Of Frozen Bitterness Chapter 9: Epilogue, a frozen fanfic

Of Frozen Bitterness

Epilogue
three years later

AN: Oh, wow. I probably owe you people a lot. I guess the conflict of not being able to post this almost a month ago was because of the timeline. I had a difficult time thinking of a reasonable "number of years here years later". At first, I drafted five years later where Hans and Elsa already has a kid. But I keep thinking that'd be like a little less realistic, considering Elsa's character. She may be head over heels, but having kids rarely crossed her mind. I did a whole lot more different drafts, which is why it took me so long to post this. But I have come to my final decision, hence this chapter.

You might find this epilogue a little bit different because I'm putting it under Hans's third person POV. Two or three of my reviewers have messaged me saying that it'd be great to see through the mind of Hans, at least during the Epilogue, that is. Although at first I find it difficult to weight, it turned out to be quite amazing as I hadn't expected it. So I hope you'll like this little twist of POV to give it a different sense. And, I am rambling. Oh well.

Again, thank you for reading Of Frozen Bitterness and I hope you all enjoy the Epilogue.

PS. Best viewed in 3/4 screen option on the website itself.

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch

"Today's the day." A certain strawberry-blonde headed princess reminded warily as she popped a chocolate truffle in her mouth, eyeing the... er — prince slash royal adviser before her who was pacing to and fro in front of the fire place hastily.

"I'm aware of that." The auburn haired adviser grunted in a whirl of immediate panic as he brushed the heel of his shoe against the carpet. His features clearly indicate that he's in a state of nervous wreck, one that he hadn't expected to come from himself. He was always the calm, cool and collected person that everyone looked up to for the last two years as of being Elsa's royal adviser. But no royal tutor or law had prepared him for what was to come of his little endeavor that would occur on that very day.

Anna rolled her eyes at him as she rose from the couch. "If you keep doing that, you're not going to get anywhere with her. Calm down."

"I can't!" Hans merely snapped as he caressed his jaw with a hiss. Everything was a mixture of anger and anxiety as he continued to pace the room absent mindedly. "What if she says no? She's not really someone who chastise for such romantic executions!"

"I don't even know what chastise is. You're panicking like one of those crazy dignitaries who goes kumbaya while mourning their missing powder hairs." Anna huffed, finding it ridiculous that Hans was this nervous. It's not like her sister was going to eat him up if he ever does whatever he was going to do with the queen. "Relax, will you? It's just the royal hearing, you get your title as Prince of the Southern Isles again and voila — there goes your pro—"

Hans moved swiftly to clamp Anna's mouth shut, causing the princess's complains to be muffled by his gloved hand. "Good gods, Anna— she might hear you!"

Anna shoved his hand away before throwing a horrified frown at him. "I don't appreciate being shut out physically by my sister's boyfriend. Wow, okay — that phrase still sounds so alien to me."

"Just keep it down, will you?" Hans groaned hopelessly as he slumped his entire body against the couch where Anna was recently savoring chocolate truffles from.

He hated himself. Sometimes, he wished that Christian had just killed him on that very day when his heart was frozen. At times, he wished that he had ended up marrying Victoria instead to keep Elsa from dealing with every situation related to him. It always felt as though he was the very burden that Elsa keeps handling. But no. Those were the easy ways out. Those were the ways of a coward. He promised himself he wouldn't be a coward. Not anymore... and especially not for Elsa.

If he was going to do this, he was going to do this like a man. He wasn't going to let Christian's taunting words dishevel his intentionally now-good plans for Elsa. The crazy brother, after all, was in prison anyway. He will be for a number of years, then will soon face banishment. Christian was — as Elsa kept telling him — nothing now.

So, why was he worrying again? Oh, right. The royal hearing.

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name

"Under the laws of the Southern Isles; if an heir commits treason against a neighboring kingdom — said heir must be imprisoned for a number of eight years. After said years have been completed, the heir will either be banished or executed under the jurisdiction of the recent King or Queen of the kingdom. However, if said heir is requested by recent King or Queen to have a lighter punishment; such punishments may be any of the following: Palace servant of the neighboring kingdom for five years, imprisoned for three years, royal adviser for two years..."

"Your hands are sweaty." Elsa noticed as she brushed her fingers against his palm.

Hans swallowed as he turned to Elsa nervously. "Is it... that bad?"

"You tell me, royal adviser." The queen murmured as a tease before she continued to let her fingers play on his still damp palm. "Don't be afraid."

"It's just that..." Hans cleared his throat as quietly as he possibly could, but failed in the process.

The justiciar who was reciting the the Southern Isles law stopped for a brief moment upon hearing Hans. When Hans muttered an apology, the justiciar went on with the number of light punishments.

"Aren't you happy that you're not going to be my royal adviser anymore?" Elsa asked, arching a curious brow at him — not minding the justiciar who was eyeing them curiously; probably wondering why either of them weren't listening to him. "You get to have your title as prince again and—"

"That's what I'm afraid of." Hans's heartbeat sped faster than a galloping llama. "I fear that you might think that I'm taking advantage of you. That as soon as I'm prince again, you'd deem me as the heartless monster you met somewhere in the middle. You would think that I'm going to take the crown away and—"

"Hey," Elsa interrupted him gently as she finally slipped her fingers through the gaps between his fingers, squeezing his hand gently. "Why would you think that I would... think that? Remember what I said at the ball three years ago? I don't like seeing you wallowing in a mistake you know you can change from here on out. It's all in the past. I trust that you won't do that to me."

"How would you know?" Hans asked breathlessly, squeezing her hand back desperately.

"I just do." Elsa graced a confident smile on her beautiful face, causing the hairs on his skin to rise.

Damn.

"Hans Westergard of the Southern Isles, royal adviser to Queen Elsa of Arendelle; please rise." The justisciar resounded, causing the room to echo his words and allowing the people inside the court to go into complete silence.

It was disgusting how he swallowed, because he knew that they could hear him. He shuffled out of the velvet seat, rising with as much confidence as he could possibly conjure up. After what seemed to be a small moment of interaction with Elsa, he had almost forgotten who was in the royal court.

The left part of the court was surrounded by numbers of court officials from both the Southern Isles and Arendelle. As for the right part, there sat his parents; the former King Marcus and Queen Anita. Beside them was King Klaus; his third brother, Anderson his 10th brother and the rest of all his other brothers. It was literally a family compilation, minus Christian. They all looked at him skeptically, as if they'd expect him to draw his sword and create a massacre right then and there. Needless to say, it was quite intimidating.

Perhaps the only thing that was keeping him from losing his sanity was the encouraging features of Anna, the somehow stubborn yet helpful thumbs up of Kristoff, the warm smile of Olaf (he still has no idea how the justiciar had allowed a snowman into an official royal hearing) and last but not the least, Elsa's cool, icy eyes that tells him, "You've got this"

The justiciar cleared his throat before announcing, "May I call on King Klaus of the Southern Isles to come forth in order to present the symbols of a renewed heir."

King Klaus rose, his auburn hair bouncing every time he took a step forward towards the front of the royal court. Hans could already feel his knees turning Jell-O as the justiciar beckoned for him to come forth as well.

His brother had the kindest of features and a very intimidating aura of authority. After the reign of the late King Ferdinand, the eldest of the Westergards, Hugo took over. But Hugo found the job of ruling a kingdom far too tedious, especially when he already had his own family by that time. Klaus was evidently forced to take the crown since he was third in line. But despite his reluctance, Klaus accepted it for he knows that it was for the betterment of the kingdom and their family.

Hans wasn't really that close to Klaus, but he knew that his third brother has a heart of gold and for some reason; he found it surprising how lightly the King took care of his younger brother's crimes. Perhaps, just perhaps; there was still hope for him and his brother.

Once he was already up front, he bowed his head; afraid of staring into the eyes of his own brother. Even though his brother had allowed him light punishment, Hans still couldn't shake off the feeling of shame as he stood before his elder brother.

"Look at me, Hans." Klaus commanded in a concerned tone, causing the auburn haired man to look up to his brother. The elder heir smiled encouragingly at the thirteenth son before mouthing the words, "Be strong."

When the justiciar presented the ancient Southern Isles sword, Klaus took it from the justiciar's gloved hands before showing it to everyone in the court. Already Hans could feel the hitch of his breaths quicken. Before he could forget what he was supposed to do, he went down on one knee and bowed his head.

"Do you swear by the law of the Southern Isles and the royal court of Arendelle that in the process of gaining your title as prince that you will hereby no longer commit any varying crime against Arendelle or any other neighboring kingdom accountable?" King Klaus's voice boomed with so much power, Hans could have sworn he was almost toppled off by the sound.

"Yes, I do swear." Hans announced, but he sounded like a dying whale just waiting to be tortured as soon as it all ends.

"Do you swear under the name of both kingdoms that you will remain true to your title as Prince without any source of pretense due to previous actions committed against either laws?"

"Yes, I do swear."

"By the power vested in me as the royal heir, under the name of our sovereign kingdom; the Southern Isles—" King Klaus recited as he placed the sword inches above Hans's left shoulder then to his right. The king then placed the sword on both of his hands before finally saying, "I hereby renew your title as Prince in the royal family of the kingdom of the Southern Isles. In other words... welcome back, brother."

The sound of applause resounded throughout the royal court. It was deafening, to say the least. Everything was a whirl of laughter, delight and cheers as he turned to stand proud before the other royals. The last thing that he remembered as he grins proudly was the tears of joy coming out of his mother's eyes, the small smiles plastered on the faces of his nine older brothers and the lips of his beloved Elsa against his.

Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

As much as he wanted to make his plans public, perhaps it would be too overwhelming for Elsa. Knowing Elsa for as long as two years, public pressure won't make her cave— it'll only make her feel nervous. Hence, it'll make her give off a confusing answer. It was one of the little things that he saw while being her royal adviser and he knew that about her far too well to even do anything near public pressure.

In the end, he told Anna that he was going to cut it off. At first, the princess wasn't entirely satisfied with the prince's decision. But when Hans began to explain as to why, Anna understood... or at least he thinks she did. She seemed pretty stubborn and upset about it, knowing the fact that she can't see her sister's reaction once he starts to flash that shiny ring in front of Elsa. But even Anna knew how Elsa was when it came to public pressure, which curtailed to Anna's question, "How are you going to do it?"

"I don't know..." Hans murmured against the queen's neck lazily as an answer to Anna's resounding question that was stuck in the recesses of his mind.

"What?" Elsa murmured softly as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"What?" Hans asked as well before realizing his mistake. He lifted his head to stare into her beautiful, icy blue eyes before shaking his head in dismay. "Sorry... that was uncalled for."

"Well, you've been muttering a lot of "uncalled-for's" lately." Elsa whispered as she planted a kiss on his forehead. "What's going on?"

Hans sighed as he pulled himself up on the velvet sheets and laid his head on one of the cotton-like pillows. He stared at the blue void above him as he breathed out hopelessly, "Nothing."

"I don't believe you." Elsa kissed his cheek tenderly before letting her hand caress it, his sideburns tickling her fingers. "Hans, please just tell me."

Hans groaned before he pulled her body flush against his. He can feel the fabric of her night gown grazing his chest, so tempting with a fiery amount of wanting. It was divine, oh so divine. But he knew that he would have to wait. They both did. They would settle for nights sleeping together, but not to the point where they would do what married couples execute. He was willing to wait for that one special moment. Unfortunately, he can't do that without having the guts to even ask her hand in marriage.

"It's nothing, okay?" Hans kissed the crown of her head and sighed once he caught the scent of her vanilla and honeysuckle shampoo.

Elsa looked up to him with weary eyes and he hated how she did that. It was almost like a smolder look, forcing him to say what he doesn't want to say. When he shook his head, she pouted sadly before conjuring up a light smile. He pressed his lips against hers briefly before allowing the air to come between them.

All that he can hear was the sound of Elsa's breathing and his, the sound of the waves lapping against the sand and the cold winter breeze coming from the open balcony. It was comforting because every little silence with Elsa wasn't deafening. It was sweet, somehow beautiful and just plain wonderful. Despite some unsaid words, they both knew what the other wanted to say and it didn't need repeating to be reminded of it.

Hans began to hear Elsa humming a lullaby, the way she always did when she wanted to fall asleep. It was a comforting lullaby, one that made his eyes droop every once in a while whenever he wasn't stubborn for sleep. But he is stubborn for sleep. He wasn't going to go sleep unless...

"Marry me."

It came out as a hoarse whisper, but it was so full of longing and need. As much as he hated sounding so vulnerable in front of Elsa, there were times that he was just such a soft ball that he couldn't help but mutter the sweetest of words. This was, however, a different set of words. It wasn't one of those sweet nothings that contained the beauty of her eyes, her powers and her personality. It was a declaration, a wanting and a request.

An unexpected proposal.

"W-What?" Elsa asked, seemingly out of breath as she looked up to him with wide eyes. Hans wasn't entirely sure what was going on in her mind when he asked her that. Had he gone too far? Was it too early? Did he do it in a very un-Arendelle tradition like matter? When he "fake" proposed to Anna, it was literally on top of a rock between a large waterfall. Rather ridiculous to be exact, but... well, was she not ready?

Panic was beginning to set in. He wanted to look away from her. Hell, he wanted to flip the thick blanket off of him and run off to gods know where he can lead himself to. But he knew... he just damn well knew that he had to come out strong.

Hans sucked in a breath before restating his sudden request, "Elsa, I know it may sound absurd."

"Quite absurd, yes." Elsa muttered.

"And it may sound as though it's too much for you."

"Sort of."

"But being with you made me change. As typical as it sounds, it's true. I came to Arendelle a monster, a relentless human being who didn't know what he was doing... a lost, fired up lamb. After the way I treated you and your sister, you gave me a chance — one that I didn't even know existed until you insinuated it. The moment you gave me that chance, I knew there was something in you that nobody has ever seen before. Hope. You gave me hope in a number of days and I am forever grateful for it."

Elsa's eyes were wide and sadly, Hans didn't knew if they were wide with awe or horror. This woman needed to speak up soon, otherwise; he was obviously just going to look like a wretched fool before her.

"Will you do me the honor... of being my wife, Elsa?"

His heart beat quickened as each second, then minute passed just waiting... waiting for her to say... say something.

Deep down, he knew. He just so damn knew that he screwed this one up. Hell, he can't even look at her— so he closed his eyes. All that he can ever hope for now is to just take back what he said because it was making him feel stupid.

Why would Elsa want to marry him? He tried to kill her, he tried to kill her sister and to top it off; he tried to take over her kingdom. Perhaps it was "okay" to have her love him, but to enter a world of commitment with him? Hans can already feel the wires of Elsa's brain screaming, "NO. I DON'T WANT TO."

"H-Hans..." Her voice suddenly resurfaced from the ebbed silence that felt so deafening until she spoke, "I don't know."

I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong

January 10th; Prince Hans of the Southern Isles's birthday

A week after the royal hearing

Lights. Champagnes. Dignitaries.

All in a whirl of a day.

Presents. Compliments. Greetings.

How befitting for a newly returned Prince.

If there was one thing Hans was proud about, it's that he's proud that he'd actually done well after his crime. Apart from that, he adores how he was commended for his advisory in Arendelle. Ever since he became Elsa's first adviser, everything progressed smoothly in the kingdom. Arendelle got more trades than Weselton can give plus they also received commendations from other big countries such as China and France.

Apart from helping Arendelle gather more trading systems, he also managed to lead a naval force to war. On his second and final year as a royal adviser, Weselton declared war against Arendelle because of Elsa's 'dangerous' powers that could cause a 'world-wide weather phenomena' like the one that happened before. Despite Elsa's attempts to halt the war, the Duke of Weselton was reluctant; causing the war to happen on the eve of Elsa's 23rd birthday. Due to his experience as an Admiral back in the Southern Isles, he strengthened the naval forces of the kingdom. He was able to lead the navies into waterborne war. Arendelle prevails the war in the finality of it all.

Some believe that he has truly changed, others are still in doubt. In those two years of royal service to Elsa, he managed to befriend the gruff mountain man; er, prince consort Kristoff. Their relationship isn't as grand as needed, but it was a matter of respect for each other. It was... weird, yet it felt right. In fact, he hadn't had that much friendship with a man since Christian.

Then, there's Anna who just couldn't help but throw chocolate balls at him every time she still snapped at him about freezing her. Even though Anna had accepted Hans, she still had a very difficult time adjusting to her elder's sister choices. That much he can see in the naive princess. But in the corresponding two years, they've grown to become... "buddies" as Anna likes to call them. Although the awkward idea of their fake engagement comes into light every once in a while, they'd often shrug it off like it was a faint memory and reckless decision of two people who weren't thinking with their noggins.

If Anna was hard, the royal staff and the entire kingdom was more tedious. The staff hated him. Not as much as Anna used to, but they absolutely hated him. Sometime when he was asking for a cup of tea; servants would throw him uncomfortable frowns and Hans knew deep down they'd rather pour the pot of tea on his face rather than on his cup. One time when he was taking a daily stroll in the village with Elsa, commoners would throw sarcastic remarks at him like he wasn't of royal position. No matter how many times he wanted to snap at them or throw something at them, he just couldn't. He wanted to, but he knew that if he did; he'd be breaking his promise to Elsa.

Elsa.

The woman was the only person that kept him sane. She was the only person that halted him from every anger that was attempting to jump and lash out at the people that resent him. It was incredulous how a powerfully liberate queen would keep him at bay. Perhaps that was the reason why he loved her so. Elsa was such a patient person and God knows how awfully her life has gone through before all of this happened. Yet, she was still the one giving out the concerns and the one creating the sacrifices.

Sometimes, it just made him feel useless; like right now.

"Excuse me?" A young woman's voice interrupted his musings.

Hans snapped out of his reverie and found that the Princess of Corona had spoken before him. He cleared his throat as he tried to pull himself back to reality. What was happening again?

When the prince began to survey his surroundings, he sighed. There were royal guests crowding the brightly lit ballroom. Everything was a mixture of blue and purple, which were the initial colors of the Southern Isles. It was a very endearing ball, he had to admit. Honestly, Klaus didn't have to go through this much trouble to throw him a birthday ball. But Klaus quotes, "Every prince deserves a grand party. It's the only day when you can shine." so that would probably be the reason why everything is so frivolously grand.

"Princess Rapunzel," Hans greeted with a small smile as he pulled at the collar of his god-awful coat. For a winter season, it was surprisingly warm in the Southern Isles. But then again, it always was warm. That's why when he was in Arendelle, he had a hard time compromising in a cold environment. But after being around Elsa, he had missed the cold. "Are you having a good evening?"

"Please, just Rapunzel. I'm still not used to the Princess title after everything." The brunette princess nodded with a warm grin, her hands behind her back. "And yes, I am having a good one. I never knew the Southern Isles was such a warm place. I should probably visit more often."

"You'd be surprised how warm it is here. It's probably warmer than Corona." Hans joked lightly as a chuckle escaped his lips.

"Well, I believe your kingdom has proven enough." Rapunzel's tinkling laughter made him grin wider. The brunette princess then conjured up a gift wrapped material from her back. "A gift for the renewed prince."

Hans received the gift with a warm smile. "Thank you."

"Now, I've been meaning to talk to you about certain happenings, Prince Hans." Rapunzel said in a firm voice, which surprised Hans; considering how they just had a warm interaction just a few seconds ago. "By certain happenings, I mean Elsa."

Hans could have sworn he wanted to drown himself in the sea just behind the palace. How could he have completely forgotten the simplest fact that Rapunzel was Anna and Elsa's cousin? Of course the cousin was going to corner him. It was a matter of family rights. Well, for them anyway.

At the mention of Elsa's name, Hans's face turned from stupidly surprised to distress. Hans still couldn't shake the shame out of him after last week's sudden endeavor. The morning after his little "proposal", Elsa barely spoke a word to him. It was the day when he was going to return to the Southern Isles to make amends and yet, she didn't say anything to him. It was so deafening that he didn't know what he was going to do. So when he was about to leave, he kissed her one last time. Although she kissed back, it felt alien to him.

After he left Arendelle, he didn't hear from Elsa again.

He didn't hear from anyone from Arendelle again.

Nobody from Arendelle went to his birthday ball. Not even Elsa.

Rapunzel was probably going to talk to him about that incident. Already, Hans could feel sweat trailing down the sides of his head in anxiety. "I know it was stupid."

"Beyond stupid, actually." Rapunzel suddenly laughed, causing Hans to arch a curious brow at her. The princess then regained her "serious" facade by clearing her throat. "Anyway, yes — you did a stupid move. Elsa wasn't ready that time because she was... I don't know, overwhelmed with everything, I suppose? But my question is... why all of a sudden? It just rose countless suspicions, honestly. Proposing to her after regaining your title as prince and all. Sounds like a mischievous plan."

Hans sighed. He had it coming. "I wanted to propose to her while I was a royal adviser, actually. But I thought that'd be... something shameful or short of notice. I just thought, maybe it'll be alright to propose to her as a prince rather than—"

"A royal adviser. I get it." Rapunzel nodded, lips pursed as she glanced at his face and at the gift he was holding from time to time. "Do you love her?"

"Rapunzel—"

"It's a simple question, Prince Hans. Do you love her?"

"Yes, I do. And I think I just lost the only woman that ever mattered to me last week."

Rapunzel studied his face for awhile, which made Hans nervous. How old was the Princess of Corona? It was obvious that she was in her mid-20's and that she was younger than him. But darn, she could give off a very intimidating aura when she needed to. Rapunzel reminded him so much of Elsa.

Oh, Elsa.

Finally, after a series of intimidating stares, Rapunzel smiled in a goofy-like matter at him. "Open the present... and happy birthday, Prince Hans."

Docks; 9PM

The note's handwriting was surprisingly suspicious. At first it looked like what he thinks it is and then it isn't and then it is again. Needless to say, the letters were rough and practically rushed. There were blots of ink on some of the sides of the paper. There was no remark or clue as to who the note attached to the present came from. Well, it might be Rapunzel — considering the fact that he did receive it from her.

But whoever wrote the note probably went through a lot of trouble just to make him go to the docks on said time. As he began to approach the docks, commoners greeted him a friendly evening and wished him birthday greetings. He smiled and thanked them, but his thoughts were too preoccupied to even make out their faces as he approached his destination.

Upon arriving, he saw vessels of the royal guests docked on the shoreline of the kingdom. He can distinguish which vessel was which kingdom's. But one vessel seemed to be surprisingly different, causing his hopes to jump out of him. One vessel, which was farther from that of the guests' vessels stood out. The symbol of a blooming crocus on the flag whipped at the cold breeze of January.

"I see Rapunzel delivered the present in time." a familiarly nostalgic voice carried through the wind.

When Hans turned towards the direction of the voice, he slipped himself off of his horse and began to walk up to the woman at the edge of the dock slowly with the opened gift in hand; unsure of what to do. Relief and want washed over him as soon as he saw her figure gleam in the moonlight. He wanted to run to her, pull her into his arms and just kiss her, every part of her desperately. But he knew he had to limit himself.

As he approached, he could make out her astounding attire. It was velvet in color, with white laces that captured her figure on the bodice. Then there were two layers of her gown at the bottom part with a few more laces stitched on the hems. She looked absolutely graceful. Hell, she could resemble a goddess with that beautiful frame of hers. With her hair pinned up in an up-do, he so desperately just wanted to run his fingers through her pale blonde locks. He wanted to feel her, but he wasn't sure if he was even allowed to anymore.

"Elsa," he breathed out, as if her name was the last word that he would say before death could even take him. "You came."

Elsa graced a sad smile on her red, plump lips. "I guess I did."

"I'm... I'm so sorry about last week." He began, clutching the opened present in his hands feverishly. "I just thought..."

"It's okay." Elsa nodded as she fixed her gaze on the present in Hans's hands. "Do you like it?"

Hans looked at the folded cloth in his hands. He didn't really bother to see what it fully looked like. The note attached to it clearly caught him off guard, in which he didn't give himself the chance to see it at its glory. He then began to unfold the cloth in his hands and found it to be two-piece ensemble. It contained a dark brown tail coat of wool broadcloth with a velvet collar, a vest of black silk satin with cut-velvet woven floral pattern and a silk pongee scarf. Needless to say, it was the best gift he has ever received in years.

"It's quite dashing." Hans offered a grin as she reviewed the pieces of clothing in his hands. "I love it."

The queen walked up to him and stopped inches away to protrude distance. She took the clothing from his hands, leaving the tail coat with him. "Would you mind wearing it for me?"

What was this woman up to now? he internally asked himself as he nodded before slipping on the warm tail coat. It was, as always — tight-fitting; but surprisingly comfortable. The fabric was so soft, it almost felt like silk. He flexed his arms so that they can adjust to the coat's size. "Does it look okay?"

"You look decent." Elsa admitted, a small smirk splayed on her lips.

"Why are you making me wear this?" he asked, arching a curious brow as he started to move freely with the coat on him.

"Check the inner hem of the left collar."

This was becoming a strange gift, despite its greatness. Doing as Elsa says, he took a hold of his left collar and peered at the hem from the inside. At first, it seemed like a distorted trail of yellow thread. But when he finally caught the light of the moon on it, what seemed to be a disassembled stitch of yellow thread turned out to be letters embroidered in perfect cursive.

Yes

"Yes?" Hans asked, completely confused. What yes? What makes the stitched words yes so significant that it had to be in the coat? He could think of a number of possibilities, but really can't pinpoint one due to the rush of the moment. It was obvious how he's still adjusting with Elsa's sudden arrival and the new coat that he was wearing. With all those thoughts scrambling in his head, he finds it impossible to think of something that could mean anything with the yes letters in his coat.

Elsa nodded with pursed lips before she smiled lightly and said, "Yes."

"What do you mean—"

It felt like he was struck by some greater force. Definitely not something inanimate, but rather an emotional force. For a minute, he wanted to bang his head against the wooden pole that stood tall on the edge of the dock. One reason in doing that would have to be the fact that he feels so stupid and idiotic at the moment. Had he grown so in distress that he had completely forgotten what drove him towards it? In a way, it seemed like it.

When realization struck him to the core, he looked at Elsa and on the golden stitched yes on the hem of his coat to and fro. Self-control probably halted him from doing the most insane thing that he could possibly think of doing. He swallowed thickly before asking to confirm, "Yes?"

The queen sighed in defeat as she caressed his cheek with her arm. "Are you blind, Hans? Or do you wish to have a pair of spectacles to make things clearer for you?"

"No, I just..." Hans cleared his throat to make it sound more firm. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Oh, how he missed the surprising warmth of her body; which fully contradicts the powers that she possesses. "I just want to hear it... out loud. I don't usually bank on visage."

"Fine," Elsa replied just as firmly before she gazed into his emerald eyes. It was such a burning gaze, contrary to her well-being. "Yes, Prince Hansen Nikolai Westergard of the Southern Isles — I will marry y—"

Hans didn't give her the chance to finish her proclamation when he swept her lips against his for a searingly joyful kiss. The queen's words were muffled; so instead of attempting to speak, she groaned in the defeat before returning the kiss.

Elsa was the first to break away from the lip-lock, flush and breathless as she did so. When she leaned her forehead against his, a snide remark escaped her lips. "Did your tutors ever taught you that it's rude to interrupt someone when they're speaking?"

"Actually," Hans chuckled, nuzzling his nose against hers. "My tutors taught me to shut them up when needed. But that's not what I did. I just got..."

"Excited?" Elsa threw her head back in a string of beautiful laughter. Gods, her laugh was the most harmonic thing he's heard all week. When she finally calmed down, she grinned at him sheepishly. "Happy birthday, my prince."

"You are one brazen minx, Elsa." Hans allowed a smirk to play on his lips. "Or should I say, Elsa Westergard."

In the end, he received a playful smack to the head and a few frostbites on his cheek. It didn't bother him at all because the only thing that mattered to him now is that very night of his 26th birthday when his entire destiny changed from there on out. Some might find his destiny still as bleak as some deem it is before. Some would find his destiny as another trail of crimes.

But to him, his destiny is just beginning— all because of a choice and a seemingly powerful force that he never knew he's be able to have until Elsa — of all people — came to his life.

With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

AN: It's finally finished. I'm sorry if it's horrible. I'm a horrible writer who obviously rushed this to feed your one and a half month wait. I'm a horrible person who can't think of a better way to end this. I am so darn sorry. I do, however, hope that the length and events in this epilogue compensates for my absence.

Mini bonus: Tell me which chapter/scene your favorite is and why on the reviews. I'm just doing this sequence of favored chapters to see at what point at story writing do I write best. Is it the beginning, the middle of nowhere, the climax or the ending? Let me know! I'd love to hear your opinions; whether they be good or not.

Many thanks for reading the epilogue and for sticking around this long to actually help me make it through the end. You're all loved and appreciated. So, thanks a bunch. This, I believe; is goodbye and I hope you've enjoyed reading the story.

Disclamair: I do not own Frozen. All rights goes to Disney. I also do not own the cover art of the story. It belongs to whoever owns it; and I apologize if I don't remember the name of the creator. But if you know, please do tell me so I can give him/her proper credit.

With respect and everlasting love for Frozen,
EMPG22HoPe