Chapter Text
“How’s my beautiful fiancée?” Hans asked from the doorway. Anna turned and smiled at him.
“A little nervous, but overall, I’m okay,” she replied.
“Good,” Hans said. “Make sure you pack everything and get plenty of rest after the show tonight. We leave at dawn tomorrow.”
Anna froze. At dawn? Tomorrow? They hadn’t even talked about that yet!
“You can’t be serious!” Anna exclaimed. “We never agreed to leave tomorrow.”
“I know we didn’t. But I also know you want to see the world, and I know you feel forced to stay and do the plays you’re in. If we leave tomorrow, there’s no chance of another play being announced in time for you to be conflicted about staying or going,” Hans explained.
“But Hans-,” Anna began.
“No but’s!” Hans exclaimed, and Anna recoiled a little at his tone. Hans relaxed a little, but stayed firm on his decision. “We leave at dawn. No ands, ifs, or buts about it.” Anna opened her mouth to argue, but he was long gone, the door slammed shut behind him.
Anna took a few deep breaths. How was she going to tell Kristoff? She was thankful for the fact he wouldn’t be showing up to her dressing room before the show. She remembered the sorrowful look on his face the last time the trip was mentioned. She couldn’t bear to see that again, especially not before the show. She would never be able to perform if she saw that look again.
And why was Hans so desperate to get her out of this place? Couldn’t he see how happy she was to do this? She didn’t feel pressured into staying here. Not like how she was feeling pressured to leave with Hans now. She loved it here, and even if the roles were a bit harder, she still loved them, and Kristoff always made sure to help her learn the role properly.
She rubbed her forehead, trying to destress herself.
“Twisted every way. What answer can I give? Do I betray the man who once inspired my voice? Do I have any choice? I know I can’t refuse, and yet I wish I could. If I agree, what waits for me?”
Anna shook her head. She couldn’t think about that. And she wasn’t betraying Kristoff, because she was still going through with this show. She wasn’t leaving yet. She had one more night.
She looked at herself, took another deep breath, and did some vocal warmups to distract herself until Yelana called for her to come out to the stage for the show. Her final performance. No matter what, she was determined to make this the best show ever, as a final gift for Kristoff. This was his play, and he deserved nothing but the best from her. She was determined to give him exactly that.
She stood upright and slowly walked out of the room. It was showtime.
***
The first part of the play had been going well. Anna was now offstage, watching Kai and the others perform while she mentally prepared herself for her big solo.
One by one, all of the other performers left the stage, until Kai was the last one there. He finished his part, put on a black cloak covering his face, and then walked off stage.
Anna took a deep, steady breath, and walked onto the stage. The audience was still clapping while she walked on, and even though it was more meant for the cast of the previous song, it helped her feel more confident about this next song.
She stood in the center of the stage, and the clapping died as the lights dimmed until there was only one light shining on her.
“Who knows when love begins? Who knows what makes it start? One night, it’s simply there, alive inside your heart,” she sang. “It slips into your thoughts. It infiltrates your soul.
It takes you by surprise, then seizes full control. Try to deny it and try to protest, but love won’t let you go once you’ve been possessed.”
This was honestly Anna’s favorite song that she’s had to perform yet. The melody was beautiful, and the words fit nicely.
“Love gives you pleasure and love brings you pain. And yet, when both are gone, love will still remain. Once it has spoken, love is yours.
Love never dies. Love never alters. Hearts may get broken. Love endures. Hearts may get broken.”
She took a deep breath, preparing for the final part.
“Love never dies. Love will continue. Love keeps on beating when you're gone. Love never dies once it is in you. Life may be fleeting. Love lives on. Love is enduring.”
She let the last note ring in the air for a few moments, allowing herself to breathe before softly singing, “Love lives on.”
The crowd erupted with cheers, and Anna couldn’t help but smile a little. The lights on the stage turned back on, and Anna walked to the table and sat down waiting for Kai to come back out.
The music for the next song started playing, and Anna heard the footsteps as Kai made his way back on stage. Anna grabbed the plastic Apple sitting on the table and started rolling it around in her hands.
“You have come here, in pursuit of your deepest urge,” the voice sang, and Anna nearly dropped the apple. That voice was definitely not Kai’s. She took a deep breath to compose herself as the imposter kept singing. “In pursuit of that wish, which till now has been silent.”
Anna stood up and walked to the other side of the stage, not looking in his direction.
“I have brought you, that our passions may fuse and merge. In your mind you’ve already succumbed to me. Dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me. Now you are here with me. No second thoughts. You’ve decided. Decided...”
He was standing behind her now. She could feel his warmth from how close they were together. Anna raised the apple to her lips, ready to pretend to take a bite out of it, but he took it out of her hands before she could.
“Past the point of no return. No backward glances. The games we’ve played till now are at an end.” Anna went to grab for the apple, but he was quicker, grabbing her wrist and tugging so she was facing him. His face was still hidden under the cloak, though, so she couldn’t actually see him. “Past all thought of if or when. No use resisting. Abandon thought, and let the dream descend, beyond the point of no return.”
Anna pulled her arm away and walked to the center of the stage, not because she wanted to, but because that was part of the script. When she was a considerable distance from him, she turned to him and started singing her part.
“You have brought me to that moment where words run dry. To that moment where speech disappears into silence.” He started walking towards her. “I have come here, hardly knowing the reason why. In my mind I’ve already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent.”
He was now mere inches away. Anna looked up to where his eyes would be, if his entire head wasn’t covered.
“And now I am here with you; no second thoughts. I’ve decided... Decided.” Their hands locked, and they started doing the dance routine while Anna continued singing.
“Past the point of no return. No going back now! Our passion-play has now, at last, begun. Past all thought of right or wrong. One final question: How long should we two wait before we’re one?”
It was now time to start the spins. Anna prepared herself as she let him guide her through the motions, and continued singing.
“When will the blood begin to race? The sleeping buds burst into bloom? When will the flames at last consume us?”
They started singing the next part together as they continued dancing.
“Past the point of no return. The final bridge is crossed, so stand, and watch it burn! We’ve passed the point of no return.”
As they sang the line, he spun her inward, where she was facing the opposite direction, arms crossed, just like they had practiced. Anna was reminded, once again, of how warm and safe she felt in his arms.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you kiss Kai,” he whispered in her ear, only allowing her to hear. Anna smiled, but the smile quickly faded as she remembered this would be their last night together.
After this, she would have to tell him she was leaving, and she doubted he would hold her close like this with that news.
Still, at least she had these moments with him, and would be able to kiss him before she left.
The kiss.
Anna opened her eyes and slightly stiffened at the thought she might have missed the cue. He softly rubbed his fingers over her hands to calm her down, and Anna relaxed as she realized there were still a few notes before then. Of course she didn’t miss the cue. He wouldn’t have let her. He would have taken control or something if she did.
The cue finally came. He let go of her hands, but kept his arms wrapped around her as she turned and took off the hood of the cloak, just as the script had called for. There were gasps from the audience, but they both ignored it.
Kristoff smiled at her, his brown eyes locking with her blue ones. He was wearing a different mask - a white one that only covered the scarred side of his face. Anna wondered if that was more comfortable for him or not, but now was not the time to ask. She would ask him later.
“We’ve passed the point of no return,” they sang together. Anna rested one hand on his left cheek, the other arm wrapping around his neck as she leaned in for the kiss.
The kiss was different than how Anna expected it to be. Despite how many times she had kissed Hans, nothing could compare to this. His lips were rougher, and the mask pressing against her face felt weird, but his gentleness as his lips moved with hers made up for all of it.
The kiss ended much too soon for Anna’s liking. She knew it had to. They had to continue with the play. But she had hoped they could have a longer moment together, especially considering the bad news she had to tell him later.
Kristoff pulled the cloak back over his head, and walked of the stage. Anna stood there for a few moments, fingers pressed against her lips. It had technically been part of the script, but she didn’t feel like she was acting right now. Her character’s thoughts and emotions were exactly how she was feeling now.
Elsa ran into the stage, and started reciting her lines as she looked back and forth between the “mysterious man” who was nowhere to be found and her.
Anna smiled at her gushing friend, and laughed at Elsa’s ridiculous claim about them getting married someday.
“Things like that only happen in fairy tales, believe me,” Anna replied. “Now, I must go. I have a lot of things to do.” She picked up the skirt of her dress a little and ran off stage.
She took a quick break and drank some water, trying to calm down her emotions and refocus on the actual show. She was thankful Kristoff had included this break for her, as it had been a long ten minutes of singing and dancing.
A thought suddenly crossed her mind. He wrote the entire script, and she didn’t really have to act after that kiss. Did Kristoff really predict how she would react to their kiss? Did he really know her that well? Or was it just a lucky guess based on other books that had similar things?