  At least the dinner he’d requested, the Beef Stroganoff dish she’d done for him on her first day, was an easy one.

Weadick was in the great room, pacing back and forth in front of the large stone fireplace while Anna was in the kitchen.  Everything was ready and prepped to begin when the guests arrived.  She let herself daydream a bit since there wasn’t much to do until she was set to start cooking.

It was ten minutes after they were set to arrive before the bell finally rang.  Anna went to the door, straightening her apron and her ponytail as she did so.  Pausing, she pulled in a deep, settling breath, then opened the door.

She smiled at them.  “Good evening.”

Weadick’s daughter, Alyssa, was statuesque.  Her long brunette locks fell over her shoulders in thick waves.  She was dressed in a tight midnight-blue, knee length dress that hugged her generous curves, with matching colour stiletto heels.  Her make up was bold, with smoky eyes and red lipstick. 

She furrowed her brows at Anna.  “Who are you?”

“Alyssa,” came a warning from the down the main hall.  Mr. Weadick strode up to them, his face hard.  “This is, Anna.  My new cook.”

Alyssa’s face morphed into a huge grin.  “Hello, Daddy.”  She clicked forward on her heels and pulled her father into a hug.

Her husband followed her in, barely glancing in Anna’s direction.  He was almost a perfect match to his wife; tall, brunette and dressed in a sharp charcoal grey suit with shiny black wingtip shoes.

He went up to Mr. Weadick and stuck out his hand.  “Art, nice to see you again.”

“Dale,” Weadick replied in a somewhat unpleasant tone.

Anna waited until Mr. Weadick threw her a glance.  She knew his first name was Arthur, Kristoff and the boys all told her, but she hadn’t known he went by Art.  Not that would serve her any use, she would always address him formally. 

“Can I get anyone some cocktails?” she asked the group when he gave her the signal with his eyes.

“Sauvignon Blanc,” Alyssa demanded, then turned to walk into the great room.

Her husband, Dale, looked at her as if he was bored.  “Negroni.  Plenty of ice.”

Anna nodded and looked to Mr. Weadick.  “My usual, please,” he said, enunciating the last word that his guests didn’t seem to know.

She went past the kitchen where a wet bar sat off the wide main hallway.  Mr. Weadick had already given her a heads up on what they were going to ask for and she had prepped it all.  She made the drinks quickly and set them on a tray.  After carefully balancing it on her right hand, she grabbed a stack of cocktail napkins and went to the great room.

Working quickly, she set the drinks on the coffee table in front of the three people who were talking about something that Alyssa and Dale did for work.  After the rather cool reception she’d received from the two, she didn’t have much of a desire to listen to what was being said.

As instructed by Mr. Weadick, Anna went to begin dinner straight away, breaking only to peek in the room to see if anyone needed a refill on their drinks.  The first time she checked, Alyssa’s glass was almost empty, and Anna rushed to grab the chilled bottle of wine and refilled it.  Dale was drinking his cocktail slowly and Mr. Weadick already told her he would have his refill when dinner began.

Anna had the table set and when the food was done, she lined it all up with the serving dishes and went to announce that dinner was ready.  She went back to the lavish dining room and waited as the three people filtered in and took their seats.

Mr. Weadick sat at the head and his daughter and son-in law lined up on the side of the table to his left.  Anna was ready for when Alyssa sat down and asked if she would like some more wine as her glass was empty again.  She nodded, and Anna tipped the bottle into her glass and poured.

“Let’s get down to business, Daddy,” Alyssa started as soon as Anna went over to the cart to place the serving dishes on the table, starting with Mr. Weadick.

“Can we dish in first?” he asked tiredly, and reached for the buttered egg noodles Anna had just set down.

Alyssa looked down at the food he was putting on his plate and her eye snapped into the back of her head.  “Ugh, Beef Stroganoff again?”

Mr. Weadick’s face turned down into a frown and he kept dishing in, then passed the dish to Alyssa without a word.

“You know what you should try, Art,” Dale said, “Butter Chicken on rice.  It’s delicious.”

Alyssa’s eyes went wide.  “Oh yes, it is fantastic.  There is a place we order from all the time that has the best Indian food.”

Mr. Weadick said nothing as he scooped some of the stroganoff onto his noodles.

“Or maybe next time we can just bring some sushi?” Dale added, looking like he thought himself the most helpful guy in the room. 

“Pretty much anything is better than this old recipe.”  His wife sneered, putting a measly portion of noodles on her plate and skipping the meat entirely.

Anna set the bowl of salad and the garlic rolls next to Mr. Weadick and took her leave of the room to grab him the refill on his drink.  She was just about back to the table with a fresh glass when she heard Alyssa’s harsh whispers from just outside the entrance to the dining room.

“… young.  Seriously, Dad, what are you doing with her?”

“She is my cook, Alyssa.”

“Right, like that’s all she does.”

“There is absolutely nothing going on.  She lives with her boyfriend on the ranch, now drop it!” he said, sounding exasperated and on the verge of real anger.

“In one of the ranch houses?”  She cackled, her husband joining her.  “I’m sure a pretty little thing like her has already gone through all those men.”

Anna wasn’t sure what to do.  Her face was burning with embarrassment and anger, and she couldn’t keep loitering just outside the door.  Mr. Weadick would be wondering about his drink.

“What kind of place are you running here, Art?” Dale asked him.

“Not that anyone here needs defending, but she’s living with the fellow who’s in the cabin if you really must know all the details.  They are in a serious relationship and there is no such tomfoolery like that going on on my ranch!”

Anna used her free hand to wave her hand in front of her face to cool it.  Mr. Weadick was letting more anger into his tone now, making her increasingly nervous.

“Why do you let him stay there anyway?” Alyssa sneered.  “You were supposed to tear that place down.  That’s a prime spot for the estate lots with the creek running through it.”

“Because he took the time to fix that place up himself,” Mr. Weadick answered.

“Why?”

“Because he cares, Alyssa.  He cares more about this ranch and its history than you do.  Now if you want to get down to business, drop it!”

Anna waited for them to start talking about their business then walked brisky into the room like she’d been hurrying.  “Apologies on your refill, Mr. Weadick.”  She set the glass down and picked up his empty one.  “I had to run down to the cellar to grab a new bottle.”

Mr. Weadick looked quickly up at her.  He knew damn well she had only opened the bottle that evening for the nip he had before his daughter arrived.  Anna didn’t want to lie to him though by pretending she hadn’t heard.  She felt like it would bite her in the ass if she did, and she really did love her job.

“Can I get anyone else anything?” Anna asked the other two people at the table.

They both silently waived her off and Anna hurried back to the kitchen.

-----

They cleared out back to the great room as Anna cleaned up the last of the items from the dinner table.  Anytime she was in the room during serving, the conversation was tense.  She tried her best not to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to listen to three people argue as she cleared their dinner plates. 

Mostly it was about breaking up the ranch, half of the entire thing to start with, and selling that portion as estate lots.  The back and forth went on right up until the very end of dinner when Mr. Weadick shut the discussions down and asked his daughter a very pointed question.

“You’re never having kids, are you, Alyssa?”

She’d scowled at him and crossed her arms.  “Hell no.  I already had my tubes tied.”

Mr. Weadick had looked surprised and saddened by that news.  Then he dropped the conversation and Alyssa launched into how much money they could make with estate lots again.  Anna left quickly and returned with the plates of pie that she was very proud of, refilled the water glasses, then hid in the kitchen until they moved their conversation to the great room.

When the dishwasher was full, Anna set it to run then went about washing all the large serving dishes.  She was just finished drying the last of them when she heard Mr. Weadick saying goodbye to them at the front door.

She was putting all the dishes back in the cupboard when he walked slowly into the kitchen.  He sat at the island and looked at her.  “I apologize, Anna, for what you overheard.”

“It’s okay, Mr. Weadick.”  She walked around the island and stood across it from him. 

“Her behavior is getting worse.  She is pressuring hard for me to sell.  She doesn’t care at all how long it’s been in our family.”

“What will you do?” Anna asked tentatively, unsure how much she should press.

His mouth turned into a firm line.  “Deal with it.”  He nodded once to himself, stood, and left the room.

Anna was a little nervous with such a terse reply.  She would not ask him about it again.  She looked around the kitchen to make sure all the dishes were dealt with, then added the apron and kitchen towels she’d used that day into a hamper in the corner of the large walk-in pantry to clean later.  Then she let herself out the kitchen door and locked it with a key she’d been given for when the evening was finished.

She hurried to her car and drove quickly to the cabin, anticipation eating away at her to see Kristoff again.  They’d all eaten their supper together with the other hands like usual, only a little earlier since they knew Anna had to work, and she was appreciative of the offer.  She did find herself a little peckish now however, having worked all evening.

It was no surprise that Kristoff was sitting in one of the chairs on the deck of the cabin as she pulled up, her headlights illuminated his wonderful smile.  He set his guitar down and stood when Anna got out of her car and walked up the steps.

“How was it?” he asked and pulled her into a hug.

“Oh my God,” she said, exasperated.  “That is a story.  But first, I need my fix.”

She wrapped her hands tight around his neck to lift herself up to kiss him.  Halfway there, he grabbed her waist and brought her lips the rest of the way to his.

*****

Anna was sitting back against his chest on the couch as they listened to country music playing quietly from the radio in the kitchen.  It was some local station playing new country songs that he liked.  While Sven was all about the satellite radio, Kristoff didn’t mind the commercial breaks on the local FM too much to bother with getting it himself.

They were nibbling on a bowl of chips in her lap while she filled him in on the awkward dinner.  Kristoff also found it interesting that he’d asked Anna about if her and Kristoff were thinking about having kids.  He knew the old man wished he had a grandkid to leave the ranch to.  He’d said as much one night when it was just him, Buck and Sven, on one of the rare times he came to have a drink with the ranch hands. 

“So, circling back to that weird conversation I had with him,” Anna said, “to clarify, you do want to get married.  Right?”

He chuckled, Anna bobbing up and down against his chest.  “Of course, I do.”

She twisted her torso sideways from where she was sitting between his legs and placed a kiss on his chin.  “Good.  Me too.”

“What kind of wedding would you want?  Some fancy do?”

“Maybe once,” she answered, her voice holding a touch of sadness.  “Not anymore.  The person I used to be…”  She shook her head.  “I’ve changed, Kristoff.  And all of it for the better.  I love life here.  I love working with you on this ranch.  I love the town and the foothills and the backdrop of the mountains.  Do you know what my life was like in the city before I came out here?”

“No.”  He had been curious, only he didn’t want to bring it up for fear that it would trigger some more anger in him if she mentioned again about being mistreated by her ex.  Apparently, he hadn’t worked on toning down his intense protectiveness.

“I’d wake up at seven, make breakfast, serve breakfast, clean up from breakfast, walk three blocks to the office, change into my heels, work nine to five chained to my desk, come home, make dinner, clean up from dinner, run on the treadmill, have one or two hours of leisure time, then go to bed.”

“That sounds awful,” Kristoff said, and he meant it.

She laughed halfheartedly.  “It was, Kristoff.  It was.  I didn’t realize how much of a hamster in a wheel I had become.  Not only that, I let my ex control a lot of my life.”

His body tensed involuntarily, and Anna put her hand on the side of his thigh, snuggling her back further against him.  “I’m going to say this once, Kristoff, so I can get it off my chest and we can never have to think about it ever again.”

He relaxed his body as best he could and sighed.  “Okay.”

“I let my ex control our lives, because I thought that’s what success meant.  Does that make sense?”

He shook his head.  “No, I’m sorry.  I don’t understand.”

“When you live a life like that, success looks a certain way.  It’s the work promotions, and the house, and the car, and the fancy dinner parties where everyone brags about how great their lives are.  It’s flaunting your accomplishments for everyone to see.”

“Ah,” he said, finally understanding what she was getting at. 

“The thing is, that was not the success in life I was looking for.  I didn’t realize that until I had a pregnancy scare.”

Kristoff pulled in a steadying breath, knowing this was going to be difficult for him to hear but that Anna needed to get it out.

“I was four days late, which is rare for me.  I told my ex I was going to take a pregnancy test, and he was livid.  He wouldn’t even talk to me.  He blamed me for forgetting to take my birth control pills, which I told him I didn’t, then stormed out of the apartment.  After that I marched down to a pharmacy and got myself every brand of test they had, and they all came up negative.   He disappeared for that entire weekend, ignoring all my calls and messages that I was not, in fact, pregnant.  And I even got my period the next day, so I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wasn’t.”

“Fuckin’ piece of fuckin’ shit,” Kristoff muttered unable to help himself.

Anna chuckled lightly.  “He definitely is.  When he got back on Sunday night, he apologized and said he was sacred and that he’d just freaked out.  I was still mad, so things were a little tense, and we didn’t talk much.  Then a couple of days later when he was supposed to be out at a work luncheon, I came home on my break to get more tampons for my work stash and found him in bed with another woman.”

He let out a frustrated sigh but held his mouth.

“After I confronted him, I found out he’d been cheating the whole time we were together.  Some bimbo that worked in an office a floor down from ours, who was also cheating on her husband.  Who knows how many times they fucked each other in that building.”

The corner of Kristoff’s lip turned up in a smile, despite her story.  He liked it when she cursed, and she was doing it a lot more often since she was hanging out with all the guys.

“Anyway,” Anna continued, “I moved out to my own tiny little apartment and found a new job.  Then I just gave up on life for a bit and came home every day to watch TV and eat ice cream.   It went on way too long.  Then one day, there was this commercial for supporting local dairy farms, of all things, and I decided to hell with the city.  I am going to move to a small town and make a go at it.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.  If you don’t know already, I am rather impulsive at times.”

He chuckled.  “I did pick up on that actually.”

She giggled halfheartedly, then heaved a heavy sigh.  “I wasn’t sure what to think when I first got here.  I took a couple days to orient myself to the town then went looking for work.  Those first few days though… I did a lot of thinking.  And I realized something I should have picked up on immediately.”

“What was that?” he asked, when she paused.

“If I had been pregnant, my ex would have absolutely asked me to end it.”

“Jesus…”

She was nodding against his chest.  “I know.  We never actually had that conversation, but part of me just knew he would never want kids.  He loves his lavish lifestyle too much.  If I hadn’t texted him and left voicemails when he disappeared that weekend to tell him that I absolutely wasn’t pregnant, he would have come in and told me he wanted me to terminate it.”

Anna pulled in a shaky breath and Kristoff knew right away that she was on the verge of tears.  He was about to move to get up and comfort her, when she pulled off his chest and put the leg that had been stretched out along the sofa with his onto the floor to turn around and face him.

She looked at him with glassy eyes. “And I was just naïve enough to not even consider that before the scare.  I should have, because I have always wanted kids.  I could have saved myself a lot of time and pain.”

His heart broke for her in that moment, realizing why she’d asked him that particular ‘deal breaker’ question.  It was all starting to make sense now, the reason she did the things that she did.  “I’m so sorry, Anna,” he whispered. 

She smiled at him, wiping a tear from her cheek.  “It’s okay, because none of that matters now.  And everything turned out amazing for me, obviously.  I… just wanted you to know.”

He nodded.  “I understand.”

Her eyes flicked to the wall clock he had near his kitchen table, then back to his.  “We should head to bed.  I’m beat, and we have to work tomorrow.”

He was beat too, and anytime he could crawl into bed and hold Anna against him, was more than welcome in his book.  He nodded, and pulled her in for a soft and gentle kiss before they got up and went to the bedroom.

---

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[punkpoemprose]

At Your Service- A Kristanna Regency Werewolf AU

Universe: Regency AU/ Werewolf AU

Rating:  M (Mature, Moderately descriptive oral sex)

Length: 5029 Words

A/N: I started writing this for @karis-the-fangirl way back in 2019, I apologize for the sheer quantity of plot in this porn.

The Bjorgman family had been in service to the Lord of Arendelle for generations, or at least this was what Anna had always been told. The only Bjorgman that she had ever known was Kristoff, and he’d never really “served” in the traditional sense of the word.  Household staff had always been rarely seen outside of their duties, and never heard unless first spoken to, and while Anna’s parents were much less strict toward their staff compared to others (according to the whispers she’d managed to catch from the staff), no one was treated with more familiarity than Kristoff Bjorgman.

Servants didn’t normally attend classes with the family’s private tutor, nor were they often invited to visit the main house, casually, as if they were a guest. Children of servants didn’t normally receive wrapped toys under the tree beside those belonging to the children of the house, and they certainly weren’t welcome to come and go as they pleased from nearly every area of the estate without question.

Sometimes as children, they would play together, but he was a strange child in many ways and was often disinterested in the play that Anna and Elsa engaged in. Mostly he was just the adopted son of the gardener and his wife, Bulda and Cliff Solberg, a boy afforded more familiarity with the lord and lady of the house and their girls than his station called for.

To Anna he was anything but ordinary. She’d always liked him in her youth because of his uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time, which given the quantity of scrapes he’d managed to free her from, had always made her grateful.

That ability to show up just when he was needed was how he served Anna and how he’d served her since their youth days. The first instance she could recall had been when she’d been five. She’d climbed a tree, and each time she’d glanced at the grass below she’d found that she’d been too afraid to climb back down. Elsa, in her sickness, had been no help, simply watching her sister from her bedroom window in a sorrowful sort of defeat. Anna hadn’t been able to hear a word she’d seen her sister’s mouth make that day, but she’d heard enough “sorry Anna”s by that age to know that her sister’s helplessness was something that she felt great remorse for, despite being unable to control it.

Kristoff had found her though, even though she hadn’t made a peep and had been hidden among the leaves in her green dress. She’d known that he hadn’t been told where she was because Elsa had been the only one to see her, from the window, climbing into the tree and Kristoff had found her from the opposite side of the estate.

He’d climbed up to her and helped her make her way down for supper, saving her the sort of concern from the adults in the household that would have only served to further limit her freedom.

While her nursemaid had been none too pleased, both with her ward’s naughtiness in disappearing for close to an hour and for the disheveled appearance she’d reappeared in, she’d been spared any kind of real punishment and hasn’t missed the chocolate cake that had been served as dessert.

When she turned eight, her mother and father had purchased her the half-wild mare she’d desired since word from town first came about the beautiful creature that a local innkeeper had claimed as payment for the room and board of some duke’s fifth son, a disreputable sort of cad with twelve other brothers, the youngest being just a few years older than Anna herself. He hadn’t wanted to pay and one of her father’s men of business had been dispatched to deal with the whole business as a favor to the kindly innkeeper who was the son of one of Lord Arendelle’s tenant farmers.

They’d always had difficulty in denying Anna her whims, likely because they were so limited in their ability to spend time with her and for the guilt that her sister’s illness frequently disallowed play. They’d agreed to Anna’s ownership of the horse, of course, on the condition that one of the grooms they employed would train the creature and that she would not go near it until it was well and thoroughly broken.

Anna had, of course, as her age and manner demanded, snuck out the night it arrived. Her bare feet had been shoved into her riding boots and she’d tossed her mother’s shawl over her night dress before she’d moved across the grounds by starlight. She’d crept along like a ghost, moving like a ghost in the dark, fearing that if she had lit a lantern or candle to aid in her crossing that she would have been seen and subsequently caught.

She’d stumbled a bit as she made her way to the stables, tripping on unseen patches of uneven earth on the lawn that were easily traversable by day, but terrifyingly hazardous by night.

Slipping into the stables had been far simpler than making the crossing as the enclosed space, still unlit, was familiar enough to her by touch that she had been able to traverse it blindfolded with only her pinky finger for a guide, while hopping on one leg.

Her mother had always been strangely attuned to nature for a woman of her station, helping her husband frequently when making decisions relating to the estate’s grounds and those tenant farmers who tended to them. That she was an equestrian and encouraged the same for both of her daughters, even Elsa for whom it was excellent exercise for her weak lungs, was a surprise to no one who knew her. From the tender age of five, when she’d been given her first pony, Anna had well earned her familiarity with the stables, and it had often served her well on her evening extracurricular visits.

She’d been overconfident that night though. She’d climbed into the stall of her new horse, expecting fully to simply lock eyes with the beast and find the understanding there required for her to ride him bareback in the moonlight. She’d been imagining it for the whole day and felt thoroughly prepared for the dream scenario.

She had wanted to prove, once and for all, that she was much more grown-up, intelligent, and talented than anyone gave her credit for. She’d been ready to do just about anything on that night other than stumble backwards into the wood of the stall as the horse spooked at her presence before him. She hadn’t been prepared for the horse, as was its nature, to lash out with his hooves.

Anna had only just opened her mouth to scream, when a growling sound came from behind her, which caused the horse to shy away from her and back toward the opposite end of its stall. This had the fortunate side effect of leaving Anna herself blessedly unmarred.

She had been both pleased and utterly unsurprised when Kristoff unlocked the stable door, pulled her back out of the space and said something under his voice that seemed to tentatively calm the horse.

She’d heard the gate relatch and he’d effortlessly captured her hand, led her through the dark as if it were day, and brought her out into the moon and star lit yard where she’d been able to see him for the first time properly in the light of that evening.

The look in his eye had been almost feral, but she hadn’t been frightened by it. She’d known by sound, by touch, that it had been Kristoff that had rescued her all along. She’d been familiar enough with him for years by that time to know when he was around, and when she’d looked at him in the light of the three quarters moon, she’d sighed in appreciative relief and promised him cookies from the kitchen if he didn’t tell anyone what she’d done.

The feral look in his eye never left, even when he’d nodded in agreement that he wouldn’t tattle. Kristoff always had something a little wild in his eye, and while he was grumpy and standoffish at times, Anna returned to her bed and slept easy knowing that the older child was always kind, gentle, and above all else, true to his word.

When she was twelve, there’d been a terrible winter storm that had made roads impassable. She remembered being glad for it because it meant that Kristoff, who was meant to be going into town with his adopted father, as the often did, would not be able to go as scheduled and could instead join them at Elsa’s fifteenth birthday dinner.

He hadn’t come though. She’d been disappointed for Elsa, for whom she and Kristoff were the closest thing she had to actual friends. Elsa hadn’t seemed upset with him for not attending and that had annoyed Anna a bit.

She’d grown closer to Kristoff as they’d aged and while he mostly kept to himself, he never seemed to mind when Anna came to watch him work, or when she came just to talk. That she’d begun to develop a small crush on him at the time had been completely unrelated to her disappointment of course, of so she’d told herself.

The dinner had been boring if not a bit somber. Her parents had seemed to be horribly distracted through the whole affair, and Elsa had later chalked it up to the terribly howling sounds outside the window. Anna had attributed it to the wind, but Elsa had, almost absent mindedly said that it hadn’t been the wind at all. She’d refused to elaborate, even when Anna had begged.

Her parents had been gone for three years.

Anna was eighteen, just hours short of nineteen, and was anxiously waiting for some extended relative or another to reach out and offer her an introduction to the ton. Her several times distant cousin Owen and his wife should be the ones to do so, given that upon their father’s death the title of Lord Arendelle fell to him, but she doubted that either would be willing. He was still rather displeased about his lot in life as her father’s crafty will writing had meant that while the girls could not, by unfortunate and archaic law, gain his title, their home and his businesses had passed fully to their shared ownership after the accident.

The slight had left her listless. Elsa had never been introduced due to her health, and after an extended mourning and legal ordeal, she had not been willing to seek out such an additional responsibility. Elsa, at one and twenty, was not yet a spinster, but she was certainly intending to become one and though Anna could not imagine what it would be like to meet and marry a man at court, she’d always longed for a family of her own.

For many years she’d been sure of who she’d wanted to achieve that with.

Kristoff had been so good to them since their father’s passing. He was no longer the small wild eyed sometimes-playmate of her youth but was now a strongly built and handsome man. He’d been a man for some time, but his dedication to the Arendelle family hadn’t changed when the title of lord had passed, and even when his own adoptive parents had retired and moved to a small cottage in the hills, he’d stayed. His official employment at the estate was stablemaster, but he’d never been a traditional servant, and he certainly wasn’t now either.

He'd helped Elsa learn the physical sides of the family’s business, shown her to the tenant farms and explained the ways of the earth around them in ways that no tutor, nor their father, could have ever prepared them for. He was a better help than any man of business had been so far, and Anna knew that he never looked down on Elsa’s ability to be head of household just because she was a woman. Many others were not so kind, and tried and failed to take advantage of Elsa.

Beyond that, he’d been in and out of Anna’s life for the past year in a deeply confusing manner that had brought her both profound joy and immense heartbreak.

She’d always been half in love with Kristoff and he’d always been patient and kind with her. For the past year she’d often sought him out, her obligations to the family business being far less involved than Elsa’s which often left her with the time to darken his doorstep with her boredom.

Sometimes they’d talked. Sometimes she’d read to him while he’d tended to the horses. Sometimes he’d brushed an out of place lock of hair from her eyes and sometimes she’d slipped her hand into his and he’d held it. Sometimes she’d watched from the window of her bedroom, on nights he was meant to be away, and saw him enter the storage shed in the field and not leave for hours.

“Leave it alone Anna,” Elsa had said when Anna had told her about Kristoff’s seemingly monthly nighttime sojourns into the shed.

She frankly should have known that Anna never left anything alone.  

She’d kissed Kristoff in the hayloft. She’d pressed herself to him and he’d held her close, kissing her softly at first, and then with intensity as they’d backed into the wooden wall together. He’d growled into her mouth, lifted her, and turned so that she’d been against the wall. Her legs had spread easily for him and he’d kissed her like a man starved while she bemoaned the length of her skirts and the manner in which the fabric of their clothes separated them. She’d wanted to simply tear them off, propriety be danmed, but that was the last thought she’d had before he’d stopped, set her on her feet, and walked away and down the ladder.

She’d hardly seen him since.

When she’d noticed him walking to the shed, she couldn’t help herself but to follow.

They needed to talk and she was not about to start leaving well enough alone now. She’d spent long enough trying to not care about his monthly disappearances.

She waited until he was in the shed, but she couldn’t quite wait until the sun had fully set, not wanting to trip around in the dark, and not wanting to bring a lantern to alert anyone of her late night excursions even though she could go where she pleased.

He jumped in surprise when the door opened and Anna, for her part, was as shocked by his appearance as she was by hers.

Kristoff, her friend, the man she’d been imagining herself marrying for well over a year, was naked as the day he was born. That in and of itself was enough of a shock. She’d seen him without a shirt before, but this was entirely different and far more uncomfortable because she hadn’t accidentally walked in on him bathing, she’d found him naked, chained by the wrists and ankles to a sturdy metal bracket that was bolted into the wall of the shed.   

“Kristoff, oh my God!”

She crossed the small space in a few hurried steps, reaching her hands toward the sturdy metal around his wrists, reeling again with shock when he thrust his hands out toward her asking her to stop. She noticed the key in his hand before she forced her feet to halt.

“Anna, you need to go.”

She blinked, her heart racing and her mind moving far too slowly to understand any of what was before her.

“Who?”

She couldn’t get the question out of her mouth in its full form because she’d noticed something else.

Neatly folded on the top of a wooden box, she found his clothes, and on the wooden walls around the space he was chained, she saw scratch marks, deep, old scratch marks.

“Anna, you need to go!”

He repeated the instruction, this time more forcefully, a terror in his eyes that was so like the wildness he’d shown as a child, Anna was enthralled by it.

She could hear his words just fine. She knew what the command was, but she wasn’t sure why she couldn’t follow it. Maybe it was the shock, maybe it was because she truly couldn’t leave well enough alone, and needed to figure out what exactly she’d walked into before she allowed her brain and body to follow a different command.

The key in his hands caught her eye again.

“Who chained you Kristoff? Why aren’t you using that key?”

He growled in frustration, and Anna swore she saw his lip curl, almost like a dog.

“I did Anna. I did because I need to be… I can’t explain… Anna, you need to go. Run!”

His voice sounded deeper when he spoke, and she was, for a split second, afraid.

“I’m not going to leave you here, chained to a wall, without an explanation Kristoff. Is this what you do every month? Why?”

The unspoken question was why this, when taking a tumble in the hayloft is evidently too strange and uncomfortable to go through with.

He shook his head and seemed to realize that there was little he could say to make her leave. He had always been good at understanding that she was hard to stop when she got something in her head. She supposed that’s why he’d always been around to help her out of the situations that she got herself into rather than being around to try to stop her from getting into trouble in the first place.

“Please Anna, the sun is setting, the moon…”

“I don’t care Kristoff, I’ve been walking across the lawn in the dark since the first time I tried sneaking out on my own, you know that isn’t going to be enough to send me insi…” she didn’t finish because he grimaced, clearly in pain as he fell to his knees onto the dirt floor.

“Please, Anna… I can’t protect you from me. I’m trying but I…” his words were likewise cut off by a snarl of pain that seemed far too animal to come from his throat.

She fell to her knees in return, ignoring his protests and all put crawling across the floor to get to him.

He threw the key across the room, clearly panicked, but she knew as it sailed past her, that he wasn’t throwing it at her. He was tossing it away from himself. Anna swore that when he gritted his teeth, his canines were sharp.

“You don’t have to protect me from you Kristoff. I don’t know what’s going on here, but if this is some kind of twisted self-discipline for what happened in the hayloft… please don’t, I’m sorry if I didn’t understand but…”

“No, Anna, you don’t…”

He cried in pain again, his hands going to the dirt floor and scratching up large fistfuls of the Earth, his nails, like his teeth, appearing longer and sharper.

She was starting to feel afraid, but she knew that what she’d said was true. He didn’t need to protect her from him.

“You’d never hurt me Kristoff, but you’re hurting, please let me help… I’m scared.”

Her hands were shaking when she reached toward him, her hands settling atop his on the floor, her trembling fingers trying their hardest to trace soothing paths across the back of his hands that were far hairier than she recalled them being.

“Anna, I can’t promise when I’m like this,” he growled, “I can’t promise I won’t hurt you, I can’t promise I won’t take what I want.”

She didn’t understand, not fully, but something in her, despite her fear, softened at his words. He sounded even more scared than she was, but his fear was misplaced.

“You wouldn’t hurt me, you couldn’t Kristoff, not in any way that matters because you…” she shook her head, trying to find words that made sense despite the situation not making any.

“You could never take from me what I wouldn’t freely give.”

His back arched and the pained sounds crescendoed as his hands released the dirt and lightning quick, pulled her by her waist across the floor and toward him.

She was dully aware of the sounds of clattering chains when her eyes went up to meet his. Normally brown, his eyes had gone gold, his face was his and not because she knew in her racing heart that the wolf baring its teeth at her was Kristoff.

The rest of the change was only peripherally comprehensible to her. His nakedness was covered by hair and she could feel it warm and soft against her hands in the place they’d landed when she’d been forcefully pinned to his body. His hands were gripping her hips, his nails digging into her skin uncomfortably, but not painfully.

“I would take everything Anna.”

His voice was his own, spoken deep and rough from his wolf mouth. It was meant as a threat. She could feel his grip on her slacken as he said it, the control he seemed to believe he didn’t posses rearing its head, allowing her time to run now that she could understand the situation more clearly.

“I would give everything Kristoff.”

She hadn’t needed to think about it. Her heart was still racing with adrenaline, but despite the instinctual fear she felt, she knew she was safe.

“You can’t… You can’t say that, I won’t be able to…” “So don’t,” she interrupted, “Don’t stop yourself. Don’t make me think that I’ve imagined this… don’t make me wonder if you want me again.”

Kristoff was a werewolf. She was beginning to understand the nights away now. She understood why her mother had uncomfortably read them werewolf stories from her family’s handwritten folktales.

The growls he made were pained in a different way as he pulled her close again, his hands, large and clawed, pulling so hard on the outer skirts of her dress that she heard the fabric tearing.

“I want you Kristoff… just let go.”

He did as he was told, releasing her.

She nearly told him that it wasn’t what she meant, when he captured her again, pulling her with him as close to the wall where he was chained as he could manage to get, allowing his limbs the most range of motion possible.

“I don’t want to take you like this Anna,” he growled, “I don’t want the wolf to taste you first.”

Anna felt hot all over, he’d nestled her onto his lap and she could feel the press of his cock against her thigh. “Taste?” She leaned in close to his face and tried to imagine how he’d manage such a feat the way he was changed. She thought it would be hard enough to kiss him properly like this, let alone with the intensity that had him tasting her mouth in the hayloft.

“Your cunt Anna.”

“Oh.”

She felt like she couldn’t breathe. She’d wanted sex in the hayloft. She’d wanted him to claim her. She’d wanted him so badly it hurt.

Now the roles were reversed and she let her lashes flutter closed, picturing what that might be like with him, with him like this.

“I want your scent all over me, smells so good. You’re already wet, I know you are.”

It was true. She wondered if it was wrong that she wanted it, that she wanted such a thing with him when he was like this. She loved him, and she wanted him, and she would have him any way he would allow her to. That felt like it was reason enough for it to be right.

“Okay.”

He growled and it was the end of her skirts.

They fluttered around her in tatters when he pressed forward and laid her onto the dirt floor, one large arm beneath her for support before it shifted to lifting her hips, demonstrating to her more clearly than anything else, that this was her Kristoff, and he wouldn’t let her fall.

His other hand was busying itself making ribbons of her undergarments, and she was grateful that she hadn’t worn anything she thought of as a favorite item.

“You have to tell me to stop if you want me to stop, hell you might have to run. I’ll try not to chase.”

His voice was even more animal when he spoke of chasing her. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t stop,” she told him, “I want this. Don’t be sorry, just promise me you won’t hate yourself in the morning.”

“How could I ever hate myself for this?”

He adjusted their positions slightly and ducked his head to her raised thighs.

Sharp teeth nipped at her inner thighs, but she knew that despite that animal urge to mark her, to maybe even make her like him, he wouldn’t hurt her. There was an almost pleasant sensation of dull scraping as he nipped her thighs, and she cried out when his snout rubbed against her.

He gave little warning, only animal groans, when he started his work.

His tongue was large and rough as he pressed it to her folds, his nose rubbing her clit and making her shout with pleasure.

“Kristoff, god, yes!”

Spurred on by her enthusiasm, he licked and sucked and rubbed with relish.

It was so much better than anything she could have imagined on her own. It was better than how it had felt to touch herself for sure, and while she was still getting used to seeing Kristoff in such a changed state, she was able to let her eyes flutter closed and trust that he would make her feel good.

She was almost embarrassed by how quickly her pleasure built, how easy it was for him to wring it from her with just the right combination of tongue and teeth.

He lapped at her appreciatively, growling and nuzzling at her thighs until finally the beast in him seemed calmed.

She laid on him, his body insulating hers from the floor because she wasn’t going anywhere in her tattered dress and she didn’t want him to let go of her for even a moment. His form was different, but the way he held her protectively and kept her warm was exactly what she knew to expect from her Kristoff.

He’d seemed jumpy for a few minutes after she’d come for him, but she suspected that it had been a product of his restraint and form fighting for control of his cock. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to, but she thought that maybe it would be best to work through this situation before she told him to fuck her against the wall. “Anna, I… I’m sorry I’ve…”

She shook her head, sated and sleepy against his chest.

“You’re not allowed to be sorry for that Kristoff. It would be like apologizing for giving me a gift.”

The wolf in him was at least somewhat sated and the need in her was as well… unless of course he was offering her another orgasm.

“Anna, I’ve ruined you.”

She nearly laughed, but thought better of it.

“Kristoff I’ve been ruined for other men since you decided to stay when your parents left service last year. I don’t want anyone else, I want you… and now even more. You’ve been suffering alone with this for so long and I want so badly to make sure you never are alone like that ever again.”

She remembered the sounds of a crying wolf that often featured in her childhood nights. She so badly wished that she had known sooner, so that she could have been a friend for him then.

“I almost broke the chains last month… since you started giving me your attentions it’s been nearly impossible not to run up to the house and break down every door between us. I thought I would be worse this time because of how close we had come in the stable, but without the chase I had a little more control.”

“Why was it only close in the stable?”

His hands, sharp nails and all, were gentle on her back, tracing small shapes through the remaining fabric even as his arms held her tightly to him.

“Because you deserve better than a stable boy for a husband and I knew that if I took an inch I’d take a mile.”

She thought of how she’d seen him naked when she’d first walked in and she wasn’t sure how many inches she would have been able to take of him, let alone how many inches he had to offer like this, but  she was excited to find out someday. He could have her for every mile he wanted.

“I don’t deserve the stable master I want as a husband,” she corrected, “but if he’s willing to take less than he deserves, he can take me for that tumble in the hayloft tomorrow.”

He scoffed and despite her feeling somewhat certain that he wouldn’t be back to his usual self until the morning, he sounded a little more like his usual self already.

“You deserve more than a tumble Anna… I want to do more than just fuck you, and I want to do it someplace much nicer than a hayloft.”

“Frankly,” she said, nuzzling into his chest, feeling both like they’d done this all a bit out of order, and like this was the most perfect thing she’d ever done. “As long as it’s with you I don’t even mind the shed.”

He laughed and she begrudgingly removed herself from his hold.

“I’m going to look for that key. I think we’re not going to need it anymore.”

“Just move slowly,” he said, sitting up, “I’m a little worried that I won’t be so gentle if you run.”

Anna found, despite the newness and strangeness to this situation, that sometime soon, she would very much like to run. She thought, even more so, that she’d like to see what would happen once she was caught.

[annas-hair-donut]

My Favorite 2023 Fanfics

Instead of posting a master list of the fics I published in 2023, I'm just going to give you some of my favorites.

Knock on Wood (Kristanna, T)

“So, like, I’m not really a superstitious guy or anything, you know? But I saw this girl, right, and I’m about to ask her to dance.” He strummed a few times before stopping the strings with his hand and knocking three times on his guitar. “I don’t know, I figure every little bit helps. Couldn't hurt anyway.” A few people clapped and whistled as he strummed the opening to a song Anna hadn’t heard before. Then he smiled. “Maybe y’all can 'Knock on Wood' for me, too.”

I wrote this one for the FHWM Friday the 13th event. It was really fun because I got to set it in a time and place that is near and dear to my heart and I haven't seen many similar AUs. It's also a song fic, and I just had so much fun with it.

Pretty Please (Kristanna, E)

“Show me how bad you want it, Kristoff. Show me how bad you want me to spank you.” “You think I only want to sink my tongue into your $!@# so you’ll spank me?” His smile made her heart flutter as much as his words, but she tested him anyway. “Pretty men say pretty please.’” “You think I’m pretty?” he asked, each word punctuated by a sloppy, wet kiss on her thigh, "when I wear my lace panties?" When she didn't answer, he looked at her with lifted brows and puppy dog eyes. She cupped his cheeks and said, “You're not pretty, Kristoff; you're very pretty."

I wrote this one for the BDSM Exchange. It's not for everyone, but it's probably my favorite fic I've ever written (of all time).

Waffle Waltz (Kristanna, T)

Anna travels to Tromsø, Norway to attend her sister Elsa's wedding, and ends up renting a room with Bulda and her grumpy and resentful son Kristoff, who is the king of waffles. 1. Waffle, Noun: (1) A soft indented cake cooked in waffle iron; (2) Empty or pretentious words 2. Waffle, Verb: (1) Equivocate, vacillate; (2) To blather

This was for the Candy Hearts Exchange. It involved a ton of research and drew on my own knowledge of/experience with folk music and dance, and I consider it to be one of the best (quality-wise) fics I've ever written. I also really love the fun relationship between Anna & Hans.

Hey, Little Girl (Kristanna, E)

Loner Kristoff gets hired by cheerleader Anna’s parents to teach her how to drive because they’ve lost all patience with her. She isn’t what he expects, though, and when he realizes the feelings he’s been harboring for years are reciprocated, he lets down his guard. Then one thing leads to another... and quite possibly the hugest mistake of their lives.

This started as a driver's ed lesson and ended with a prom for Kristanna School Days. In between, I wrote Kristoff probably the most conflicted and tormented I've ever written him (other than Sophisticated Grace). And it was all set to songs by the Ramones! It really has it all, fluff, angst, high school drama, teen pregnancy, first times. Also some of the OCs were really cool.

The Chaise (Gaston x Adam, E)

Adam debates buying a small chaise longue at his local antique shop until he finds out it comes with an extra large delivery man.

I wrote this for my a friend, and TBH I'm still completely tickled by it. Adam seduced Gaston through flattery and it was just so much fun to write!

The Moment I Bit My Lip (Kristanna, E)

Anna shivered as she packed her suitcase. It was winter, the furnace was broken, and they’d run out of firewood. And Kristoff had run out of time. Based on "Love Me Harder" by Ariana Grande ft. The Weeknd

This was a reader request. It was a huge challenge because I tend to write more female-dominant stuff and the song lyrics screamed Kristanna, but at the same time didn't really fit with the kinds of things I usually write. So I had to get a little creative and I absolutely love that. Anyway, I came up with one of the coolest AUs I've written and I absolutely adore this piece.

Boom, Clap! (Kristanna, E)

A sharp pain sears across Kristoff’s face from the force of Anna’s hand slapping him to the present. Stars twinkle just inside his field of vision as he rubs his cheek, and his heart beats faster in excitement. He hasn’t felt this good in years. Until an irate voice says, “What the fuck?” Anna stands in front of him, angrier than ever, and he smiles a little more. “You think that’s funny?” she asks. The correct answer is no, of course, but the right answer is that he’s elated. He looks down to hide the smile he couldn’t make go away. That’s when he sees his brace and remembers his injured leg. The only pain he feels, though, is on his cheek. “I had it handled,” she says and shows him the red rhinestone-encrusted mace attached to her keychain, which her thumb sits on top of. He grins, and says, more bravely than he would have had he not been floating on Cloud 9, “Or you could just slap me again.” Her red lips slowly curve into a cat-like smile. She folds her arms and coolly leans against the wall. Her eyes glitter with mischief, and she purrs, “Well, now you’ve got my attention.”

I wrote this for Smut Week, but it's so much bigger than that. It was a monumental task writing about Kristoff, a war-injured vet, and Anna, the woman that uses pain to take away his pain, but so rewarding as their relationship turned into something so much bigger than h/c for them. It's two people bringing out the absolute best in each other, Kristoff healing in a way he never thought he could, and discovering that he was worthy of giving and accepting love. It's one of the most meaningful things I've written.

Rain Check (Kristanna, E)

Newly divorced Anna goes for a walk to work off some pent-up energy, but gets derailed by rain, a good Samaritan’s garage, and some really great D.

Another Smut Week fic, a follow-up to a cute little one-shot I wrote for myself last year (Future's So Bright, T) and wanted more of. I really love the way Anna and KB love each other. And Anna really goes for what she wants, but ultimately chooses herself and what she needs. I like this AU so much that I did a follow-up fic (Here Comes the Sun, E) and I'm also planning a 30+ multi-chap fic tentatively titled "And If I Change My Mind" to be published hopefully in the next few months.

Valentine Bear (Rydoff, T)

Kristoff gets some unexpected help setting up the Peeps Valentine's Day display at Weselton's Grocery Store when Anna, the assistant manager--and Kristoff's best friend--assigns Ryder to assist. Will Anna's Cupid's arrow strike Kristoff's heart? Or will it knock him down, along with his display?

I had this idea of Kristoff playing with Peeps and using his fake voice to talk for them. Who else talks for Peeps? Ryder of course! It's such a fun concept and I loved writing for them so much that I wrote a short multi-chap sequel (Mint Jelly and Onion Jam). Oh, and I got to explore Anna & Kristoff as adorable best friends and Anna/Hans (Alive and Burning Brighter), also a first!

Behind Adjoined Doors (Kristanna, E)

After seeing her recently engaged ex at her cousin's wedding, Anna sneaks through the adjoining door of her hotel room to have meaningless sex with Kristoff - because it’s not possible to fall for someone you can’t stand, right?

I wrote this one for Smut Week and it still tickles me. Cocky Kristoff is just so... he's a bro. Sort of. At least it seems like he is. And Anna has to open her eyes (and her legs) to see the diamond in the rough hiding right next door.

What's up for 2023? I'm working on a Kristanna Valentine's Day fic (short multi-chap), finishing up All Tied Up and Head Over Feet. Chugging along with The Refugees, and my new upcoming long fic "And If I Change My Mind," set in the Bandana AU.

[ericmicael]

The importance of Weselton and "Frozen 3".

"Queen Anna has a lot on her plate. She has welcomed Disa, the Queen of the small neighboring nation and her people to Arendelle when their kingdom is flooded. Disa is eager to learn about the scientific nature of magic.

Also in Arendelle is Lord Wolfgang, the Duke of Weselton’s nephew, on an apology tour for his uncle’s behavior. He very much wants to secure Queen Anna’s forgiveness and hopes to convince the people of Arendelle of the merits of trade with Weselton.

When a mysterious fire happens at the castle and the Spirits of Nature start acting up Elsa, Anna, and Disa travel to the Enchanted Forest to uncover the cause, where they discover mysterious steam-powered copper machines: automatons.

Where do the automatons come from and what are they doing? Who is directing them? Most importantly, how do Elsa, Anna, and Disa stop them from upsetting the natural balance of the Enchanted Forest and Arendelle?"

It's curious how Disney seems to like this character or rather how it likes any character other than the movie's villain, aka Hans.

Even the butler Kai had more prominence in the post "Frozen 1" than the sociopathic prince if you exclude "Disney Magic Kingdoms" which seems to be the only place that fans of the Northuldra tribe and Hans can see their characters being developed ("Polar Nights" had mentions of the tribe perhaps confirming certain events in the mobile game regarding ElsaMaren). But at least fans of the Northuldra tribe can argue that Disney only works seriously with the tribe when it has some Sami involved, Hans fans at the moment can tell that the prince is still doing the same thing he was doing "Frozen Fever " or that it was teleported into "Big Hero 6" (with that crossover from "Tangled" to "Frozen" looking like it's become canon I don't doubt that crossover will too if the prince remains absent).

But the Duke really is becoming almost a case in point. He is very present in the Frozenverse, having several encounters with the sisters and visits to Arendelle, and besides this mention where he talks about a nephew (I don't think it's the same nephew from the podcast, but who knows. Mari Mancusi has already rescued characters from the comics to include in the books so if someone looked at this illustrated book and decided to include the Duke's nephew in the podcast making the relationship between them less complicated I won't be surprised).

Also included were other Weselton members such as Leopold and Lutz.

I really don't care about Hans, but even I, who consider myself an admitted hater of the sociopathic prince, find this whole situation strange. Hans has twelve siblings, a background we so far don't know because he's hated by his siblings and parents (as I find bullying for being the youngest a very simple reason, I'd bet Hans is secretly a bastard child), and his own father is considered a being perhaps even more despicable than the youngest son himself. But does Disney prefer to create relatives of the Duke of Weselton instead.

Duke of Weselton was the villain that Disney decided to use when they decided to drop Hans from the plans. Probably because the Duke is comic relief which makes him more cartoonish and less real as some have argued would be the reason for Disney's prejudice towards Hans.

And I still can't consider that this podcast would be the "Forest of Shadows" from "Frozen 3" as some are considering, a prologue to the movie. The KristAnna engagement will take place in the Anthology, due to the date the podcast will come earlier, perhaps it will give a teaser of what we can expect from the future (I hope for the plot involving machines). And Kristoff's book as far as we know will only talk about Kristoff and maybe reveal his whole past.

Before "Frozen 3" I still believe that there will be something more relevant, but nothing happens after the KristAnna wedding (if I already think that Disney extends too much the night that happened the accident involving Elsa's magic, those months between F2 and the KristAnna wedding will be extended 3x times). Disney is not going to miss the opportunity to promote the wedding on film (even if the film takes place 3 years after the wedding) or in a short film.

A new book or even a podcast? Just not being another series focused on Olaf for me will be interesting. And preferably without other relatives of the Duke who I'm starting to get tired of reading and hearing the word Weselton.

[lelitachay]

Frozen fanfiction: Søsken

Summary: An accident in the North mountain forces Elsa to spend several weeks in her brother’s apartment under Anna’s care. And during this time, Anna begins to notice there are peculiar things about Elsa’s life she wished she could understand. Everything starts to make sense after a family reunion.

Modern AU. Kristanna - Frohana - Kristoff & Elsa BrOTP.

Links:

Fanfiction.net - HERE

AO3 - HERE

Tumblr - Chapters 1 to 10 - Here   Chapters 11 to 20 - Here Chapters 21 to 30 - Here Chapters 31 to 40 - Here Chapter 41 - Here Chapter 42 - Here -

If not for you

Leaning against his father’s car, Kristoff waited patiently for him to come out of the police station. Since early morning Kai had been trying to contact Anders or anyone at the police station who could help him find information about Marshall. For some reason Kristoff ignored, he’d had a hard time finding someone available when he called, forcing him to wait until things were settled in the office. And once they finally called back, they suggested he picked the information up in person.

Kristoff suspected his colleagues only wanted to find out the reason Kai needed it so urgently. It wasn’t unusual, after all, to check what the officers did when they requested information off the clock. Kristoff was thankful for that, especially since Kai couldn’t pretend barging into Marshall’s house was work related.

The wait at home that morning had given Kristoff enough time to explain to his parents everything he knew. He had talked about Marshall and his version of the story, as well as Elsa’s – from what he’d heard from Anna. He’d mention their quarrel in his apartment and why Elsa had finally made up her mind to go after him and talk. It had helped Gerda calm down and not worry so much, but for some reason, Kai hadn’t accepted his version of the story. He was convinced there was more to it and that had led to them quarrelling for a few minutes. Nonetheless, Kristoff had decided to accompany him – against Kai’s wishes – once the police station called. He wanted to prevent things from getting out of hand.

Even though his father was a down to earth and civilised man, someone who’d rarely use his position in the police force to get what he wanted; Kristoff was certain he wouldn’t doubt using it when Elsa was involved. After all, Elsa’s wellbeing had always been the reason he had seen his father stepping out of line in the past.

The sound of the big oaken door pulled Kristoff from his thoughts and he watched his father walk down the steps, still talking to one of his colleagues. “Thanks. I will,” he said, loudly. His tone of voice was friendly enough, but Kristoff knew he was tired of the conversation at that point. It was almost impossible for his father to hide how much chit chatting annoyed him.

“I've got the information that I need,” Kai then said to him. He showed a piece of paper with some information written on it, and before Kristoff had the chance to read what it said, he put it inside his pocket. “If Elsa shows up, call Anders.”

Trying to match his father’s stride as he walked to the vehicle, Kristoff said, “Wait, what do you mean ‘if she shows up’?”

Before opening the car’s door, Kai looked at his son over his shoulder and said, “You’re going home. Tell Gerda I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

“Kai, for the last time, I’m coming with you.” He watched his father get inside the car, ignoring what he had to say. He hurried to the other side and got in as well. “Marshall's not to blame for what happened. And I'm sure Elsa must be at the mountain. You know she spends a lot of time hiking when she's not feeling okay.”

“Let me ask you something,” Kai calmly said, as he fastened his seatbelt. “Have you ever seen Hålkesen lose his temper?”

“What?”

“Has he become irrationally angry in front of you or Elsa?” He clarified. 

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Yes or no.”

His father might have seemed calmer than before, but his patience was not nearly close to what it usually was. Choosing it was best not to get on his bad side, he decided to be honest. “Yes.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.” He started the car and began driving.

“No, wait,” Kristoff said the moment the car left the police station. “It was an unfair situation, anyone would have reacted—”

“What happened?”

Once again, he noticed that his father’s questioning was calm and collected, but it only worried him more. “Westegaard had just fired him, he was mad at his son. Where are you going?”

“To talk to him.”

“Please, let's try to find Elsa without jumping to conclusions.” He had no idea what Kai had found out, but it was best to stop him and worry about one thing at the time. To his disappointment, he continued driving, his mind set on one specific goal: finding Marshall.

Not feeling comfortable with his father’s idea, he tried to call his attention, “Dad. Dad,” he repeated when he realised he was being ignored. “Da– Kai! What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t ever act like this.”

“He spent a few days in prison five years ago,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road.

“What?”

Noticing the way he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, Kristoff worried about the answer he could give him. He had to admit he hadn’t liked Marshall at the beginning either. Two years ago, he’d have been on his father’s side. But the man who had sat with him yesterday was not a bad person. A madman prone to make mistakes? Certainly. But not someone who was inherently bad. He was certain of it now, and he had to admit Elsa had been right all along. His sister knew, subconsciously, the way a bad person acted and behaved. Even if her social skills were below standard, she had a way of knowing; and she was rarely mistaken.

“He beat a man to a pulp while he was working as a paramedic.The hospital terminated his contract immediately.”

“…that can’t be right.” Deep down he knew it could certainly be true. Marshall had scared him that night at Hans’ house. But he’d try to make sure Marshall didn’t end up on his father’s bad side.

Stopping the car abruptly on the side of the road, Kai turned to him and said, “if you don’t want to believe me, save my time and get out of the car.” Suddenly losing the last traces of patience.

“Wait, Kai, please,” he said, understanding it was best to accept whatever his father was telling him, and be there for him just in case things didn’t go as well as he was hoping. “I’m baffled, that’s it.

Even if he knew his father was overreacting, Kristoff tried to put himself in his father’s shoes for a moment. He had seen his mother struggle with the idea of losing Elsa when the whole ordeal with the Arendelles started, and now he was seeing his father go through the same. The ‘threat’ was different, but their main concern was just the same. He knew how much Kai adored Elsa and what she meant to him. Kristoff may have been their first kid; the one they’ve chosen. But Elsa was the closest thing they had to the daughter they had once lost. Even if Gerda had tried to deny it, he knew they had adopted a boy not to be constantly reminded of their unborn daughter. A couple of years later, however, when Elsa came into their lives, they realised having a daughter actually helped them. And they allowed her to fill that place in their hearts.

“Let me go with you,” Kristoff said, hoping Kai would see he was honest about wanting to help. He was relieved to see his father start the car once again, and decided to stay quiet until he was needed.

---

Once he arrived at what he believed was her parents' house, Marshall hurried to get Elsa inside as soon as possible. During the car drive, he had kept a close look on her and noticed she was getting weaker at an alarming rate. The walk to the car from his cabin had only worsened her condition, even if he had been supporting her weight the whole time.

"Els? We're here," he said when he opened her door. She was with her eyes tightly closed and she kept the blanket as close to her as possible. "Come on, let me—" He tried to help her move but she put her hand over his. To his surprise, her hand wasn’t cold as it usually was.

"I don't feel so good." Her voice was soft and he wasn't sure if she was mumbling so as not to worsen her headache or if the fever was making her struggle with her words.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

Glassy eyes looked back at him with determination, and Marshall couldn't believe she'd put up a fight against the idea even in her state. "I can't. I want to go home."

"Okay." It was against his better judgement, but he still took her words as a command. Help me get home. He'd do that for her and then he'd try to convince her family. "Let me help you get inside."

She struggled to move even in the slightest, and Marshall helped her support her weight again. He made sure there wasn't any ice or snow around her, and they began walking. They were a few steps away from the front door when Elsa spoke again, surprising him.

"They're mad at me," she said, her voice almost too low for him to hear.

"Who?"

"Kai and Gerda," she said, with a dry laugh. "I keep lying to them, but they already know I can't control my powers."

"I’m sure they aren’t mad at you." He had no idea what else to say. He barely knew her family, after all. But he was certain it was the fever speaking, and it wasn’t something she believed. "Come on."

"Am I snowing?"

He checked again, making sure there wasn't a trail of snow behind them. He took the opportunity to make sure there weren't any neighbours looking at them. "No. Don't worry about it."

"It should be snowing."

"You’re not snowing," he repeated, hoping she'd help him and walk the short distance to the door.

"I’ve got to—" She stopped abruptly and looked at him. "I think I need the snow."

"Elsa, you’re not making much sense. Please, walk. I can’t pick you up right now." His injured arm stopped him from carrying her the rest of the way, and so he gave a few long strides forcing Elsa to follow.

“I wouldn’t even find the door,” Elsa said when they finally reached the main door.

“What?”

“Without you.” She leaned onto him. “Thank you.”

He smiled and hugged Elsa close with his good arm, trying to offer some comfort. He then knocked and they waited in silence for someone to open.

"Mrs Bjorgman, I—" He tried to explain the situation as soon as the door opened, but Gerda was quick to react when her eyes fell on her sick daughter.

"Oh my God! What's going on?"

"Elsa's not feeling well. She's got a temperature. The options were taking her to the ER or here, and she insisted I brought her here."

"Temperature?" she asked, still trying to understand who he was and why Elsa’s eyes couldn’t stay focused. She then put her hand on Elsa's forehead to check it for herself. "My goodness, child. You’re burning!"

Elsa leaned on her mother for support when she felt her hand on her face. Gerda tried to stabilise her, but Elsa fell on her arms as dead weight.

"Easy," Marshall said, holding Elsa again and preventing both women from falling to the ground. "Let me help you get to a chair. Don’t crush your mother."

"Over the sofa, please," Gerda said. She closed the door and was soon by Marshall's side. "What happened?"

"Her hand is badly infected." It was a good thing he had met Gerda once before, since it helped him talk and explain himself, overcoming the awkwardness of the situation. "She wasn’t feeling well when she woke up this morning. I suggested she rest for a few more hours but it didn't help. It was a moderate fever an hour ago, but now I’m not so sure."

Gerda sat by Elsa's side and placed her hand on her forehead once again. She grimaced at the heat radiating from her daughter. "How high?" 

"Thirty-nine degrees."

"Thirty-nine?" Gerda exclaimed, turning to look at him.

Surprised by her worried expression he said, “It’s high but there’s no reason to alarm.”

"This is not moderate. Elsa's body temperature is a degree or two lower than average." She moved Elsa's wet bangs away from her eyes and called her name. Elsa opened her eyes and did her best to hold her mother's gaze. Gerda offered her a small reassuring smile in return.

Had he known before, he would have done things differently. He felt like an idiot for letting Elsa convince him she was okay when the opposite was clear. Elsa's fever had been affecting her a lot more than he expected and now he understood why.

"Please keep an eye on her." Gerda's voice distracted him from his thoughts and by the time he nodded his head, she had already disappeared through a door.

Marshall sat down next to her and he apologised for not helping her sooner. Elsa's unfocused eyes looked at him for a brief moment and she smiled, making him feel better. At least for a short moment.

"Gerda?" she asked, and Marshall's worry increased. She was losing track of simple events going on around her.

"She’ll be back in a moment," Marshall said, caressing her back.

"I’ve got to—"

"Whatever it is you're thinking, you won't." Marshall ordered, putting his hand on her shoulder and stopping her from going after Gerda. He knew she wouldn't go far in her state, but the last thing he needed was for her to fall face first onto the ground.

"I found some antipyretic drugs," Gerda announced as she returned to the living room with a first-aid kit and a cold compress in her hands.

Marshall watched her tend to Elsa, offering a pill and some water that she reluctantly accepted. "Mrs Bjorgmam—”

“Gerda,” she reminded him. “Please, call me Gerda.”

He nodded, understanding her request, and continued, “Elsa insisted I brought her here, but I think it'd be best to take her to the ER. I've got my car outside."

"Don't worry,” Gerda said, patting his knee. “I'll call Nielsen. He'll know what to do."

"Nielsen…" He remembered the name clearly. He had been the director at the hospital the time he had worked there. A respectable doctor who had great knowledge and a calmness he envied. "You mean Dr. Nielsen? Isn't he retired?"

"He still treats some special patients." Gerda explained as she placed the cold compress on Elsa's neck, making her shiver. When she tried to get away from the cold, Gerda stopped her. "I need to lower your temperature."

"How can you stand this every day?" Elsa asked, her eyes tightly shut.

"What, dear?"

"The cold. It's unbearable." She breathed out.

Gerda and Marshall's eyes softened. They couldn't really imagine what it was for her to start feeling the cold so suddenly. Her body was a puzzle they couldn't comprehend and it made helping her a lot more complicated.

"It isn't always like this, sweetheart." Gerda moved the compress to make sure it didn't fall when Elsa’s body trembled, and so she asked Marshall to hold it while she called Nielsen.

Marshall did what he was told, and even if he knew there wasn’t much he could be doing, he couldn't stay still. He wasn't sure if it was his instinct kicking in, but he couldn't agree with Gerda's idea. He wanted to pick Elsa up and take her to the ER as soon as possible.

"Are you okay?" he asked Elsa when he saw her leaning forward.

"I feel sick." She said in between laboured breaths.

"Gerda’s calling someone."

"Am I snowing?"

"No," he said after looking around the room to make sure she wasn't. "Why are you so worried about—" He tried to ask, but Elsa interrupted him by pushing his hand away. She then extended her good hand in front of her like she had done the day before. This time, ice and snow didn’t manifest and a pained expression drew on her face. "What are you doing?" 

"Elsa," Gerda called after her daughter from the other side of the room. She was still in the middle of the phone call but she rushed to her side and put her hand over Elsa's. "You've got a high fever. Don't force it. You know it's no good."

"Gerda, I don't feel so good," Elsa said, unsure of what to do.

Sitting down next to her again, Gerda put her arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “I know. But, please, don’t try to use your powers.”

This seemed to calm Elsa to some extent and she leaned onto her. Gerda checked on her once more and then continued her conversation. "Yes, I'm here. It’s an infection… I suppose."

"Lymphangitis," Marshall said. He remembered a case he had helped treat while he was still working in the hospital.

"What?"

"Check her arm."

Gerda did and noticed the red streak that contrasted clearly with Elsa’s pale skin. "Jonnas, please, I need you to come check on her," she begged. "She’ll need antibiotics as soon as possible. No. No snow, she just took a pill. I know. I know. We will."

Hanging up the phone, she turned to him and said, "he said he's coming." Noticing her daughter was almost asleep against her shoulder, she sighed and asked for his help once again. "Help me take her to her room before the antipyretic starts working and the ice becomes uncontrollable."

---

"Let me know if anything changes tonight. I don't trust this to go smoothly," Nielsen said to Gerda as they exited Elsa’s room. Tending to Elsa had proven to be harder than they both originally imagined, and Nielsen wasn’t feeling too optimistic.

From the very beginning, Gerda and the doctors involved in Elsa’s case had noticed a peculiar phenomenon occurring whenever her temperature rose above average. As the temperature increased, the ice and snow would recede and leave almost no trace in her body until the fever broke, or it was reduced with the help of medicine. Her powers would then react on their own, beyond Elsa’s control, making things difficult for whoever was trying to treat her. It had been a nerve-racking situation whenever it happened the first few years; but with time, Gerda and Nielsen had learnt to deal with it and knew what to expect.

This time, however, the drugs had kicked in sooner than expected, helping to lower her temperature on one hand, but causing her powers to start reacting before Elsa’s infected injury was properly treated. Not being able to control her powers made Elsa more nervous and a cycle started in which the powers became more and more uncontrollable, forcing Nielsen to take more serious measures to ensure they could help her. To their disappointment, the only safe alternative had been sedating Elsa against her will.

“Call me first thing in the morning. I want to know how the infection develops.” He picked his pen and wrote a prescription. “Here are the antibiotics she'll need to take,” he finally said, handing it to Gerda.

“These are quite strong,” she said, frowning. “She won't like the way they make her feel.”

“It's either this,” Nielsen said, pointing to the prescription. “Or admitting her to the hospital. And I’m certain you’d like to avoid that.”

Gerda couldn't do anything but agree with him. With the way things had gone just a moment before, she knew taking Elsa to the hospital would probably end up in disaster.

“Excuse me, Dr. Nielsen,” Marshall interrupted before the doctor had a chance to leave. “Was lying to her necessary?”

Marshall had stood by Elsa’s side when she had begged not to be given any tranquillisers, and he had only changed his mind when Nielsen convinced them both they’d only use local anaesthesia. As Gerda had expected, Elsa had fallen asleep in less than a minute, and Marshall disapproval had been obvious. He had remained quiet, though, refraining himself from saying anything at that moment. Part of Gerda felt proud Marshall was fighting for Elsa’s rights now that things were under control, and she felt guilty for not having explained to them what Nielsen was really about to do.

“Her powers can't be controlled. The tiniest mistake could result in one of us getting hurt,” Jonnas said, not feeling in the mood to explain himself. “Explaining the situation to other doctors or police officers is a lot more stressful than falling asleep, trust me.”

“I understand that but—”

“Trust me,” he repeated, letting Marshall know his decisions were not up for debate. “Oh, and, Hålkesen?”

Gerda could see his cold, sharp eyes glaring at Jonnas in disapproval, but still he remained quiet, limiting himself to answer his question. “Yes?”

“I don't know what you know about Elsa, but not a word to anyone. Am I clear?”

Gerda sighed in relief when Marshall nodded, his expression serious and trustworthy. It was clear that beyond his anger he could understand Elsa's situation was more delicate than he could comprehend.

Once Jonnas had left, Gerda closed the door behind him and turned to look at the young man still standing in her living room. She had only met Marshal briefly once; and now, there he was helping her take care of Elsa and agreeing to keep silent about things he probably couldn’t understand.

“Thank you for your help today,” she said, honestly. “You did the right thing by bringing her home.”

“This isn't the first time things like this have happened, is it?”

“You mean the infection?” Gerda said, as she began tidying up the living room. The first thing she did was fold Marshall’s blanket and lay it neatly on a small table, then she continued with her first-aid kit. Keeping busy helped her order her thoughts about everything that had happened since Elsa showed up at her door that rainy Sunday.

“I meant having Nielsen take care of her instead of going to the hospital.”

“Sadly, no,” she admitted. There was no point in keeping information from him at that point. After all, he had helped not only Elsa, but Jonnas and her too with everything they needed. “You may have noticed that taking care of Elsa is… ”

“Extremely complicated?” he said with a dry laugh.

Gerda nodded her head and felt grateful that he was understanding their situation so well. It wasn’t easy to accept that Nielsen and she had avoided taking Elsa to the hospital as much as possible during those years. It even felt like they were denying Elsa proper care. Anybody could blame them if they wanted. But Marshall seemed mature enough to understand it was for the best. “We try to avoid going to crowded places for this reason. You never know who could find out about her… abilities and try to harm her.”

“Why would anyone try to harm her?” he asked, in deep thought. Gerda found it endearing that he couldn’t comprehend why someone would try to do it. It let her see the person he was underneath and made her happy to know Elsa had found a good man in that lonely mountain.

“I need to stay alert in case Elsa needs me. Would you like to keep me company while I wait for her to wake up?” She offered, hoping he’d accept. She was dying to meet him and see what had become of little Hålkesen after so many years. Part of her was hoping he’d remembered who she was.

“I thought you wouldn’t let me stay…”

“I'm sure Elsa would love to see you after everything you did.” She enjoyed watching him turn a deeper shade of red and she understood why Anna loved pestering Elsa so much about the mountaineer. “Please, stay. I’d like to talk to you if that's okay.”

---

For the next two hours, Marshall and Gerda stayed in the living room, keeping a close look on Elsa’s open door as they talked. From time to time one of them would take turns checking on her, even though they knew it would be a couple of hours until she woke up.

Talking to Marshall had been awkward at first, since their main topic of conversation was sleeping peacefully. However, Gerda had soon found a way to win him over by telling him who she was and what she remembered about his childhood and family. And to her surprise, as soon as he realised who she was, his shy and overly polite demeanour began to change. He became more talkative and even excited to mention a few things he remembered about her. He had spoken about her raspberry pies and even admitted to having lain in wait for her to show up at Oaken’s shop to offer her his help. Carrying groceries to get some pie in exchange was one of the things he loved about summer time.

Gerda had been delighted to know he still held her in high esteem, even if he hadn’t known her name. His whole life he had called her the “Pie lady” and that made Gerda extremely happy for some reason.

“How come you didn’t realise Elsa was my daughter?””

“I was a kid at the time,” he said with a sheepish smile. “I had no idea what your real name was or what you did for a living. All I remember was you spent some summers at the mountain and at the time you didn’t have kids who’d play with me.”

“What about the cottage?”

“They all looked the same when I was seven.”

“Well, it's true you were only a kiddo—” she began to say, but she got distracted by the sound of a key opening the front door.

Kai entered the house and only then did she remember the heated argument Kristoff and Kai had shared that very morning about Marshall. Everything that happened with Elsa had made her forget about her husband and son’s whereabouts and the fact they were after the man sitting next to her. She felt stupid for not trying to contact them, or at least let the police station Elsa was home, so they could use the radio to contact Kai.

"Gerda," he said as soon as he locked eyes with her. "I need your help—" He stopped as soon as he saw Marshall sitting by her side, and Gerda stood up, knowing he’d react before he thought things through.

"What are you doing here?” Kai asked, not giving Gerda a chance to say anything. And even she felt uncomfortable by the angered stare that he sent Marshall.

The young man stood up and looked at him unsure of what to do. Something told her he was waiting for her to do or say something first. She took a step forward and blocked Kai’s path. “Before you do or say anything, there’s something you need to know…”

Ignoring his wife’s request, he took a few steps closer to them all the time keeping his eyes fixed on Marshall. “Where is Elsa? You’re the last person she was seen with, and now—”

“Keep your voice down,” Gerda interrupted. She put a hand over his chest to try and calm him down. “She’s here. She wasn’t feeling well and so he brought her home.”

“Here?” Kai looked over Gerda’s head and in the direction of Elsa’s bedroom. The door that usually remained closed was now open.

“What happened?” Kristoff asked behind his father and only then she realised her son was there with them.

“She had a high fever. The wound in her hand is badly infected.”

“Bad enough for her to be in bed?” Kai asked, sceptical, his eyes falling on Marshall once again.

“Yes,” she said with a tired sigh. “Nielsen left an hour or so ago.” She knew there was a lot more she’d need to explain to them both, but all it mattered now was making sure Kai stopped targeting Marshall over something that was beyond his responsibility. 

Walking past her, Kai stood in front of Marshall and asked, “What happened between Elsa and you? And where have you been?”

“Dad, for goodness sake,” said Krisotff exasperatedly. It was clear he had dealt with his father’s anxiousness all afternoon, and he had no more patience left. “He brought Elsa home. That’s all that matters.”

“You were looking for us?” Marshall asked, unsure why he was suddenly on Bjorgman’s bad side.

“I'm talking about the accident on Saturday.” Kai said, turning around to make sure Kristoff understood what he was talking about. “Elsa doesn't lose control of her powers that easily. He must have done something to her. And she wouldn’t disappear on her own either.”

Gerda paid close attention to the two young men and noticed the confused look they shared with each other. It was more than obvious they both agree Elsa disappearing was more common than Kai realised. Even Gerda herself knew that.

“I have no idea where Elsa’s been. And as I said the other day, I didn’t do anything.” Marshall said, annoyed he had become Kai’s scapegoat. “I told you to talk to Elsa the other night.”

“Look,” Kai said, taking a step closer to Marshall. “The realisation Elsa had hurt you got me by surprise the other day. I was desperate to come here and check on her. That’s why Anders and I let you off the hook easily. But I need an explanation now. A real one. What happened between you two?”

“I didn't hurt her.” Marshall’s seriousness left no place for an argument and Gerda worried it wouldn’t sit well with her husband.

“You had a fight. That much is clear.” Kai said with unfounded certainty. “The two of you ended up being hurt.” His voice steadily rose up and he pointed to Marshall’s injured arm to make his point clearer. “There was blood everywhere… Don’t try to minimise whatever it is you did!”

Marshall frowned at him. “I didn’t hurt her and we didn’t have a fight. Elsa and I—” 

“Elsa did whatever was in her power to avoid you these last few days.”

“That isn't true!” Marshall spat, and Gerda could see the hurt in his eyes behind his anger. Kai wouldn't let Marshall explain himself and Gerda felt it was unfair.

“Okay. Enough of this. Stop.” Kristoff said, putting himself in between the two of them. “Elsa made a mistake, all right?" he said to his father. "She got hurt and lost control. Marshall got hurt because of it and ended up getting caught in all this mess.”

"Is that good enough for you? Or are you going to call your ridiculous partner to help you interrogate me?" Marshall barked, unable to control the anger he felt.

"For fuck’s sake, mate," Kristoff complained, pushing Marshall slightly to keep him at bay. "Shut up and let me talk."

Kai held Marshall's gaze until he decided it was best to deal with the mountaineer at some other time. Walking towards the door, he opened it wide and ordered, "I want you out of the house. Now."

"Kai, there’s no reason to—" Gerda tried to intervene.

"It’s okay, Gerda," Marshall said, his voice softer than before. "Thank you for your hospitality."

She watched him walk out the door and Gerda felt incredibly bad for him. She had seen the concern in his eyes when he brought Elsa home. She had seen the way her daughter relied on him when she was feeling weak or threatened, and that was enough for her to know he was incapable of hurting her. Not thinking twice about it, Gerda went after him.

She looked around and noticed the door of an old SUV closing with a loud bang. She got closer and saw Marshall hitting the steering wheel repeatedly. He was letting out his frustration on the car and Gerda thought it was best to stop him. She knocked on his window, and waited, hoping he'd listen to her.

When he finally turned to look at her, his tearful eyes made Gerda regret not saying something sooner. She knew she should’ve stopped Kai from throwing all the blame on him when they were all inside the house. "Please, open the door," Gerda said with a small, apologetic smile.

He didn't say anything; but to her relief, he rolled down the window and waited.

"I beg you to forgive my husband," she said even though she knew he wouldn't, at least not that night. "I know you care about Elsa and I can't thank you enough for that."

He looked at her for a moment, only to nod his head twice.

"I'll make sure she calls you once she wakes up."

He ended up thanking her for coming after him and he made her promise she’d let him know if Elsa needed help. She did and asked for his phone number. She then bid him goodbye and watched him go.

When Gerda got into the house, Kai informed her Kristoff was in Elsa’s room. They both had argued when she had left the house after Marshall, and Kristoff had chosen to go spend some time with his sister, even if she was still asleep.

Understanding her son’s feelings, she picked Marshall’s blanket that had been left forgotten on the small table and walked to Elsa’s room as well. She wanted to spend the rest of the evening with both her children and let Kai on his own, thinking about the things he had done wrong.

---

I think I like this chapter better than chapter 42. I personally didn’t like the way the previous one turned out and there are a few things I’d like to change (about my writing, not the plot itself), but I thought it was best to continue the story rather than start making small changes here or there.

I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the ones before. Several things I opened over 10 chapters ago are starting to come together and that might make these following chapters kind of convoluted. I hope that doesn’t make them too slow paced, but I want to start closing things, you know.

You may have noticed that Kai may seem sort of OCC in this chapter. But I did it on purpose. See, I like to think of him as that kind of person who’s calm and collected until the day the people he cares about are in “danger”, even if the danger is created by his own anxiety. I think all the stress about seeing his daughter so out of sorts finally got to him. I also revealed a bit more why Kai and Gerda are so overprotective of Elsa all the time — besides the obvious reason that’s Elsa’s past, of course. When I began this story I wanted to give every character a “backstory” of their own, and now you know more about Kai’s and Gerda’s.

As always, let me know what you think of this chapter as well as the rest. Your opinions always help me know what I’m doing right and wrong, so keep them coming.

Hope you guys are doing perfectly well! Read you soon.

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Those who don’t want to be tagged anymore, please let me know on PM!

[yummytiger]

Fun Facts About The Terminator Franchise 🤖

1.) Arnold Schwarzenegger says he prefers playing heroes rather than villains, this is why he wanted to redeem The Terminator in the Sequel "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"

2.) Linda Hamilton's Twin Sister Leslie Hamilton appears in several scenes of the Terminator Sequel, Judgment Day, she helped out as a stunt double as well

3.) Edward Furlong's first role ever was teenage John Connor in Terminator 2

4.) The T-800(the Terminator model that Arnold played), is the first Terminator to learn from right from wrong, when he sacrifices himself for Humanity at the end of the film, he had visible tears in his eyes, this was the first time a Terminator felt sadness and love

5.) The T-1000(played by Richard Patrick) isn't merely just a killing machine either, he genuinely hates humans and loves to watch us suffer, he is purely evil

6.) Summer Glau who played The TOK715 aka Cameron in The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the first Terminator to experience a range of human emotions, hunger, confusion, sadness, anger, jealously, she's even the first Terminator to say to John Connor "I Love You"

7.) The Matrix Franchise is heavily inspired by The Terminator Franchise, it's even been argued among fans that both stories exist in the same universe, some people have a fan theory that Neo is the great grand-son of John Connor

8.) The Agents in The Matrix are Terminators in their own universe

9.) Arnold Schwarzenegger originally auditioned to play Kyle Reese, so did Sting, the frontman for the 80s Rock Group, The Police, eventually, the role would be played by Michael Biehn

10.) Billy Idol almost played The T-1000 in Terminator 2, the role would eventually go to Richard Patrick

11.) Christian Symbolism is all over The Terminator Franchise, it's what would be considered a modern day Christian Allegory, Sarah Connor is Mary, Kyle is Joseph, John is Jesus and us the audience is the Terminator getting redeemed through the T-800's sacrifice(this making John Connor and the redeemed T-800, Christ Figures of the Franchise)

12.) The T-X from Terminator 3, played by Kristanna Loken, is the first female Terminator portrayed on screen, the second portrayal was by Summer Glau on the Sarah Connor Chronicles

13.) The Terminator Franchise is one of those stories that is loved equally by both genders, according to Michael Biehn, most of the Terminator fans he's meet over the past 40 years have been women

14.) Linda Hamilton trained with the US Army by choice to get fit for returning to the role of Sarah for the Terminator sequel

15.) Terminator 2 was the most expensive movie ever made when it was released back in the summer of 1991

[cecexwrites]

Okay so I am working on an idea for a Descendants fic that is currently spiraling out of control and idk what to do sooooo I am going to ask ya’ll.

The basic idea is that when Adam was creating Auradon, he came to Elsa who declined Arendelle’s participation in the uniting. Soon after, Elsa finds herself protecting the Enchantress who has run to Arendelle for Sanctuary as both a perceived villain and because she has magic, which Adam is trying to purge from Auradon.

so these are the choices

Option 1: Write it set in the early days of Auradon. With The threat of war looming over them as Elsa refuses to turn over The Enchantress. The romance would be Elsa and the Enchantress and this would result in me writing another fic that would probably include option 2 or 3. This option is mostly just turning the war into something that happened many many years ago and would give it it’s own full length story

Option 2: Gil and Jay are on their epic post grad adventure and end up crossing into Arendelle, something they don’t realize is against the rules. Oops. We get the events of option 1 in general flashbacks (and maybe a novella) and Jay and Gil end up held as ‘prisoners’. would probably be Jay/the son of Elsa and The Enchantress (Who will get a name, I promise) and possibly Gil/kristanna daughter idk.

Option 3: Relations between Arendelle and Auradon have always been strained due to the events of option one but now that Ben is king and he’s tearing down the magical barrier between Auradon and The Isle and he’s welcoming both Villains and magic back to the land, it’s time to try and repair that relationship. The Frozen Family travels to Auradon to do just that (The events of option 1 would again be addressed in flashbacks and a possible Novella) and I’m not entirely clear on what the ships would be here- maybe the same. There would also be a threat that they have to come together to defeat (Although I could hold off on this idea and maybe use it for the next generation idea?)

I do still need to actually sit down and watch Frozen 2 so maybe most of these ideas wouldn’t work after the events of that movie who knows. anyway, as of this moment, what do ya’ll think?

[extrabeurre]

DARKNESS OF MAN de James Cullen Bressack: Oublie ça, Jean-Claude, c'est Koreatown

Un pro de la gâchette à la retraite, que les événements rendent assoiffé de vengeance envers la mafia russe; un style visuel sombre et atmosphérique; des sous-titres ostentatoires : il n’y a aucun doute que le coscénariste et réalisateur James Cullen Bressack a été influencé par John Wick. En même temps, son film est ouvertement un néo-noir se déroulant dans un Los Angeles, plus précisément Koreatown, où il pleut curieusement souvent, avec une narration cynique en voix hors-champ, des affiches de The Big Sleep et In a Lonely Place sur les murs de la chambre de motel où habite le protagoniste, une intrigue aux ramifications plus complexes qu’il ne le semble au premier abord… Mais plus que tout, on se retrouve devant une vue tardive de Jean-Claude Van Damme, acteur principal et producteur exécutif d’un long-métrage dont il a élaboré l’histoire avec Cullen Bressack. Son personnage, Russell Hatch, est un ex-agent d’Interpol vieillissant, fatigué, alcoolique (« Just leave the bottle. »), avec un visage buriné de regret — du pur JCVD du 21e siècle. Il y a deux ans, Hatch a promis à son amante coréenne Esther (Chika Kanamoto) qu’il allait s’occuper de son fils adolescent Jayden (Emerson Min) s’il lui arrivait quelque chose, et c’est une promesse qu’il compte bien tenir, au risque de sa vie s’il le faut…

Doté d’un budget qu’on devine limité, Darkness of Man est néanmoins assez bien réalisé, avec un relativement bon ratio d’action souvent ultra-violente. Au sein d’une distribution qui inclut également Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3), le rappeur Sticky Fingaz, et brièvement Shannen Doherty, Eric Roberts et Cynthia Rothrock (!), la vaste majorité du film repose sur les épaules de Van Damme, qui livre une performance très habitée et mélancolique. Ce n’est pas excellent comme Lukas (2018), mais si vous êtes fan de JCVD, vous devriez quand même passer un bon moment.

Darkness of Man sera lancé en vidéo sur demande le mardi 21 mai. https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/darknessofman

[fred-the-curator]

Darkness of Man: Quand JCVD Combat le Mal à Los Angeles Sortie VOD Imminente!

Darkness of Man: Quand JCVD Combat le Mal à Los Angeles – Sortie VOD Imminente! Pitch et informations Dans Darkness of Man, Jean-Claude Van Damme incarne Russell Hatch, un ancien agent d'Interpol qui a promis de protéger Jayden, le fils d'un informateur tué des années auparavant lors d'un raid qui a mal tourné. Des années plus tard, alors que des gangs impitoyables se livrent une guerre de territoire sans merci à Los Angeles, Jayden se retrouve pris au milieu. Hatch va alors tout faire pour le protéger et combattre quiconque se mettra en travers de son chemin, y compris de supposés alliés aux intentions douteuses. Le film est réalisé par James Cullen Bressack, à qui l'on doit déjà plusieurs films d'action de série B comme Fortress avec Bruce Willis. Au casting, on retrouve aux côtés de JCVD : Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3), Shannen Doherty (Charmed), Spencer Breslin ou encore le rappeur Sticky Fingaz. Les premières images dévoilées montrent un film sombre et brutal, avec des combats viscéraux. Van Damme, qui a co-écrit l'histoire originale, s'est beaucoup investi dans ce projet présenté comme un "film passion". Il réalisera lui-même la plupart de ses cascades pour garder un maximum d'authenticité. Darkness of Man sortira directement en VOD le 21 mai 2024. Le film promet de montrer Jean-Claude Van Damme sous un jour différent, dans un rôle très dramatique tourné en anglais, ce qui est assez rare pour l'acteur belge ces dernières années. Mon avis En tant que fan de JCVD, je suis assez enthousiaste à l'idée de le voir revenir dans un film d'action pur jus tourné à Los Angeles, là où il a débuté sa carrière. Le pitch de départ est classique mais efficace, et j'aime l'idée de voir Van Damme en protecteur bourru mais attachant. Après des projets plus personnels en français comme JCVD ou Lukas, c'est intéressant de le voir renouer avec un cinéma d'action américain plus roots. Les premières images et les déclarations de l'équipe promettent un film brutal et viscéral, avec un Van Damme très investi. Maintenant, il faut voir ce que donnera la réalisation de James Cullen Bressack, habitué aux films de série B. Le casting de seconds rôles est sympa mais pas non plus incroyable. Mais dans l'ensemble, en tant qu'amateur de films d'action old school et de la filmographie de JCVD, je suis curieux de découvrir Darkness of Man, en espérant un bon divertissement musclé et un beau comeback pour l'acteur belge dans un rôle taillé pour lui. Verdict en mai 2024 ! via Blogger https://ift.tt/Az6QGfp April 09, 2024 at 09:00AM

[avitha]

Holiday Guests

Anna and Stefan

[kristannafever]

Big Sky Ranch - 6

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 4460

Chapter Index

--------------------------

Davy and Buck hopped in Frankie’s truck, leaving Kristoff sitting alone with Anna in the back seat while Sven rode shotgun and Coop drove them back to the ranch. 

He was frustrated and tired as hell.  “This isn’t safe,” he said to her again.

Anna shook her head, utterly defiant.  “Like I said, I don’t care.  You are not keeping me out of this now.”

She was angering him.  And she was also arousing him.  He’d been with a cowgirl once who could give it as good as she could take it, and that was nothing compared to the fiery determination in Anna’s eyes.  Fuck, he was a goner with this woman. 

And he had to admit, having her in his corner like she was, that pissed off look like she had when she’d tasered those guys in the back, made him feel pretty damn good.  Whatever thoughts he had that she might give up on him before giving him a proper chance, were gone.  Ever since she hopped into his lap in the truck and looked at him, he could see it in her eyes, and it was all reaffirmed by the fact that she insisted on coming along.

“I’m putting my money on two,” Sven said.  “No way they’re waiting until near daybreak.”

“Yup,” Kristoff agreed. 

“And you really think they won’t split up and hit our houses too?” Coop asked from the driver’s seat.

Sven shook his head.  “No way, too close to the main house.  They know better than to draw Weadick’s attention to them.”

“He’s the man that owns the ranch?” Anna asked.

“Yeah,” Sven answered.  “His family has been ranching in these parts for over a century.  Everyone knows who he is, even Daddy’s boy.”

“And Mr. Weadick… was at the bar tonight too?”

“No,” Kristoff said quickly.  “He doesn’t want any part of what happens outside of this ranch and everyone knows it.  No one fucks with him.”

“He had a son that he planned to take over the ranch someday,” Sven explained.  “Then he was killed when a drunk driver hit him and flipped his truck into a flooded ditch.  Drunk guy passed out and that poor kid drown to death in his own truck.  The old man didn’t really care about much after that.  Waved his rifle at anyone who dared to bother him.”

“Jeez,” Anna muttered, looking sad and bothered by what was said.

“He has a daughter,” Kristoff said, reaching down and grabbing Anna’s hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.  “She lives in the city with her husband.   Old man Weadick is hopin’ to have a grandkid someday to leave the ranch to.”

“His daughter doesn’t want anything to do with it?” Anna asked.

Sven chimed in, “Nah, not so much.  They got into a bit of a fight about it last time she was visitin’ him for dinner.”

“Could hear them arguin’ all the way at our houses,” Coop said.

“Apparently her and her husband want to sub-divide the land, build housing developments on it.  You know, big estate lots.  Get rich,” Sven added.  “Course, old man Weadick said ‘over my dead body’.”

Anna smiled slightly at the old-man voice that Sven put on when he mimicked his boss. 

Kristoff said, “So, he just sits up in that house, pays us to take care of the ranch, and bides his time.”

“That sounds lonely,” Anna murmured, still looking a little troubled.  “Is he… or, was he, married?”

“He was,” Sven answered.  “She died couple years ago.  Cancer.”

Kristoff nodded. “She was sick for a while and he knew it was coming.  Still, tragic though.  She was really nice, even after what happened to her son.”

“She made the best apple pie,” Sven said with a dreamy voice.

“Wish I could have met her,” said Coop, taking a turn off the country road onto a gravel laneway that Anna recognized as the driveway to Kristoff’s cabin.

Sven laughed.  “She would have liked you, kid.  She could tease the new greenhorns as well as any of us.”

“Huh,” Coop mused.  “Maybe not then.”

Everyone in the truck chuckled a little as Coop drove past where Kristoff’s truck was parked in front of the cabin and around to the back onto the grassy field that rolled up to a wide berm.  He took it a couple hundred meters further and into a ticket of trees that had space enough for the vehicle where it would be out of sight.  The men took off their hats and left them in the truck as they got out.

The moon was just a sliver in the sky, making it near pitch black as they walked the way back to the cabin.  He offered Anna his elbow so that she wouldn’t trip in the dark, and she held it tight walking along beside him. 

At the cabin, Kristoff went inside while everyone else stayed on the porch.  He grabbed the items he needed and joined them, closing his front door and walking back into the darkness.  He handed the rifle to Coop and his other shotgun to Sven.  Moments later, Frankie’s truck rolled up the drive and Buck and Davy got out, each holding a rifle, and walked to where they all were standing. 

Frankie leaned out his open window.  “You boys got this?”

All the men nodded. 

“Alright,” Frankie said.  “I’ll stay hidden and keep an eye on these guys’ approach.  I send the signal, you get ready.  You get into trouble, you call me.  When this is all said and done, I’ll escort those boys outta here myself.”

Kristoff, Sven, Davy, Buck and Coop all murmured an agreement and got into a circle as Frankie pulled away.

“How we playin’ this?” Buck asked.

“Just like the last time,” Sven said. 

“Last time?” Anna and Coop both asked in unison.

Kristoff turned to Anna and gave her a smile, even if she could barely make it out in the near complete darkness.  “Story for another time,” he said quietly.

Buck gave orders. “Davy, you take up point in the back on the left.  I’ll take it up in the back on the right.  Sven, you take up front by your brother, and Greenhorn, I need you to go hide on the slope to the river.  As soon as Kristoff and Sven make themselves known to these boys, you come up slowly, rifle ready, let em know you’re there, and try to look intimidating.”

Coop said, “Sure, no proble-”

“And keep your damn mouth shut,” Buck ordered.

Coop nodded and every man peeled away from Kristoff, Sven and Anna.

“What do I do?” she asked.

That bit of anger flared up again that she was even there.  “Nothing,” Kristoff said quietly.  “You keep your head down until this is over.”

“I have my taser,” she said, voice defiant.

“We’re playing with guns, Anna,” Kristoff said, and started walking down his drive to where they would lay in wait.  “Unless you know how to shoot, you keep quiet and keep your head down.”

She was silent as she followed them and he had to wonder if she was mad at him, or upset with him, or maybe even done with him?  This was certainly not how he wanted to be spending time with her.  Even though it was dark, he’d seen the surprised look on her face when he came out of the cabin with the firearms.

Shit, maybe she was scared? 

Kristoff turned to her as they walked and spoke quietly.  “Just so you know, we have no intention of shootin’ anyone.  Just a precaution, you know.  In case they come in hot.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Anna said back quietly, making it hard for him to gauge her mood.  “I wouldn’t be here if I thought you were going to kill anybody.”

That made him wonder again why she was even there at all.  She had to have known there wouldn’t be anything for her to do in this particular fight.  Did she just want to make sure nothing happened to him?  Or did she want to make sure that no one got hurt with the high levels of testosterone about to face off.

He thought back to his threat against Daddy’s boy in the bar, saying he’d kill him if he laid a hand on Anna.  At the time it was an empty threat, only now, with the thought of Anna possibly getting hurt, maybe not so much. 

Sven peeled off into the bush next to the laneway and ducked under a tree branch to put himself on the far side of the big Oak, hiding from the road behind the trunk.  Kristoff and Anna followed and took up a place out of sight near him.

“So, what is the plan?” Anna whispered when they were settled in hiding. 

“Couple of them will come up the lane,” Sven said quietly. 

“We flank them and Davy and Buck handle the others sneaking up the back,” Kristoff added.

Anna said, “So when you said like last time, you meant it.  Literally.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”  Kristoff sighed.  They didn’t have time to get into the whole story right that instant. 

“With the same guys?” Anna asked.

“No, different scenario altogether, but we don’t-”

Kristoff’s phone vibrated.  He pulled it out of his breast pocket and looked at it the same time Sven looked at his own phone.  Frankie had sent a group text to all the men lying in wait.

“Shit, they didn’t waste any time.”  Kristoff put his phone back in his pocket and took a firm grip on the shotgun.

“Probably went by the bar and looked for our truck and figured we knocked off early.”

“It would appear so,” Kristoff whispered.  He turned to Anna, barely able to make out her expression in the dark.  “You stay behind this tree until it’s over, you hear me?”

“Yeah, okay,” she whispered back. 

“I’m serious,” he warned. 

“Trust me, I believe you,” she said, and shuffled closer to the tree trunk while Sven moved closer to Kristoff’s side.  He couldn’t worry about her or her thoughts in that moment.  Shit was about to go down.

They were silent as they waited and listened.  Everyone knew they would leave their truck a ways back and proceed on foot.  It seemed to take a long time, until the crunch of gravel under boots could be faintly heard coming up the laneway. 

Kristoff waited as three of them walked past, taking careful steps to minimize their noise and one of them with a flashlight pointed to the ground to see where they were stepping.  Of course, Daddy’s boy was leading the charge.  One of them had a shotgun and the other two had something else in their hands that Kristoff wasn’t quite able to make out in the dark. 

Now behind them, Kristoff and Sven crept silently up to the gravel, walking on the grass on the edge a few steps to get closer.  Kristoff stopped in place and Sven went to the left, flanking them on the side.  When he was in place, Kristoff made his move. 

He racked the shotgun, breaking the silence of the night with two loud metal clacks, and all three men stopped dead in their tracks and whipped around towards him. 

“Help you boys?” he asked in a low voice that resonated almost as loud as the shotgun in the quiet of the night.

Sven racked his shotgun, and their focus immediately went that way.  Then Coop approached from the other side and cleared his throat to let them know he was there.  Now all three men were looking back and forth to him, Sven and Coop, realizing they were effectively surrounded.  The one with the gun was keeping it low for the time being.  Good.  It was better this didn’t escalate much further. 

“You boys are trespassing,” Sven warned them without raising his voice too much.  “Not smart.”

“What you got in your hands there, shitheads?” Kristoff asked.

Both of the men holding the small-ish object moved their hands behind their backs to hide what they had.  Not one of them said a word.  Kristoff knew they were waiting for the other two coming up the back to get them out of their predicament. 

He started walking towards them slowly, gun up at the ready and aiming at their knees.  “Drop it,” he demanded through gritted teeth.

They listened, dropping the objects that sounded like thick, liquid-filled glass as they clinked off the gravel.   A second later a sharp whistle came from somewhere behind the cabin.

“Comin in,” Buck warned in his loud voice. 

“Davy too?” Sven shouted back.

“Yup.”

“Good, now we got ourselves a party,” Sven said as he approached the three men Kristoff had the gun trained on.  He reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, using the flashlight to see what they’d dropped on the laneway. 

“Are those… Jesus shit,” Sven said.  “I knew you guys were fuckin’ crazy but I didn’t think y’all were this nuts.”

“What do we have?” Kristoff asked.

“Couple of Molotov cocktails,” Sven answered.  “No doubt with your name on ‘em.”

In a moment of pure anger, Kristoff raised the gun face level to the three men in front of him.  “You gonna burn down the cabin with me in it.  That the idea?”

Buck and Davy came into view from the side of the cabin with two men walking in front of them, rifles trained on their backs.

“Please, let me go.  I didn’t even want to do this,” said the other guy who had been holding a burn bottle.  He raised his hands slowly.  “I can’t take this shit anymore.”

“Shut your goddamn mouth, Lyle,” Daddy’s boy warned his friend.

The man with his hands in the air turned to his boss.  “No way, Boone.  You’re a fuckin’ psycho.  I’m done with you.”  He turned to Kristoff.  “Can I go, please?  I will never, ever, set foot in this county again.  You have my word.”

Kristoff jerked his head to the side in answer and the guy left hastily with his hands still up in the air.    “Let Frankie know,” he said to Sven.

Taking one hand off the gun, Sven got his phone and dialed.  It was answered right away.  “Got one coming out.  Let him go.”  Then he hung up and put the phone back in his breast pocket.

“Who the fuck was that?” asked the man next to Boone with the gun pointed low.

Kristoff answered, “Cops.”

“Oh, fuck no, I’m out.”  He raised one hand slowly, and with very deliberate and careful movements, bent to lay the gun on the ground. 

“Seriously, Chet?  You fucking pussy,” Boone spat at his friend. 

Chet straightened slowly. “Same deal.  I’m done.  I ain’t never comin’ back here.  I promise.”

“Fuck off then,” Sven said. 

“How about you two?” Buck asked the men stopped in front of them.  The assholes shared a look and then slowly raised their hands in surrender.

“We see you fellas again,” Buck warned, “this is gonna end very differently.”

“Yup,” they both agreed, and started walking quickly away.

“You fucking sissy ass motherfuckers,” Boone screeched in their direction.  Neither man answered. 

Sven grabbed his phone again and dialed Frankie.  “All four, good to go on foot.  Just got Daddy’s boy left to talk to.” 

Boone stood there stark still.  Kristoff could just make out the anger and defiance in his eyes.  He wanted to hit Kristoff… badly.  Hell, he wanted to set his house on fire with him in it no doubt.  He was a dangerous man who could not be turned loose to strike again.

Kristoff had wanted to settle this himself, but the only way this was going to end permanently was a line that he was not about to cross, regardless of his previous feelings of anger. 

Sven moved to his side.  “This is really fucking serious,” he whispered.

“I know,” Kristoff whispered back.  He knew damn well Boone could hear them from the look he was giving them.  The man was furious.

“Tell me those aren’t what I think they are,” Buck said as him and Davy approached, shining a flashlight at the ground where the gasoline filled bottles lay.

Kristoff nodded at the old man.

“Shit,” he said slowly.  “Sven, you better get Frankie up here.”

Sven turned away taking out his phone.  Kristoff watched him walk away and spoke quietly to the man on the other end.  Then he saw movement far past in the direction Sven was heading and was about to swing his gun around, thinking one of Boone’s boys had a change of heart, when he realized it was Anna.

He pointed the gun at the dirt immediately and swiftly walked over, telling Buck to ‘watch him’ over his shoulder. 

He strode up to her quickly, angry that she didn’t listen.  “What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed, then looked over his shoulder, hoping they were far enough away that Boone didn’t see her in the dark.   

“I saw four guys run out of here and didn’t hear anything for a while,” she whispered back to him with her own harsh tone.  “I was worried.”

“We’re fine, go back to the tree,” he said, and turned away.

“No.”

He stopped in his tracks and turned back slowly.  He stared at her, quiet around them except for Sven’s voice faintly in the distance, and the far-off drone of crickets and frogs.  His eyes, so much better adjusted to the low light, appraised her furrowed brow and serious expression.  Never in his life had he ever felt such a deep urge to kiss someone.

And never in his life had he ever felt such a deep urge to protect someone.

“Anna, listen, this turned serious.  I do not want-”

“What do you mean serious?  Is someone hurt?”

He shook his head quickly.  “No, no.  But Boone is a dangerous guy.”

“Boone?”

“Ringleader’s name apparently,” he said impatiently.  “Listen, Anna, I do not want him to know that you are here.  I absolutely do not want him to make a target of you.  Please, please, go back to the tree.  This is serious.”

Her wide eyes, shining in the scant moonlight, finally showed understanding.  She nodded and turned away without a word.  Kristoff trudged back to where Sven was just hanging up the phone, hoping they were far enough away now not to be overheard.

“What did he say?”

Sven pursed his lips.  “He’s pissed, of course.  And he’s headed over now to take this fuckwad into custody.  But even charging him probably won’t stick like it didn’t stick last time.  Daddy has deep pockets and knows how to go over Frankie’s head.”

“Yeah, I’m worried about that too.”  Kristoff rubbed a hand down his face.  “What can we do?”

“Dig a grave,” Sven said solemnly. 

“Come on, Sven.  We aren’t those men.”

“Kristoff, brother, if he ever hurts you, I am one of those men.”

He nodded, unable to help where his mind went all of the sudden.  If it was Sven, or Anna, and the worst happened… well, then he wasn’t sure what he’d be capable of, but he imagined it would be a lot.  Like Sven, he supposed he would be one of those men after all.

Headlights stabbed through the darkness on the country road and turned off onto the gravel laneway.  Kristoff and Sven stood where they were, watching as Frankie’s truck pulled up.   While neither of them uttered it out loud, they were both afraid of what Boone might be capable of should his father bail him out of jail again.

*****

Anna waited, eyeing the truck that was now leaving the ranch and wondering what was happening.  Then Kristoff was there a moment later, calling to her in the dark.  She finally came out from behind the tree and met him on the road.  He looked worried.  Exhausted. 

“Frankie has him now,” he said by way of a greeting.  He shrugged dejectedly. 

“What happened?”  She couldn’t help but ask.  Her curiosity was running amok. 

“I, uh… I need to get you back to your place.  Hop in my truck and we can talk on the way.”

Kristoff turned and walked away, so she followed.  When they approached the truck, he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out some keys then went to the passenger side and unlocked the door.  It was clearly an old truck, made even more apparent to Anna that it didn’t have automatic locks.  He opened the door and waited until she crawled up into the cab before shutting it. 

He unlocked his own door and hopped in and had just started the vehicle when the big dually rounded the corner around the cabin.  Kristoff rolled down his window with a hand crank when the bigger, nearly brand-new truck stopped.  The back window went down.

Sven looked out at them.  “Drive safe.  See you in a bit.”

Kristoff nodded once and rolled up his window as Coop pulled away.  He put his truck in reverse, backed away from the cabin, and turned to head down the laneway to the main road.  He was silent as he drove, and Anna wondered how to approach the subject.   He was clearly on guard about something.  Perhaps the gentle approach would be best.

“I can see that you and Sven really are as close as brothers.”

Anna could see his mouth turn up in the smallest of smiles by the dim light coming off the instruments of the dashboard.  “Thick as thieves,” he agreed. 

“Do you guys still know your Norwegian?  After you told me the story, I got to wondering.”

He bobbed his head back and forth.  “We do, for the most part.  We have both forgotten a lot of it over the years.  I mean, we never did learn how to read or write it.  I guess we could figure it out if we really needed to, but we just embraced the English and kind of left all that behind.”

“You both speak it really well.  Aside from the names, I figured you were both born here.”

He nodded thoughtfully.  “Sometimes it feels like we were.”

Anna was silent a moment, then decided to get the information she wanted.  “I hope no one was hurt?”

He looked over at her quickly.  “No, not at all.”

“Can you tell me what happened then?”

He sighed, long and deep.  “They showed up with the intent to burn my cabin to the ground.  Likely thinkin’ I was in it.”

Anna’s heart dropped in her chest.  When Kristoff said it was serious, she did not think it was that serious.  She thought maybe someone hit someone they shouldn’t have, or maybe uttered some kind of threat.  Arson and a possible attempted murder weren’t even in her wheelhouse of possibilities. 

She suddenly didn’t know what to say.  Now she understood Kristoff’s rather harsh insistence that she stay put and stay out of danger.  It was clear to her that he didn’t think that those guys were going to do much worse than beat him up either.

“Anna, I don’t think this is gonna work.  Between us.”

She snapped her head in his direction, blindsided.  “What?” Her heart quickened in her chest.

“This life of mine… it’s not for you.  This is never going to work.”

Anger swelled up, setting her on edge.  After what they’d been through in such a short time, and the strong feelings they had talked about, she knew exactly why he’d said that.  “You get people trying to murder you often?”

Now it was his turn to look quicky at her.  “What?  No!”

“So, this Boone guy shows up with some seriously fucked up idea to set fire to the cabin, apparently with you in it, and you don’t think someone is going to do something about it?”

“His dad bailed him out of the drunk driving charges,” he said sternly.  “I’m sure he’ll bail him out of this too and he’ll try again.”

“You honestly think that?  After what happened, that he’d try and do it again?  With how serious this is?  With how serious those charges are?”

He looked flabbergasted as he kept his eyes on the road, his mouth working silently. “Yes!” he said after sputtering a moment. 

“And you’re worried about something bad happening to me because of it.”  It was a statement, not a question, and Anna knew exactly what she was doing in saying it that way.

His jaw tensed and he suddenly jerked the wheel, pulling them far into the ditch as he flicked a knob on the steering column.  A tick-ticking sound filled the cab as the hazard lights started flashing.  He turned to her, looking down at her where she braced herself against the passenger door for how far they were tilting into the ditch.  His eyes were wide.  “Yes,” he said, “and that horrifies me.”

“You know what horrifies me?  The thought of you getting hurt too.  Why do you think I was adamant about coming along?”  He didn’t react.  He just stared at her with intensity.  Anna pushed herself up a bit off the door to get her face closer to his.  “Do you feel this?  The way I feel this?”

After a second or two, his entire body relaxed along with his face and he just sat there, looking at her for a moment before he slowly nodded.  “I do.  I surely do.”

“Then don’t ever say something like that to me again.”

His eyes scanned hers and he nodded, the corner of his mouth turning up.  “Yes, ma’am.”

Anna smiled.  She liked that.  The other girls at the diner hated it because they were on the young side like her, but Anna had never been addressed with a near constant respect like that from Kristoff and all the other cowboys.  It was nice. 

“Alright then,” Anna agreed, something Kristoff had said to her numerous times already.  She even tried to mimic his slight accent and was rewarded with a bit of a smile. 

He looked contemplative as he pulled back onto the road, and they drove the rest of the way to Anna’s place in silence.  He parked on the street and shut his truck off, then he turned to her, only Anna wasn’t about to let him say whatever he’d opened his mouth to say.

“Stay with me tonight?”

He let out an exasperated breath and shook his head slightly.  “Anna…”

“On my couch.  I’d feel better if you did.”

His mouth closed slowly, looking at her with exhausted eyes, then to her delight, he nodded.

---

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[ericmicael]

I've already written two fanfics where Hans returns:

the first takes place on the eve of KristAnna's wedding and Hans infiltrates Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest with the intention of causing chaos in the relationship of the two peoples to show that Anna is a terrible queen, he literally uses disguises stealing clothes and throwing stones in the stores... the focus of the fanfic is comedy, although there are some comments involving the prejudice that the tribe suffers.

the second fanfic he invades Arendelle on purpose at the time that Elsa was traveling far away (she does not appear in the fanfic), his plan is to kill Anna during a crisis that is happening in the kingdom involving the acceptance of the population of Arendelle with the presence of the Northuldras (I like this theme) that it's on the brink of sparking an uprising or civil war (this fanfic has a lot of political themes including Anna at the end questioning the idea of making Arendelle a democracy). But when Hans explains his reasons for being there is the weakest point of the entire fanfic since I really didn't know his reasons for wanting revenge in a serious plot, and even Anna ends up mocking how little sense it makes for the Hans' plan in F1 (which remain the same in this fanfic) involving becoming king and proving himself worthy to humiliate his relatives. Wouldn't it be much simpler for him to just ignore Arendelle and try the same thing with another place he didn't know? In the mobile game "Disney Magic Kingdoms" this is what he tries to do by literally repeating the same F1 plan, but because he used Marshmallow to create the Eternal Winter and pretends to be the savior, he ends up attracting the sisters and everything goes wrong. If I had seen this participation before maybe this fanfic would be different... or more likely not since this fanfic is based on a dream I had.

For me these two fanfics ended up showing how little sense the character's return (with some importance in the plot) makes thinking about his motivations in F1 or any other material he appears after "Frozen Fever" whether canon or not. So I really prefer a new character with some similar stereotypes (like Thord and Runeard who I nickname "sons of Hans"), but with different goals instead of doing a 90º turn on the character that for me already had his arc with the sisters completed, or erase half of what Hans was just to generate something new with him, but still enjoy the effect he has on Anna & Co, and especially in cheap fanservice like what happened to Palpatine in “Star Wars IX”.

Should Hans Make a Return?

One of the burning questions that some have for Frozen 3 is if Prince Hans, the twist villain from Frozen, should return in the next film. He was absent in Frozen 2, only mentioned in passing, which was met with indifference from most Frozen fans, but disappointment from fans of the character who believed he was getting a redemption arc.

This idea originally stemmed from an interview with Hans' voice actor Santino Fontana who had hinted at the possibility that he may return. He mentions that the writers told him that they want to bring him back and redeem him. You can see this interview here, the Frozen segment lasts from approx. 15:35 - 19:35.

However, F2 had Elsa say that Hans is an irredeemable monster, and the songwriters had once compared him to a politician they don't like - giving off the impression that this wasn't actually considered, or the idea was scrapped.

The option has once again presented itself for Frozen 3, and I wanted to discuss the possibility and if he should even make a return.

Hans After Frozen

Hans' last film appearance was Frozen Fever in 2015, where we see him shoveling horse manure before being hit by Elsa's giant snowball.

Later that year, Hans appeared in the novel A Frozen Heart, where his point of view was explored alongside Anna's during the events of the first film. We learned quite a bit about his backstory, but this book's canon is debatable due to it being retconned by A Forest of Shadows in 2019 (the book gives a different description of what happened after Anna was hit by Elsa's magic).

Speaking of Forest of Shadows, Hans actually does make a brief appearance in this book. He appears in Anna's nightmare, one that shows her fear of Elsa thinking that Anna is useless to her.

The dancer bowed, the silver wolf mask nearly tipping off his nose. “As you wish, Princess Anna.” The blood in her veins turned to ice. Anna knew that voice. It was a voice she didn’t want to hear again. She peered uncertainly through the dark eyeholes of the mask. “Prince—Prince Hans?” “The very same.” A diamond ring suddenly materialized in his hand. “Your sister said I should give this to you when I ask for your hand.” “My—my hand?” Hans grabbed her wrist and jammed the ring onto her finger. “Your hand in marriage, of course. Your sister has given her blessing. She has no use for you.”

-Frozen 2: Forest of Shadows

Hans of course makes an appearance during live shows, most notably during the musical, and is given his own song, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. In F2, other than a brief mention during their charades game and Elsa later destroying his memory in Ahtohallan, Hans is, as said, absent in the story. As a side note, he also appears in Once Upon a Time's season 4 non-canon spin-off as a villain.

Other than these instances, Hans has yet to make a return as a character in the mainline story.

How Hans Could Benefit Anna's Development

One thing we have to consider is that Hans is part of Anna's story more so than Elsa's. Yes, the two interact, but Hans was always a bigger part of Anna's overall development. I bring this up because many Hans fans that are also Helsa (Hans x Elsa) fans tend to hyper-focus on how his return would affect Elsa - when Elsa would largely be irrelevant to his return in reality.

Thus, let's refocus the conversation back on Anna. After all, it was Anna who Hans hurt and manipulated. If we're talking about him returning either as a villain or with redemption, it would directly affect Anna in one way or another.

As of Frozen 2 - Anna is the Queen of Arendelle, is engaged to marry Kristoff, has Mattias as an advisor/General, and works with Elsa in the Enchanted Forest to ensure peace.

Anna being Queen opens up some interesting narrative opportunities with Hans. His main goal was for Anna to become Queen so he would be her King. Thus, now that Anna is Queen without him, how would Hans view this? How would he react?

More importantly, how would Anna react to his return? Would she immediately shun him and give him another punch? Would she be afraid or nervous, with the writers exploring any trauma Anna may have from him? Basically, if Hans is brought back, it would actually give some interesting development opportunities for Anna and, to an extent, Kristoff.

Thus, Hans could actually make a return if his story is somehow integrated into Anna's development.

Villainous Return or Redemption?

My personal preference would be for Hans to return as a villain and, as described above, to be a development point for Anna to overcome. It would also benefit the series so that we wouldn't have to introduce a brand new villain character to develop on top of the already over-stuffed cast list. Hans already has his villain backstory and relationship with Anna, so it would be less work to make him the main villain and explore his already-established lore. I would also love it if he had a pretty amazing villain song since the series has been lacking in this department for a while.

When it comes to redemption, I don't mind the concept at all but feel it wouldn't be as fun and just make things a bit more complicated. After all, a redemption arc is a serious endeavor and requires a lot of work and care. As I said in this post here, it is not as easy as making Hans do something heroic, say he’s sorry, and now he’s good to go.

And considering the lukewarm reaction towards the simplistic and avoidant approach the writers to Agnarr and Iduna's 'redemption' (if you feel that they needed redemption, the opinions here are very polarizing) in F2, Hans' redemption would be received even more negatively due to his serious actions if they chose to oversimplify it.

As I said in the above post linked, which I'll copy here, the following would have to be addressed if the redemption takes place -

---- ---- ----

1. Having the villain learn why what they did was hurtful so that they genuinely feel bad about what they did.

This is difficult for a character like Hans because he is a Sociopath. It is not impossible to redeem a sociopathic character, but it requires a bit of nuance that not only has to disregard this aspect but may be too complex for a children’s title. Thus, the best option is to either retcon the Sociopath aspect or find a way to address the nuances in a way a child can understand.

2. Giving the villain quite a bit of time to reflect on everything and actually have the audience go on this journey with them. Thus helping the audience themselves believe that they have changed.

The issue here is that the interest is very low from audiences in the first place. People don’t want to see a Frozen 3 or Frozen Series focus on a Hans redemption- they want to see Anna and Elsa. Thus, this arc would need to take even longer because it would have to be a side story - more fitting for a series.

3. The victim’s pain needs to be the main focus, not the villain’s. Yes, understanding why the villain did what they did is important in any redemption arc. However, if the focus is too much on their tragic past, then it tells the audience that we need to feel sorry for them and not the victim.

In the case for Hans, the focus of his redemption needs to be what he did to Anna without any sugar coating or downplaying. He manipulated her, emotionally abused her after revealing himself, and then went to kill her sister after leaving her to die. The narrative would need to address all of this and let Anna express her pain to him, without his excuses.

With all this in mind, we also need to understand that it is Anna is not obligated to let Hans be part of the sister’s family no matter how much he’s changed. Even if she forgives him, letting him back in and giving him that trust again is a lot to ask. Forgiving ≠ letting back into your life. Basically, Hans would have to get his redemption and then be on his way to finding his own purpose in life. A forgive but not forget the idea.

---- ---- ----

Conclusion

My personal view is that I would love for Hans to return to the series. He was a big part of Frozen's success, with both Love is an Open Door and his twist reveal, thus it would be a shame if he never came back. My personal preference is for him to return as a villain because the narrative opportunities would be much more fun, however, I am not against the idea of him having a redemption arc - as long as it is done with care and respect.

Even better if the writers can somehow accomplish both - bring him as a villain, but somehow redeem him haha. Just give me my villain song dang it.

[annas-hair-donut]

My Kristanna Halloween/Fall Fics

The Grandfather Clock (T)

There's a demonic presence in the house Anna inherited from her parents, who died in unexplained circumstances. Determined to sell it and be rid of the burden, she enlists the help of her ex-husband Hans and Honeymaren's paranormal investigation team, but she finds herself relying on the local sheriff's expertise instead. (T)

Iduna's Apple (T)

Kristoff had been giving Anna baskets of his best apples for her Harvest Day pies for years, but he was always too shy to express his affection in any other way. Everything changed, though, when Anna got a goat named Sven with a taste for apples.

The Headless Horseman, a Chilling Tale (M)

One Halloween night, Anna finally left her violent and controlling husband Hans and fled through the dark hedges, which were said to be haunted by a headless horseman in search of blood and heads, to get to her sister Elsa. While the headless horseman was only a legend, Anna's cruel husband was real. Will the horrors of the forest be worse than than the husband she left behind?

The Jakku Lantern (E)

It’s Kristoff, his Mandalorian helmet, and Olaf the Pumpkin King, against Raggedy Anna and Elsa AKA Maleficent, in a pumpkin carving contest judged by Sandy Claws Sven. Will Mando get a happy ending, despite the helmet that just won't budge, in this alternate version of the charades scene from Frozen II?

Ginger Sweet Love (M)

Anna and Kristoff get a second chance to tell each other how they feel when Kristoff shows up unexpectedly at Anna’s Halloween/Friendsgiving party. Let's hope 17 years later isn't 17 years too late.

Seeing is Believing, Hearing is Deceiving (M)

Anna Oldenburg lives in a 19th century fantasy world of romance and ghosts and is dedicated to preserving the memories of the past, while her somewhat estranged sister Elsa Frost, an ice cream artist, does everything she can to focus on the here and now. Anna falls for Kristoff, the building conservator and maintenance technician at the Victorian mansion hotels owned by the Oldenburg family, but her over-protective father Agnarr keeps them apart. Their lives get turned upside down when Kristoff discovers a skeleton in the closet. Anna works with Kristoff to uncover the mystery of the skeleton, but she'll need her sister's help to learn the secrets of the past that are the keys to saving Elsa's son Olaf. [I have plans to rewrite this one but it keeps getting put off.]

[lovelysheree]

Part 1 of 2. 

Anna learns to balance being a mother and being a Queen.

Here’s a little written snippet of Anna’s POV below...

Anna understands duty. She knows what it means to run a kingdom. Despite having not been raised to inherit the throne, the responsibilities of being a royal figure never alluded her. She saw how much it weighed upon her father and how much pressure her sister felt as his heir. As if they had to carry it alone. There is a little bit of bitterness in her stomach over that.

She knew then that running a kingdom was no easy feat and she now thoroughlyunderstands that reality, but the stiff air she used to feel around the castle as a child was sometimes unbearable. As if the weight of responsibility was too much and the castle would crack and shatter beneath it at any moment. Sometimes it felt like all she had to do was snap and everything would break. She hated that.

Of course, nowshe knows that her sister had magical powers that, at the time, she was slowly losing control of. Nowshe knows her parents were continuing to attempt to hide it from everyoneuntil they couldn’t. Nowshe knows that the air had felt so stiff and rigid for her entire childhood because it was trying to keep everything standing. Until, inevitably, it couldn’t anymore. Until it tilted. Until it buckled.

Her parents died, Elsa ran away, and she was left to feel it. The weight. Digging into her shoulders, pulling at her chest, tightening around her neck.

But she hadn’t minded it, because she knew she wouldn’t allow herself to do it alone.

It is that thought that pulls her from her paperwork. Well, a mixture of that thought and the sounds of childish laughter rampantly approaching her workspace.

“Y-your Highness, please!” she hears Kai call after her son. “Her Majesty needs to be alone, she’s quite busy right now—Your Highness!”

Erik came running down the hallway, nearly skidding on the slick floors as he turned into his mother’s study.

More to come, I hope. I always wonder what Anna would be like as a mother and a Queen. 

[sparebutton]

Catching up after work