May 9, 2025
The Last Tycoon 1x09
seen from India
seen from China
seen from Singapore
seen from Germany
seen from Canada
seen from Italy
seen from China
seen from India
seen from Poland
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Bulgaria
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from Belgium
seen from Malaysia
seen from Taiwan
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
The Last Tycoon 1x09
Og version
Unknown Fate - Part Four
Kristanna Canon Divergence
Kristanna Week 2019 - Prompt: The Unknown
Rated: M (swear word)
WC: 4265
Previous Chapters
----------------------------------------
It was utterly amazing how such a simple thing as a warm bath could feel so good. Yet another thing that Anna had taken for granted as the princess of Arendelle.
It felt amazing to get some soap on her grimy skin. Even better was washing her hair. She used to hate it when her hair got too greasy, but that was before her hair got so grimy that it turned the bathwater a rather unpleasant shade of grey.
Still, that did not bother Anna. She soaped her whole body two more times until the bathwater was getting too cold to stand. When she got out, she toweled herself dry while she stared at the beautiful dress hanging on the back of the door. She could not wait to put it on.
She made sure her hair was fairly dry before she finally slipped the dress over her head. She was thankful that the tie for the bodice was in the front, eliminating her need to have someone help her put it on. How such a simple thing like that could make all the difference in the world, amazed Anna all over again.
With her hair combed and put back into her braids, she tossed all her old garments in the trash and exited the small room to find Kristoff.
She did not have to look for him long. He was just outside of the bathhouse in the little alley between it and the inn with his back leaning against the wall. He gave her a lopsided smirk when he noticed her coming his way.
“How do you feel…” The last word died on his lips as his eyes widened, his gaze focused on her hair.
Anna suddenly realized that he had never seen the light streak in her hair. It had been covered by so much filth and she usually wore her braids under a handkerchief to hide the dirt.
He blinked and swallowed like his throat was dry. There was surely no way he knew who she was, was there? She had spent her entire life in the castle with the gates closed. Barely anyone knew what she looked like and he was most certainly not at the coronation ball. Perhaps he just thought that the streak in her hair was odd looking.
Yet his eyes said something different. They burned with recognition and Anna was suddenly very afraid. She knew Hans’s men still searched for her. She had seen them scouring through town every once in a while. What if…
No. There was no way in hell that Kristoff was one of those men. Still, how could he know her?
He clamped his jaw shut tightly and reached out for her hand. He began to drag her back towards the Inn. Anna suddenly felt an urge to stop and run. She didn’t know him after all. Not really. She couldn’t take her assumptions as the truth. Every spike of adrenaline through her body was telling her to run, yet deep down, her instinct told her to go with him.
She followed without a word.
He all but shoved her into the room and turned to shut the door. She watched as he braced his palms against it, arms straight and hanging his head between his shoulders. She understood in an instant that he knew exactly who she was and her heart started to beat even quicker in her chest.
Anna waited, nerves shaking her body. He finally pulled himself away from the door and turned around and spoke two words, his face an expression disbelief, disappointment, and something else Anna could not put her finger on.
“What happened?”
Anna broke down. Her knees unhinged and she fell, but she didn’t not hit the ground. Kristoff was there to grab her, like he had been since the day they met.
He picked her up gently and carried her over to the bed. He placed her upon it then took a seat on the edge. She needed more, however. She needed to be held. She needed comfort. She held her arms out to him, not expecting him to comply.
But he did. He laid beside her on the small bed and pulled her into his chest. Anna wept against him until she fell into a fitful sleep.
*****
She drifted in and out of consciousness. Never once did the warm comfort of Kristoff leave her. It wasn’t until she woke for good that he finally stirred, adjusting himself to lay flat on his back. Anna went with him, unable to let go of their closeness for the moment.
He was silent, waiting for her to talk. The problem was she had no idea what to say. She had no idea what was going to happen. She had no way of knowing how far Kristoff’s generosity was going to stretch. There would be a point in time when he was done helping her, wouldn’t there? It’s not like he was going to take her with him.
Anna sighed and got up, unable to meet him in the eyes just yet. She wandered over to where the basket of food sat on the table and lifted the handkerchief to see what was left inside. She took the first thing her eyes stumbled on. She bit into the bright red apple as she wandered over to the little window in the room.
It was dusk. She hadn’t been asleep all that long.
“What happened?”
Anna paused, apple mid-way to her mouth. She had planned to never tell another living soul what had happened for fear of what would become of her sister if she did. But the fact that now King Hans was in charge, didn’t seem to bode well for Elsa. Perhaps her sister was already dead.
Anna fought back the tears at the thought. No, she wasn’t dead. Anna could feel it in her heart. Forced to live a lie maybe, but not dead. Anna had to wonder what Hans had in store for her to keep her alive after he had taken the throne. There had to be a reason.
Anna thought back to the last time she had laid eyes on her sister when she had discovered just how much a treacherous snake Hans truly was. She was led to the courtyard by Kai, bundled up in cold weather clothing but nothing else. Despite how many times she pleaded with Kai to tell her what was going on, the broken looking man remained silent as he led her to what Anna could only assume was her demise.
She was surprised to find Elsa and Hans standing together in the courtyard with a group of a half a dozen scary looking men huddled in one corner, watching everything through the sides of their eyes.
“Elsa, what is going on? Wait, where are the guards?”
“Relieved of their duty,” Hans said coolly. “My men are in charge of the security now, since I am soon to be King.”
“W-why are you doing this Elsa? Why are you giving him everything he wants?”
“I have to keep the Kingdome safe,” Elsa pulled in a shuddering breath. “And you.”
“What do you mean? Elsa, you have powers! I saw them! Please, do something!”
“I… I can’t,” Elsa looked utterly defeated.
“What? Elsa, come on! Hurt him before he can hurt us! Get these men to leave! You are the Queen!”
“And if I hurt you in the process?” Elsa shouted. The temperature in the air dropped immediately as tiny shards of Ice started to fall to the ground from Elsa’s clenched fists. “I won’t risk it, Anna. Not after what happened when we were kids. I can barely hold on most of the time. I fear for everyone if I should ever let go!”
Anna’s eyes widened as everything clicked into place. The fragmented memories, the sudden closed doors, the silent treatment… Everything that had changed after that one night that left Anna questioning everything, day after day. Now she knew. There had been an accident. Strange that she did not remember it. What had they done to her?
That was why Elsa wasn’t using her powers to protect them. She couldn’t. She didn’t know how to control it. Why else would she always lock herself away in her room? Why would she cut her own coronation ball early? She was starting to crack and she didn’t want anything to show.
Then Anna suddenly realized it was her sounding the alarm that must have tipped Hans off that guards were on their way. The balcony doors were open, she was sure now that he had heard her screaming for help. What did he threaten Elsa with to get her to take whatever control she had on her powers and clear the air of snow in her room? Was it her life? No, not only hers at least. He must have threatened Anna’s life as well. That was why Elsa said she had to keep her safe…
“Elsa,” Anna whispered, shoulders dropping in despair, wishing she would have simply tried to take Hans down herself instead if accidentally letting him know she had seen him.
Her sister looked at her with eyes that confirmed all of Anna’s suspicions. She was bargaining herself for the entire kingdom and Anna’s life.
What a downright dirty trick. What a despicable human being this Hans was. Anna felt sick to her stomach that she had ever thought he was handsome. Truly naive she was. No, never again. She was going to make a stand and do what was right, regardless of what it meant for her.
She was about to charge him when he spoke, most likely seeing her intent.
“Think about your next move carefully, Princess. I am getting tired of entertaining the both of you. You either leave now in this period of grace I am feeling, or I will kill the both of you.”
The men that were huddled in the corner were now closing in on all of them, creating a circle around them. Anna had no choice. She was going to have to go along with this then figure out what to do on her own. She held her head high and started her lonely walk towards the outside world.
Anna was just about through the gates when she heard two words, a death sentence carried to her through the cold night air.
“Kill her.”
Elsa started to scream and Anna ran. She didn’t know what else to do. She could hear several men take off after her. Her only chance was going to be in the forest. She just wasn’t sure if she was going to make it there in time.
She ran with everything she had as she heard the shouts behind her. She was suddenly thankful for the moonless night, even though she tripped and fell several times, cutting her knees and shins on the cold, hard ground. She made it to the treeline with enough space between them to gain an advantage. She knew these woods. She had played in them many times when she was young, the only place her parents would allow that was outside of the castle gates. As long as she stayed out of the town, they always warned her. She had obeyed, even though she thought often about sneaking away just once so that she could see anything other than what she knew.
She went to a small grove of wild roses and crawled through an opening she knew well. She was a lot bigger than when she crawled in as a child however, and the thorns tore painfully at her skin and clothes. She forced herself onward until she was tucked safely in the hollow middle, hoping that no animal had made this their den since she’d been here last.
She was in luck to have it all to herself and she tucked herself into a ball as she heard footsteps approaching. She held her breath, almost impossible with her lungs still burning for air from the run, until the footfalls fell away into the night. She let out a shuddering breath as quietly as she could, unable to hold it in any longer, hoping that none of the men lingered.
She sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. It wasn’t until the sun was well in the sky the next day that Anna emerged, knowing she needed to get as far away from Arendelle as possible. She was on her own now and she needed to survive until she found a way to get back to her sister to help her.
“What happened?” Kristoff repeated, his tone noticeably gentler.
Anna still had the apple a breath away from her lips. She lowered it and slowly turned around. He was sitting on the bed, looking at her expectantly.
Despite what she promised herself she would never do, she told him everything.
*****
“You were too scared to tell anyone who you were for fear Hans’s men would find you.”
Anna nodded. Kristoff had shifted to the head of the bed and sat with his back leaning against the wall, his long legs out in front of him crossed at the ankles. Anna sat at his feet, legs crossed under her as she told Kristoff what happened. He had put the distance between them and Anna had to wonder exactly what that meant. Perhaps he had decided to be done with the trouble that she carried with her now that he knew.
Kristoff remained quiet for a long time, eyes looking at her but out of focus. “You have to do something.”
“What?” Anna said, exasperated. “What can I do? If I go back to Arendelle I have no doubt they will kill me. I can’t ask people to help me either. Who would care? We locked ourselves away for so long, what are we to them? Nothing.”
“The people are unhappy, Anna. I am sure they would revolt to find that the Queen had no choice when she married him.”
“We have no idea how strong Han’s protection is. Not to mention that he has the advantage of being locked in the castle. It would probably take a thousand men to infiltrate his defenses. Tell me, do you know how we can get that many people on our side? On my side? The Princess who spent her entire life hidden behind closed castle gates…” Anna shook her head. “What’s done is done. I can’t change anything.”
Kristoff remained silent while Anna told him more reasons why she couldn’t go back, that she felt her sister was alive and feared that harm might come to her should she return, that even if they could garner some support, Anna would never forgive herself should harm come upon her people in trying to aid her, and last but not least, that had her sister had given up her entire future to keep Anna alive. If she went back and was killed because of it, everything would have been for naught.
When she finished talking, a silence stretched on between them while Kristoff ran his fingers up and down his jaw in silent contemplation, his eyes focused on the toes of his feet.
Anna just about didn’t think he was going to continue talking on the matter until he finally looked at her.
“What do you want to do then?”
Anna blinked at him. Was he not listening?
“There’s nothing I can do. All I can do is try and survive and figure out a way to keep myself alive.”
“That’s not what I asked you,” he said quietly, shifting on the bed so that he was sitting with he legs off the sides, facing his body to the wall. He turned his head to look at her as Anna followed his movements and sat beside him. “I asked what you want to do, not what you thought you needed to do.”
“What I want?” Anna asked, looking forward in thought. What did she want? She wanted to go back to the castle and kick Hans’s ass, that’s what she wanted to do. She wanted him to suffer. She wanted him to pay.
But that was impossible. There was no way she could accomplish that. Then what was there? Surviving as a commoner. That was the only thing she had left.
She shrugged, almost embarrassed to tell him. “I want… I want to get a job. I want to work. I just don’t have any skills that would garner me employment. But that’s what I want to do. I want to earn a living and get myself somewhere to live. A simple room is all I need. Work and have a place to sleep at night and to buy myself food. That’s what I want. That’s… that’s all I want.”
Anna dropped her gaze to her folded hands in her lap. Funny, she used to want more. She used to want it all. She had wanted to find a husband who loved her and to have children to take care of. She used to want the life of a wife and a mother more than anything. A faithful and caring woman to her man and a provider and teacher to her children. They would be so happy… they would have a wonderful life in the castle. Anna was even sure that given her having children, Elsa would eventually come around and be her sister again. The gates would be open, they could spend warm days out in the gardens and the courtyard, they could stay in the library on cold and rainy days. They could even travel the world if they wanted to…
Now all she could think about was want for the most basic things. Work, food and shelter. That was all. She had no idea how hard it was when everything in life wasn’t handed to you on a silver platter. What must Kristoff think of her now, knowing where she came from, knowing that she had a title and a crown. Or at least, she used to. This wonderful man who had supported her when she was begging in the streets was probably coming to regret helping a spoiled brat whose only family left had been torn away from her by Royalty just like them.
Anna sighed. She wished Kristoff would say something. Anything. But he remained silent and Anna couldn’t stand it anymore. She got up and started to pace the small room, muttering that she was going to have to figure something out soon or she was going to end up dying on the streets. Winter was fast approaching and she honestly didn’t know if she could survive another one. The last one had been bad enough. She truly didn’t think she was going to make it some nights, so cold she thought she was going to lose some toes and fingers.
“Work with me then.”
Anna stopped in her tracks, her back to him. He didn’t just say that, did he?
“I mean it,” he continued in a quiet tone, perhaps understanding what was running through her mind. “I could teach you the trade, kind of like an apprentice. I would pay you accordingly and I have lots of tools. There’s a harvester I know whose teenage son has just grown out of all last season’s clothing. I’m sure I could get them for a decent price. My tent is big enough to sleep two. I sleep on the ground, but I can get you a bed roll so it’s not too uncomfortable. I have a cabin, for the off days. Whenever we’re between harvests. It’s not much, at all, but there’s enough room for me to build another bed….”
His voice trailed off, like he felt his words were falling on deaf ears since Anna still had her back to him. She couldn’t move a muscle. Tear after tear coursed down her cheeks and face, gathering under her chin before they dripped to the floor. She was too shocked to move, too scared that if she was to look him in the eyes that he might take it all back.
All he had done for her and he was willing to do this as well. He was opening up his entire life to help her, allowing her a way out of her predicament completely at his time and expense. Anna didn’t think she would ever be able to understand his reasons. She had come to know that every one of his intentions were pure. He didn’t ask her for anything and yet his was willing to give her everything. There was only one thing she could say to him.
“Why?” she said to the wall in front of her as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
“I told you why.”
“No,” Anna shook her head, turning around slowly and forcing gaze to meet his eyes. “Tell me the real reason.”
His gaze flicked ever so quickly to her hair before he stared back at her blankly. Anna suddenly understood why he was being so tight lipped. He was simply being kind to her before, but now there was something else behind his intentions. She could see it in his eyes. At least, that’s what she thought she saw in his eyes. Regardless, he was going to tell her and he was going to tell her now.
“I have told you everything,” she continued at his silence, “Now you will tell me how you know me.”
His tongue darted out and licked his dry lips. “It’s not my story to tell,” he said carefully.
“Whose then? The parents I had to bury? The sister who no doubt remains a prisoner to an evil man? If not from you, then who?”
“Anna, it’s complicated-“
“No. No, you listen to me,” Anna growled, striding towards where he sat on the bed and looking down at him. “I am tired of people lying to me, of people keeping secrets from me! I will not put up with it any longer! I-“
“Okay,” he shouted. Anna looked down at him for a moment, breathing hard. “Okay,” he said more softly as he looked up into her eyes.
Anna gave him a curt nod and waited.
He inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath as he looked to the floor. “I saw you, when you were a young child, as I was. You had a streak in your hair and your parents and sister were rushing you to see…” He swallowed quickly, “My family.”
“What does your family have to do with this?” Anna asked, still angry but genuinely curious.
“They are, how shall I put this… um, healers.” He sighed, “Among other things,” he added under his breath.
“What?”
“Look, they healed you when your sister accidentally struck you with her powers. Then you were made to… not remember what happened.”
“How is that possible?”
He finally looked up. “I can honestly say I don’t really know.”
“So, you’re not a healer like them.”
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean? Actually, you know what, never mind. What happened to me after that?”
Kristoff shrugged. “I have no idea. Your family took you home and I never saw you again. Well, until a week ago. But I didn’t know until today… until I saw your hair.”
Anna searched his eyes as he held her gaze. He was telling the truth but it felt like he was holding something back. Either way Anna was honestly too exhausted to get into it. She didn’t want to think about the past anymore. She didn’t want to think about how fucked up her life had been. She didn’t want to think about the pain and the hardship and the hard and lonely years.
In truth she wanted to think about Kristoff’s offer. About working for a living. About having a roof over her head even if it was a tent, and food in her belly and maybe living like an actual human being again, not having to beg and steal or worry about finding a place to sleep or how she was going to survive the winter.
She sighed and sat beside him on the bed, staring into the floor. “I’m sorry. When it comes to my past, I feel so…. Lost.”
“It’s okay, Anna. I understand.”
Anna chuckled softly to herself. There was no way he could understand, but his sentiment was nice. She let out a long sigh. She didn’t want to talk about the past anymore.
“So, you are serious? About teaching me the trade?”
He waited until she looked up and over at him. “I am.”
“Well, okay then. I would love to become your apprentice. And…. Thank you.”
Kristoff was still for a moment before he responded. “Just do me a favour?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t keep thanking me. Please.”
Anna smiled at him and nodded. She understood. He had all his cards on the table – he was going to help her get her life back and he was not doing it for any other reason than he was trying to pay forward the kindness that had once been paid to him. Perhaps it was a way to ease his soul.
“Well,” Kristoff said as he stood up when it seemed like he couldn’t stand the sudden silence between them. “Let’s go grab a meal in the tavern downstairs and get some sleep. We’ll head up the mountain tomorrow and it’s going to be a long day.”
Unknown Fate
KRISTANNA CANON DIVERGENCE MULTI-CHAPTER FIC
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Wednesday 2x04