Fanfic / A Marriage Of Convenience

This page contains unmarked spoilers for the movie Frozen.

A Marriage Of Convenience is a Frozen (2013) sequel-fanfic written by Tabbygal that takes place after the events of the movie and the book A Frozen Heart. A rebellion looms in Arendelle, and left with no trading partners or allies after Elsa was revealed to be the Snow Queen, she becomes desperate to save her kingdom. Only the Southern Isles responds positively, but in order to keep that alliance, she must marry the man who tried to kill her and Anna.

The fanfic can be found here

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This fanfic contains examples of:

• Abusive Parents: Poor, poor Hans. The King of the Southern Isles regards his youngest son with nothing but outright contempt, and often encouraged his older sons to beat up the guy. To escape from his grimy reality, Hans often fantasized a world where he's loved and appreciated by his family. No wonder why he became so cold and rude in the first place.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When it looks like their marriage isn't necessary anymore, Hans privately begs Elsa not to annul it. To show how desperate he is, he takes his shirt off and shows her all the scars he's received from his brothers and makes it clear he might not survive if he'll ever be sent back. He is desperate enough that he even offers to be a servant. Thankfully, Elsa tells him she's not going to annul the marriage.
• All-Loving Hero: Anna, as in canon. She's the first to forgive Hans after he passes up an opportunity to seize the throne from Elsa and expose an attempt on her life, she reunites him with his horse Sitron and, after realizing Hans is starting to have feelings for Elsa, encourages him to bring love into their marriage.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Hans' family (except for Lars) is generally cold and abusive towards him.
• Altar Diplomacy: Elsa had to marry someone of equal footing from a powerful kingdom to keep a rebellion from breaking out within Arendelle while preventing outsiders from invading her kingdom after she was revealed to be a sorceress. The problem is, nobody cared about it except for King Westergaard. Anna, Kristoff and Elsa are disgusted by it, as this offer came from the father of the man who tried to kill the sisters, and that Arendelle is reduced to become a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Southern Isles, relying them on economic aid and military protection after most of its allies pulled away, leaving Arendelle nearly bankrupt.
• An Ice Person: Elsa doesn't use her powers as much, usually using it either when she snaps at Hans or causes a small flurry when she suffers a breakdown. It seems that their daughter has inherited her power.
• Arranged Marriage: Much of the story revolves around Elsa marrying Hans for the sake of diplomacy in order to keep a lid on things within Arendelle and to deter outsiders from threatening her kingdom.
• The Atoner: Hans slowly loses interest in his ambitions and starts to regret his misdeeds.
• A Taste of the Lash: When Elsa first meets Hans in the 1st chapter, she can't help but feel pity for the man who caused so much trouble to her and Anna. He's shown to have scars resulting from the whippings he received from his father and brothers.
• Babies Ever After: The epilogue introduces Hans and Elsa's daughter, Rosie, who appears to have Elsa's magic.
• Beautiful Dreamer: Elsa at points thinks about how adorable Hans looks as he sleeps, even questioning how this is the same man who caused her so much trouble.
• Big Bad Wannabe: One of Arendelle's guards, named Jasper, plots with Hans to have Elsa killed so that someone who isn't "a monster" could take the throne. Hans quickly outed Jasper's plans before they ever have a chance to start.
• Big Brother Bully: Some of Hans' older brothers prove to be really abusive, kicking him with utter cruelty. Elsa felt bad that Hans didn't deserve to be abused despite his crimes and later realizes that they've been doing this since Hans was a child.
• Big Brother Worship: Hans seems to respect Lars, and even felt bad when Lars died in a horse-riding accident.

• Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: Hans clearly does a good job of bonding and treating his daughter with love rather than to follow the way his father raised him and his brothers.

• Broken Ace: Hans is handsome, charming, honorable and a prince! However, a desperate hunger for recognition and glory, combined with years of abuse, self-loathing and neglect, corrupted him long ago.

• Character Development: The story slowly redeems Hans. He starts out as a rude and cynical Jerkass towards the Arendelle sisters (due to being forced to marry Elsa), but as time passes, they begin to accept him, and even forgive him in the end.
• Cry into Chest: While Hans tries to console her after her panic attack, Elsa ends up curling up and crying into his chest.
• Curse Cut Short: When Anna punches Hans in the face, he almost drops a Precision F-Strike, but stops when he remembers to be a gentleman.

• Dark and Troubled Past: Years of abuse and neglect from his father and brothers really drove Hans into what he became.
• Death Glare:
  • When Kristoff first sees Hans in Arendelle, he gives him a "thunderous" stare.
  • Anna gives Hans a murderous look at first. Who can blame her?
• Death Seeker: This follows the popular fan theory that Elsa knew Hans was going to strike her with his sword, and when having a panic attack, admits he should have finished her. Her rationale being while he was seeking to steal the throne from her, she technically caused more harm with her winter than he did.
• Defrosting Ice King: Hans becomes more and more comfortable around Anna and Elsa.

• Easily Forgiven: Because Hans exposed an attempt at Elsa's life, thereby forgoing a second chance at Arendelle's throne, this convinces Anna to forgive him despite that he had yet to show he was sorry for his crimes. Even Hans thinks she forgave him too easily and takes her sudden kindness uncomfortably.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: By the end of the story, Hans not only moves on from the bitterness he suffered so long, but also becomes an Official Couple with Elsa. He no longer cares about being a king and he's now a loving husband and father who deeply cares for his wife and daughter - a stark contrast to his abusive father and siblings.
• Even Evil Can Be Loved: Despite that Hans tried to have two innocent women killed for his own selfish reasons, Lars still cares about his youngest brother.
• Everyone Can See It: Anna and Kristoff quickly realize Hans is growing fond of Elsa even before he himself does.
• Everyone Has Standards: Everyone in Arendelle who has a good reason to not like Hans are appalled at how horrible his family is to him.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good:
  • Caleb, Hans' oldest brother writes a rather callous letter to Elsa, saying he expects she would find the matter of Lars' death "trivial" and that he does not know what Lars saw in Hans.
  • As usual in many Hans redemption fanfics, he is initially confused as to why Elsa and Anna are pitying him even after what he did to them.
• Family of Choice: Hans starts to regard Elsa, Anna and Kristoff as family, noting the irony that a family who had a good reason to hate him have treated him better than his own flesh and blood who hurt him for no valid reason at all other than being the youngest of 13 sons.
• Fantastic Racism: Some of Elsa's guards still regard her as a monster. Hans stops their assassination attempts before they could begin. Also, being revealed as a sorceress caused most of Arendelle's trading allies to sever their trading ties, leaving it nearly bankrupt and vulnerable to an invasion by a powerful country or a rebellion from within.
• Forgiveness: Unlike Anna, Elsa has a hard time coming to forgive Hans. While she is the most sympathetic to him since she saw first hand what terrible people his father and 11 of his brothers are, she still hates spending time with him as he is rude and condescending to her. Eventually, after she decides to keep their marriage intact, Hans starts to act more respectfully to her, but she is still not ready to trust him. Even after the two bond when Hans consoles her after she has a panic attack and a nightmare, as well as admitting his Heel Realization, she is still uncomfortable around him. However, when they learn Lars died and his funeral had already passed, Hans ends up having a breakdown and needing Elsa to console him. It's only after all this does she finally admit she doesn't hate him anymore and forgives him.
• For the Evulz: Hans' father and most of his brothers bullied and abused him for no reason other than being the youngest of 13 sons.
• Freudian Excuse: Hans' abusive family is what made Elsa feel bad for him despite his crimes.

• Friend to All Living Things: A common joke in the fandom is that Hans likes horses more than people. This rolls with it, as he cares for the horses in Arendelle's stables when he's not with Elsa.
• Good Parents: In the epilogue, Hans and Elsa love their daughter.
• Happy Ending Override: In this fanfic, after Elsa was revealed to be a sorceress, this did not bode well for many in and out of Arendelle, as her subjects thought of her as a monster, while her kingdom's partners and allies severed or downgraded their trading ties, leaving it nearly bankrupt and vulnerable to an invasion by a powerful country or a rebellion from within. The only option left for Elsa was to marry someone of equal footing, but most refused, except for the King of the Southern Isles, who orders her to marry his youngest son in exchange for receiving aid. This forces Arendelle to become a vassal state under his protection, relying on him for economic and military help.
• Happily Married: While they still snark at each other, Kristoff and Anna are married and deeply love each other. Hans, with encouragement from Anna, tries to make this happen with Elsa. It works and they have a daughter together.
• Hate Sink: Elsa, Anna and Kristoff despise the King of the Southern Isles for his abusive nature towards his youngest son.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Hans takes a dunk in icy water to save Kristoff and nearly freezes to death, but Kristoff manages to save him.
• Heel Realization: Hans realizes the severity of his actions when Elsa reveals she knew about his attempt to kill her and expresses a desire to die. He finally apologizes to her for it.
• I Just Want to Be Special: This really was Hans' prime ambition and he often daydreamed about his father recognizing him as a good son daily.
• Jabba Table Manners: In chapter 4, Hans has poor table manners — wolfing down on his food and raising eyebrows from everybody else (not that they're better at table etiquette, either). This is because when he was younger, he had to eat quickly or it was stolen from him by one of his brothers, and his father often scolded him for his poor table habits.
• Jerkass:
  • Most of Hans’ brothers (except for Lars, and even then he doesn't stop the others from abusing Hans) are often abrasive or cold-hearted towards Hans. Heck, even their abuse towards their youngest brother is what drove him to villainy.
  • Hans' father is an outright SOB towards Hans.
• Jerkass Has a Point: When the two are alone in the stables, Anna has a chance to call Hans out on what he did in the film, namely his Kick the Dog moment by letting her freeze to death. He counters her by saying he didn't love her, therefore his kiss wouldn't have saved her, also he had no means of saving her even if he wanted to.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
  • While Hans starts out as grouchy and rude towards Elsa and Anna, he eventually mellows out, and they accept him despite what he did in the movie.
  • Kristoff still has a gruff exterior, but deep down, still cares for Anna and Elsa, and later on, Hans.
• Karma Houdini: Because the story focuses on Hans redeeming himself and his relationship with Elsa, his brothers and father are never called out or confronted for their abuse.
• Kick the Dog:
  • In the first chapter, some of Hans' older brothers severely beat him up to the point of bleeding and repeatedly kick him when he's down, out of simple cruelty; his father watches and calls him a "throwaway," making it clear he's written Hans off based on his status alone. Even Elsa felt bad for a man who troubled her and Anna so much.
  • Caleb, Hans' oldest brother, was rather aloof towards Hans. When Lars died, he felt confused as to what Lars saw in Hans.
• Kindness Button: Saving Elsa from a group who tried to kill her causes Anna to forgive Hans and treat him kindly.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: While King Westergaard remains the evil dictator and abusive father and husband, Hans, however, grows into a caring man who actually gets along with his wife and is a loving father to his daughter in the epilogue.
• Love Epiphany: Consoling Elsa after she has a panic attack he accidentally caused is what causes Hans to realize he has feelings for her.
• Love Hurts: Hans has some conflicting feelings about how he comes to care about Elsa, noting how feeling pity and regret is hurting him.
• Love Redeems: In the epilogue, love with Elsa has helped Hans earn his long-needed redemption.
• Marriage of Convenience: Exactly What It Says on the Tin. The title is about Elsa trying to protect her kingdom from outside invaders after they discovered her powers, while simultaneously preventing a rebellion from breaking out within Arendelle by marrying someone of equal footing to keep the lid on things. Only the Southern Isles positively responds, but Hans is the only unattached member of the royal family. He agrees so he can escape his abusive family. Needless to say, neither Hans nor the sisters like this arrangement initially.
• Massively Numbered Siblings: As in canon, Hans has twelve older brothers. One dies (sadly, it's the only good one), thus he now has eleven.
• Men Don't Cry: The harsh upbringing in the Southern Isles has caused Hans to resist the urge to cry, to the point where doesn't even weep Tears of Joy when he reunites with Sitron. However, word on Lars dying and not even knowing about the funeral was enough that he couldn't keep it in anymore and Elsa has to console him.

• Never Learned to Read: Elsa isn't very literate in this story, so Hans helps her learn (while still being rude to her about it).
• Nervous Wreck:
  • Behind Hans' self-centered, rude and taunting behavior lies a broken man who needed some love and care. He always yearned for his father's love and brothers' respect, but years of abuse and neglect drove him to the point of insanity.
  • Elsa hasn't truly gotten over her issues, still having trouble with her powers and suffers nightmares, hiding it all behind a strong image.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After Anna suggests trying to earn Elsa's love, Hans decides to do something nice for her by giving her a disguise to go into town during the market. She ends up suffering a panic attack and run away. He realizes this was a terrible idea, but it does end up helping him and Elsa bond, which was what he intended.
• No-Sell: Olaf's first encounter with Hans is to try and pummel him... with no success.
• Not What It Looks Like: After spending the night in Elsa's room with her, Hans walks out and Anna spots him. He quickly realizes what's going through her mind and assures her he was only sleeping, since if he had done anything else, Elsa would skewer him for the attempt.
• Official Couple: By the end, Hans and Elsa have fallen in genuine love and remain married.
• Parental Abandonment: Kristoff's parents died when he was young.
• Redemption Quest: This fanfic is about Hans mellowing out and earning his redemption for what he did so far.
• Reformed, but Not Tamed: Even though he does become a better person, Hans continues to nettle Elsa and get into childish arguments with Anna.
• Reformed, but Rejected: It takes time for people to start seeing Hans isn't the man he was anymore.

• Rousseau Was Right: Without the fear of being sent home to his family and some bonding with Elsa, Anna and Kristoff, Hans begins to show he's not the uncaring villain people thought he was.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Hans and Elsa try to convince the trolls, Anna and Kristoff that there is nothing between the two, but Anna and Kristoff refuse to believe them.
• Shipper on Deck: Anna and Kristoff become this to Elsa and Hans when it's clear the latter has started to become a better person. A rather odd variation on this as they two are already married, but in a Marriage of Convenience, while Anna believes the two could learn to love each other.
• Shipper with an Agenda: Like in A Frozen Heart, Lars helps Hans marry Elsa not out of a belief they'd be a good couple, but to help his brother escape their evil family.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Hans. He always yearned for his father's love and brothers' respect, but years of abuse and neglect drove him to the point of insanity.
• Strong Family Resemblance:
  • Elsa notes that Hans' father and all of his brothers look like him, namely the hair, though the novelization shows that Runo is the only blonde in a family full of redheads, gingers and strawberry-haired persons.
  • Rosie has her mother's blonde hair and her father's green eyes.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Sure, Hans may have done bad deeds like lying to Anna and attempting to kill Elsa in the movie, but when Elsa realizes his motivations and the years of abuse and neglect he got from his parents and brothers drove him to that point, it's no wonder why she felt bad for him. In chapter 5, even Anna feels sorry for the guy, knowing that behind his self-centered, rude and taunting behavior lies a broken man who needed some love and care.
• Token Good Teammate: In a family full of evil jerks, Hans' mother, the Queen of the Southern Isles, and Lars were the only people who didn't bully Hans.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Hans becomes even more rude towards Elsa, Anna and Kristoff, given that he was railroaded into that situation by his family, combined with what he did to Elsa and Anna in the movie.
• Took a Level in Kindness: The story did a good job in helping Hans mellow out and earn the redemption he needed.
• The Unapologetic: Hans is, at first, uninterested in making up for what he did the last time he was in Arendelle. Later, when he realizes he's starting to care for Elsa, Anna convinces him this attitude isn't going to win him anyone's heart. Sure enough, he drops this.
• The Unfavorite: Hans is the Black Sheep and unlucky 13th son of his large family.
• Unwanted Spouse: Neither Hans nor Elsa are happy to be married to each other, at least at first.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Hans tells Anna about how he actually used to be different, but his father and brothers changed him.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Hans always craved for his father to love him, but he coldly regards Hans as an "useless heap of a son".
• What Happened to the Mouse?: As Olaf only appears in one chapter, we never learn if, like the others, he accepted and forgave Hans before the epilogue.
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Hans questions what love even is, admitting to Anna he's not really sure if he can fall in love with Elsa.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Hans gets this from the trolls, Elsa, Anna and later on, Kristoff. Elsa herself gets this from Hans after she reveals she still fears what her powers are capable of.