Anna really didn't know how she was going to deal with Hans. Or when.

She wouldn't have minded avoiding it for another week.

Or two.

Or three.

But she couldn't ignore his texts for much longer without him noticing that something was wrong. And she didn't think she could survive another day with Kristoff constantly reminding her that she needed to deal with the situation.

Her mind was restless—conflicting emotions continued to plague her. She was still angry, first and foremost. But she was also still upset. And she was nervous because she didn't know how to face him.

And, it seemed, the only time she could actually forget about her problems was when she was around Elsa.

Elsa was the only one who knew about what was going on, yet didn't continue to talk about it with her like Kristoff or Rapunzel. It was as if the senior avoided any topic about emotions entirely. And she didn't strike Anna as one of those people who constantly dwelled on everything. She just had this air about her: keep moving forward. No matter what. Just get back up and keep going.

I need to be more like that, Anna thought to herself as she walked from the dining hall back to her dorm room, even though at this point, Anna had successfully evaded the situation for about five days.

But, as life would have it, it would be avoidable for five days and no more.

Because there, walking directly towards her, with a large and obviously fake smile on his face, was Hans.

It was all Anna could do to keep herself from visibly grimacing, or from running the other way.

Breathe, Anna. Just breathe.

"Hey, beautiful," Hans' smile only grew wider, "I texted you last night. I thought maybe we could go out again this weekend."

Anna felt her heart pounding.

"Hans…" She started, and then trailed off.

Confidence, Anna. You need to just get this over and done with.

"Hey, what's wrong," he said, immediately noticing the change in Anna's composure. He reached out to put an arm around Anna's shoulder, and that was when something snapped inside of her.

"No," Anna's voice grew slightly louder, "You don't get to touch me like that."

"Anna, what is going on?" Hans asked, feigning innocence as he withdrew the hand that Anna had pushed away.

"You…I-I saw you, Hans! You kissed that other girl. In the dining hall. You're cheating on me!" Anna exclaimed.

"What are you talking about? How could you say that? I'd never cheat on you!"

"Hans, I saw you!"

"Well you saw wrong," Hans said, "And now here you are accusing me of something this absurd. I can't even trust you."

And now he's going to turn it around and blame it on me! Make me feel guilty when everything is his own fault!

Anna's mind went wild as Hans continued to yell at her; continued to manipulate the situation to make it sound like she was in the wrong for falsely accusing him of something without any substantial proof, and how he was finished with her because of it.

Her head was spinning and his words were going in one ear and out the other, and she barely knew what was going on; could barely register Hans' angry face in front of her; couldn't even look him in the eye; could barely remember where she was…Until she turned away from Hans for a brief moment, and saw a familiar face over her shoulder.

It was a slightly surprised face.

One that didn't linger for long, not wanting to stare at the scene that was already attracting quite a few glances.

But one that lingered for a second longer than necessary, with a gaze that caught Anna's eye.

Someone who reminded Anna that she couldn't let Hans break her; couldn't give Hans the satisfaction of giving into his warped words.

Elsa.

Anna needed to stand her ground. She needed to show him that she wasn't afraid, even though she was quite terrified. She needed to take control of this situation; get his attention so that he was actually listening to her. And then make him understand what a complete—

"—idiot you are!"

Well now…that was the last straw.

"Hans, the only idiot around here is you!" Anna snarled, "I saw you. Hell, the entire dining hall saw you. And you're going to act like it didn't happen? You're going to try to turn the situation around and blame me? Guilt me into thinking that I was wrong and that this is my fault, and that you don't deserve me? You're unbelievable, and it's disgusting. You can't talk to me about trust. You don't even know what trust is! And you…you are not allowed to dump me, Hans. I am dumping you! And I don't care that the whole school gets to witness this. I don't care that everyone gets to see this. Because now everyone gets to see what a horrible person you are! We're finished…even though there was really nothing much between us in the first place. But that's beside the point because we are finished, do you understand!?"

Hans was stunned. And while Anna had had the urge to punch him in the face, she was fairly positive that her words had had enough of an impact.

She glared at him for a few seconds longer as the small group of staring students dispersed and went their separate ways.

But when everyone had left, and the two of them were standing there alone, Hans hissed, "I think we both have someone else."

And then before Anna could say anything more, he turned away.

After all that he gets away with the last word!

She really did want to run after him and punch him in the face.

But she knew that would get her into much unwanted and unneeded trouble, and would only give Hans more satisfaction.

"Ugh!" Anna exclaimed when Hans was out of earshot, "That good for nothing son of a—"

"Anna!"

Anna turned instantly to the sound of her name, seeing Kristoff running in her direction.

Before she could say anything to her best friend about what had happened he was already talking, "I was coming from class but I heard everything. I heard people talking and I ran right here and I just wanted to make sure you were okay…" Kristoff trailed off, trying to catch his breath.

"I'm fine," Anna said, "He just had to have the last word. But I'm fine. It's over."

Kristoff wrapped his arms around Anna, "I'm proud of you."

"I just don't understand what he said," Anna said over her best friend's shoulder, "He tried to twist the situation and make it look like I was in the wrong. And then when he finally realized that he couldn't get away with that, he told me that I had someone else, too."

Kristoff pulled away, and looked directly at Anna, "I don't want you worrying about a single thing he says. Okay? Forget about him. You weren't cheating on him. He was cheating on you."

"I know that," Anna said, "But I just don't understand why he said that."

"Because he didn't want to be the only one in the wrong," Kristoff said, "You realized that yourself."

"And I'm not going to give it any more thought," Anna said decidedly.

Because the effects of what had happened suddenly just seemed to settle in.

Relief hit her; it was a huge weight off of her shoulders.

She was free.

Free from Hans and all of the anxiety he had caused her.

And at the moment, there was no better feeling.

The following Sunday, Anna went straight to her shift at the barn.

The job had become routine enough by now; walk into that office. Sign her name on the paper.

And…close the door.

She knew well enough by now that she needed to shut that office door. As forgetful as she may be, after weeks of the same routine, she remembered.

But there was something about the way that Elsa always reminded her before she left. Like Anna was actually needed for something.

"The door, Anna."

Now Anna actually smiled—with her back to the senior, of course—when she shut that door behind her.

And if Elsa was surprised that Anna still 'couldn't remember', she didn't let on about it.

Those three words…

After being ordered every Wednesday to 'get this' or 'do that'; after being instructed to 'put this horse here' or 'give this horse that'…the words weren't even commanding. Just a simple, plain reminder of a request that only Anna and Anna alone could accomplish.

And if Anna were being extremely optimistic, she would even dare to say that they held a hint of amusement.

As Anna grabbed her usual pitchfork and wheelbarrow and headed down the rows of horses, she couldn't help but feel even more relieved that Elsa hadn't brought up anything about what had happened when Anna had confronted Hans.

She just brushed it off, like always.

Pretending it hadn't even happened at all.

And Anna was perfectly fine with that, because it gave her less to worry about.

Or rather, it gave her more time to worry about the show that was approaching in a matter of days.

And Weselton worked them hard on Tuesday, since all lessons were cancelled on the Friday before the show so that both the horses and the students (but primarily the horses) were rested enough and prepared for the day-long show. It seemed as though the closer it came to shows, the more pressure Weselton put on his students—and the more he seemed to live up to his nickname of 'the Weasel'.

Weselton put them through the first half hour without stirrups, but Anna accepted the challenge.

While Titan was relaxed and calm, Anna wouldn't quite consider him comfortable. His trot was choppy and bouncy, and his canter seemed flat. It was difficult for her to sit without leaning forward, but she fought for her balance and was grateful that they were allowed to work with stirrups for the jumping portion of the lesson.

And the riding wasn't even half as painful as Weselton's comments—if he compared her to an animal one more time, Anna could have sworn she would have just dismounted and stalked out of the arena.

"Miss Summers, you're riding like a chicken with the face of a monkey! Your arms are flapping everywhere, and you need to think about where you're going. You need to ride more like an agile peacock—strong and confident, but graceful!"

Anna didn't think she had ever heard anything so infuriating—but at the same time so downright hilarious—in her life. And she was still trying to suppress her laugher as she led Titan out of the arena.

"Well, that was rough," Olaf said from where he was walking beside Anna.

Anna gave Olaf a knowing look. Splash—a paint pony with plenty of speed and spirit—could be an interesting ride without stirrups.

"But look on the bright side—you stayed on," Anna said.

"I'm glad about that," Olaf said, "But it just reminds me of how out of shape I am! I used to avoid no stirrup work at all cost."

"Well, I guess we'd all better get used to it. Next thing you know he'll have us jumping an entire course without saddles."

Olaf laughed as he turned Splash towards the opposite end of the aisle, "That'll be the day I land in the dirt."

Anna only smiled after him and led Titan back to his stall where she removed the horse's tack and quickly brushed him down. Then, gathering everything that she needed to return to the tack room, she heard Weselton call down the aisle, "And don't forget to sign up for the preparations for Saturday's show!"

Ugh, Anna grimaced, I forgot about that.

She hurried to put away the tack and the brushes, and headed to the office. The door was closed, but she knocked as she was supposed to, and once inside, she walked over to the wall to find the sign-up sheet.

"It's not your work shift. You don't have to sign out from your lesson," Elsa's comment held a bit of a laugh.

"No, I know that," Anna said, turning around to face the senior, "Weasl—uh, Weselton said that we had to sign up for Saturday. To help out with the show."

"Oh," Elsa said, "I didn't even put it up yet. But since you're already here, I guess you get first pick."

"Sounds good to me."

Elsa reached into her bag which was sitting beside her desk, pulled out yet another manila folder that matched the many others that could be found everywhere in that office, and handed Anna one of the papers inside.

Anna took one glance at the list and said, "Wait, I thought we had to sign up for particular jobs."

"You sign up for a horse. It's your job to prepare the horse for the show, which includes grooming and braiding," Elsa spoke to Anna, but turned back to her computer, continuing whatever it was that she had been typing before.

"Well," Anna said, "In that case I'll take Dee."

"Who?"

"Dee," Anna repeated.

"I'm fairly certain that we don't have a horse named Dee."

"Oh," Anna smiled sheepishly, "I meant Delaney. I kind of gave her a nickname."

"Okay then," Elsa looked up from the computer and handed Anna a pen, "Dee is all yours."

Anna grinned, taking the pen and writing her name next to Delaney's.

"Will she wear her martingale for the show?" Anna asked after she set the paper down on the desk.

"I think so. We wouldn't want a repeat performance from tryouts, now would we?" Elsa told her, but her tone was teasing.

"Hey!" Anna exclaimed, and then said pointedly, "I handled it very well. And thanks to all of the times I've worked her without one in lessons, she's learning to carry her head very nicely."

"So I've noticed."

You have?

"And I think you're doing a great job with her."

You do!?

"Oh…uh…thanks," Anna managed, not used to receiving any compliments from the senior.

Elsa waved it off with her hand, as if it were no big deal.

But it was a huge deal to Anna.

Elsa was so hard to please; so incredulously perfect. And yet she had just complimented Anna.

Elsa had just told Anna that she had done something well.

"I don't want to be here."

Anna's groan was audible even though she had buried her face in Dee's copper mane.

It was six a.m. on Saturday morning, and Anna couldn't help but wish that she could be back in her bed sleeping like every normal college student could on the weekend.

"You know, Dee, you're not quite as comfortable as a pillow, but you'll do," Anna said as she yawned.

"Sleeping on the job?" Kristoff joked as he passed by.

"I am not," Anna argued, but her head never left Dee's neck.

Kristoff only laughed as he turned to go.

Anna could have sworn she had actually managed to close her eyes for a brief moment, but suddenly the chestnut mare shook her head and neck, freeing herself from the (most likely more annoying than uncomfortable) weight that was Anna.

"I'm up this early for you," Anna told the mare as she reached for a brush, "The least you can do is let me take a break."

Even though I've only been at this for ten minutes.

Anna continued to talk to Dee as she groomed the mare, more to keep herself awake than anything else. And when she was finished grooming, she headed to the supply room. She rushed to find the string and scissors that were necessary for braiding, knowing that she had already wasted most of her time attempting to fully wake herself up. And if anything could wake her up completely, it was the commotion in the barn: students running this way and that, horses whinnying and moving and swishing their tails, and the exited, frantic, and nervous voices of her fellow teammates.

"Come on, Dee," Anna said, leading the mare out of her stall, "Let's get you on the crossties. And hopefully you stand while I try to remember how to braid the right way."

Anna had been taught how to braid…but she had never actually had a need to use the skills she had been taught because she had never really had the opportunity to show. Since this was the case, she attempted to remember what her old trainer had showed her, but everything ended up going wrong.

And she was about to give up about half an hour later. There were pieces of brown string pooled at her feet, Dee was so impatient on the crossties that she insisted on pawing the ground with her front hoof at any chance she could get, and Anna's arms were so sore she didn't know how she'd even be able to ride when it came time to actually show.

"Having some trouble?"

Anna whipped her head around to find Elsa standing behind her, in a t-shirt…and shorts. She instantly wondered what had happened to the senior's professional appearance, but decided not to ask.

"Trouble would be an understatement," Anna admitted, "I haven't braided in years."

"Well, we can't exactly have an unbraided horse for the show," Elsa said seriously.

"I know," Anna sighed, "I'm sorry. I should have asked for help beforehand. I didn't exactly realize how long it had been. I thought I'd be able to figure it out."

"That's okay," Elsa said, "It's never too late to learn. Hand me the string. And the scissors."

Thank God, Anna smiled as she handed over the requested items.

Maybe everything would work out after all.

Elsa cut a much longer piece of string than Anna had been working with before, and then gave both the string and scissors back to Anna as she stepped closer to Dee, who was still shifting from side to side on the crossties.

Anna watched intently as the senior demonstrated how to start the braid—pointing out all of the places where Anna had gone wrong. The primary reason was that Anna's braid hadn't been tight enough. And as Elsa worked, Anna couldn't help herself from noticing the precision of Elsa's fingers. Of course, Elsa had it somewhat easier, being slightly taller than Anna. But she never missed a step, and then end product looked…well…the way it was supposed to look.

"You make it look so easy," Anna complained.

"The years of experience are worth something, I guess."

Anna didn't quite know what to make of Elsa's comment, but she didn't exactly have time to analyze it. Instead, she focused on the matter at hand and said, "It makes sense now, but I don't know if I'll be able to finish in time. They need the horses completely ready in an hour and a half."

"I…guess I could help you finish," Elsa offered.

"That would be amazing!" Anna exclaimed.

"We'll just need to section her mane first so that she doesn't end up with a ridiculously small braid in the middle of her neck. And also, go do yourself a favor and get a stool from the supply room."

"Since when are there stools in the supply room!?"

"Since forever," Elsa laughed, "Now hurry up, or we won't even finish with both of us working."

Wondering how in the world she had missed the stack of stools in the corner of the supply room (now diminished to only three with everyone braiding), Anna grabbed one and brought it back. Then Anna started braiding at Dee's head, and Elsa at the base of Dee's neck.

Neither spoke while they worked, but Anna found that she couldn't focus entirely on what she was doing. She kept looking over at Elsa, still in awe at how quickly the senior could throw together one braid so perfectly without a single hair out of place. And she was also in awe of the fact that Elsa didn't once seem to grow tired, because while she was taller than Anna, and working at the lower part of Dee's neck, she still had her arms practically over her head.

This is the difference between having muscle and being a weakling, Anna sighed. Her own arms were getting tired again even though she was standing on the stool. And she kept having to constantly reposition the stool as she worked her way lower down Dee's mane, while Elsa, on the other hand, had to keep reaching higher in order to get the job done.

And at a certain point, Anna couldn't help but notice that the senior's choice of clothing wasn't quite cut out for braiding. Because now every time she reached up, the hem of that t-shirt would move upwards as well.

Had Elsa worn her usual polo shirt tucked into jeans or breeches, Anna never would have seen it.

But she did, and it took everything in her not to audibly gasp in shock.

Because right above the top of those shorts Anna saw what could be nothing but a tattoo—dark ink against Elsa's pale skin.

Anna could only see about half of it, as the other half was covered by the waistband of the shorts, but she guessed that it had to be a word. And she desperately tried to figure out what in the world is said, but before Anna could it was covered once more, and replace by other words—spoken words—that turned Anna's face from a light shade of pink to a deep crimson.

"The horse's mane is up here, Anna."

And as if it weren't already embarrassing enough that Elsa had noticed her staring, the senior actually sounded…amused.

Quickly, Anna turned back to her half-finished braid, not once looking back at Elsa until they had finished.

They hadn't quite met in the middle as planned; it was more like Elsa had finished two thirds of the braids, each one the same size and shape, and then those perfect little braids met about ten or twelve large, messy, and rather unsightly ones closer to Dee's ears.

"Well," Elsa said, "At least it's done."

Anna nodded in agreement, but after checking her phone she became frantic again, "But what about her tail? And her forelock!? And she's supposed to be ready in fifteen minutes, and I'm supposed to be ready and I'm not even changed! I'm the second division. I have to go get my number and go tack up and—"

"Anna," Elsa interrupted the redhead's nervous string of worries, "I can finish it."

"Are you sure?" Anna asked, not wanting to cause Elsa any more trouble than she already had.

"It's fine," Elsa said.

"Thank you so much!" Anna exclaimed, "I'll stay later for my shift on Thursday to make up for it!"

"You don't have to do that. You're busy enough as it is."

"That's why I said Thursday. I'll barely be able to drag myself over here tomorrow!"

Anna spun on her heels and left before Elsa could say anything more.

Half an hour later, Anna found herself atop a dun pony named Knight.

Just my luck that it's our home show and the one horse I get drawn for I've never even ridden!

At least she'd worked with him; knew his temperament on the ground from all of her rounds of turnout and stall cleaning. And thankfully, he was one of the more docile horses who didn't spook or grow angry easily.

The fourth rider in her division, Anna was already warming up, and before she knew it, it was her turn to jump the course.

"You've got this Anna," Kristoff said from where he stood by the gate, and Anna smiled in return.

Rapunzel gave Anna a thumbs up from where she sat in the stands next to Flynn, who was no doubt droning on and attempting to explain to Anna's roommate the fine workings of the horse world (The part of the conversation Anna had overheard was: "No, no, you've got it confused with jumpers. Hunters is judged mainly on the rider's equitation, that's why the courses aren't as complex!"). But Rapunzel didn't seem to mind; it was who she was talking to that mattered.

Anna shot Rapunzel a small smile to acknowledge her roommate, and then without another thought, Anna trotted Knight and transitioned to the canter.

The course wasn't anything too complicated. It consisted of about six jumps, all of them being crossrails except for the very last jump that looked to be a vertical about a foot high.

Knight took the jumps with ease, much to Anna's relief. She didn't have to struggle with him, or fight him, or encourage him over the jumps. He was practically a push-button pony, and coming from Dee and quite a few of the other hot-tempered horses she had ridden, Knight was an angel. He kept a steady pace, not speeding up in front of the jumps, and had his own keen eye for distances.

When Anna completed the course, she gave Knight a well-deserved pat on the neck. And when it came time for the awards later on in the afternoon, Anna gave Knight many well-deserved carrots, because he had helped Anna earn third place in the show, and Anna couldn't have been any more elated.

"You're good for something, huh?" came a sneer from behind Anna as people filed in and out of the aisle.

There were so many students from other schools heading back, talking, walking, eating, laughing…and she almost lost sight of the unwelcome commenter.

But then she saw him—the back of him anyway—already down by the doors.

Hans.

"You're horrible," Anna seethed, eyes glaring after his retreating form.

She had known that he was here.

She had seen him take first place in his division. The perfect, wonderful, amazing champion.

"Anything but," Anna muttered, "The only award you deserve is for being the biggest ass on the face of the earth."

"Is he giving you trouble again?" Kristoff walked up to Anna after witnessing what had just happened.

She knew exactly the 'he' that Kristoff was referring to.

"More like just being annoying," Anna said, but she brushed it off as quickly as she had let it get to her, instead turning her attention to the yellow ribbon in her hand, "But nothing's going to spoil my win!"

"Some of the team members are going out for an early dinner to celebrate," Kristoff said, "And I offered to drive. Want to come with?"

"Definitely!" Anna exclaimed, giving Knight one final pat.

By the time she was finished giving the dun pony his extra attention, Kristoff was already half way down the barn aisle. And as she hurried to catch up with him, she nearly ran into Elsa, who was coming down from the second level of the barn.

"I didn't expect you to be here still," Anna said.

"Well, I kind of live here," Elsa gave a small shrug.

"Oh, no I didn't mean it that way!" Anna rushed to explain herself, "I just remembered people saying that you didn't stick around for the shows. I mean, not that you shouldn't. Like you said, you live here. I just thought that maybe you came down in the morning to make sure that things were running smoothly. Which…clearly they weren't with me, anyway."

"Technically I'm off today. Actually, the whole place is closed on Saturdays. Except for the weekend of the home show," Elsa said. "But of course I'm never really 'off'. Because guess who gets called first if something's wrong? Me. Just like every single day I'm not off."

That would explain the shorts and t-shirt, Anna thought. But she didn't mention it, instead only saying, "I don't blame you for trying to get away."

It seemed as though Elsa's job entailed much more than just finances and paperwork—Elsa practically ran the entire business. Which was an added amount of work when said business required the care of multiple living creatures.

"It's life," Elsa said, turning to go; brushing off her small moment of exasperation as if it were no big deal. As if it shouldn't be something she or anyone else should be worrying about.

But before she could leave, Anna asked, "Why did you stay, then? Today, I mean?"

Elsa only shrugged again, her back to Anna, "Usually I don't. Sometimes I do."

A/n: Well, there's chapter 7. There's not much to say about it except that when it comes to horses and braiding, it's not nearly as easy as it sounds. Trust me, I know. So thankfully Elsa was there to save the day. And accidentally show off her tattoo…

Anyway, here's an explanation just in case you're all still confused: jumpers vs. hunters. I'll try to simplify it. If you're in a jumpers division you're judged on if you get over the jump and how quickly you get over the jump. If you're in a hunters division you're judged on how well you get over the jump, how well you work with your horse, and how good your position is (which is called equitation). So normally because of this, hunter courses are lower and less complicated, and jumper courses are higher with more sharp turns and complex patterns.

And two other things if you all don't know what they mean already: Breeches are pants and are normal equestrian attire. And 'push-button pony' is an expression for a pony (or horse) that's simple to ride, who will listen to all cues no matter what.

Thanks for reading :)