"Oh Anna, if only there was someone out there who loved you."

"What?" Anna whispered, shocked by Hans's statement.

"You said you did," she stuttered.

"As thirteenth in line in my own kingdom I didn't stand a chance. I knew I would have I marry into the throne somewhere..."

Anna couldn't believe her ears. The man that she thought she loved, that she thought loved her, was now revealing to her that he didn't love her at all, and was just using her to get to the throne. When she watched him pour the water into the fireplace, she realized that not only had he broken her heart, but he was also going to let her freeze to death in this room.

She rolled off of the couch to try to stop him, but she was not strong enough to do anything.

"No!" Anna's began to muster up all of the strength she had left to beg him for mercy.

Anna! She heard a faint voice crying in the distance.

Hans opened the door to leave.

"Hans, please!" Anna cried, almost shouting.

Anna! The same voice cried from the distance again, only louder. Anna realized-it was Elsa's voice-but where was she? Elsa had no idea where Anna was. Elsa didn't even know that she had returned from the mountain.

Hans shut the door behind him and locked it.

"No!" Anna cried, using all the strength she had left.

ANNA!

Anna jolted awake. Shivering, she looked around her. The majority of her bead spread was lying on the floor, except for a thin sheet that was entwined around her body, for she had been tossing and turning violently. She looked up to see Elsa sitting on the edge of her bed. Her hair was braided back the way it always was while she slept, and she was wearing her robe over her nightgown.

"Oh, Elsa!" Anna cried, greeting her sister in an embrace.

"It's ok, Anna, you're safe," she said.

"Anna! I heard yelling and-" Kristoff stopped in his tracks when he saw the princess and the queen. He had bounded through the doorway to Anna's room, his blond hair untamed as always. He was slightly out of breath, because unlike Elsa's room, which was directly across the hall from Anna's, Kristoff's room (hand-chosen by the Queen, of course) was all the way down on the opposite end of the hall.

"What happened?" Kristoff inquired, as he made his way into the room.

"Anna had another nightmare," Elsa replied. Anna was still breathing heavily and shivering violently. Kristoff picked up the bed spread from off of the floor, and began to cover Anna up again.

"Oh, Elsa, it was horrible! Same dream as the others, just replaying the events in my head, the same pain, the same cold-"

Anna shuddered.

"It's ok, Anna, it's all over now." Anna looked up at her sister as her voice started to soothe her nerves. She looked at her eyes, so supportive and loving, and she noticed the bags under her eyes.

"Elsa! I completely forgot you're leaving early tomorrow! Oh, I'm so sorry I woke you up! You need to go back to sleep!" Elsa had to leave tomorrow to a neighboring country for one of her "Royal Duties", as Anna liked to call them. She never really knew what Elsa had to do, only that it was important Queen business that could not be overlooked.

"No, Anna, I'm fine," she said. Almost on queue she let out a yawn, and immediately covered her mouth to show that it was nothing.

"I'll stay with you until you go back to sleep."

"No, Elsa, you need to go to sleep, you have a busy day tomorrow," Anna insisted.

"Anna you know the nightmares usually come back. I'm not going to leave you here alone-"

"I'll-I'll stay with her," Kristoff said hesitantly, "just until she goes back to sleep, of course." He made his way towards the opposite side of the bed and sat down next to Anna. Even though Kristoff had known Elsa for over a month, he still wasn't sure that the Queen trusted him alone with her baby sister.

Elsa looked at Anna. She was looking at Kristoff, her face glowing with gratitude for his kind offer. Elsa eyed Kristoff hesitantly, but his soft expression made it impossible for her to not trust him. She looked again at the two of them, who were now both looking at her. Anna smiled at Elsa, and Elsa gave a small smile back.

Elsa had spent so many years not being there for Anna that she couldn't bear not being there for her now. But she knew Anna was right. She had to get a good night's rest if she wanted to function properly in the morning.

She yawned again. "Thank you," she said to Kristoff. She gave Anna's hand a squeeze, wished her goodnight, and got up to leave the room.

Anna watched as her sister left the room. As Elsa was leaving Anna's bedroom, she turned around, gave one last smile, and then gently closed the door.

Kristoff looked back over at Anna and reached for her hand. She gave it to him, and he held it, gently rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Now, Anna, try to go back to sleep. I'll be right here the whole time."

"Thank you," Anna whispered.

Kristoff smiled at her as he pulled the blankets higher over her. He gently kissed her head as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

"Hans, no, please!" Anna whispered through her dream. She began shivering again and tossing and turning.

"Anna!"

Anna jolted awake again. Kristoff was still sitting there, right next to her, holding her hand.

"It's ok Anna, I'm here," he said.

She sat up in bed and hugged him. "Oh, Kristoff, it's seems like I can't stop having these same nightmares," she said.

"It's ok," he replied, "but now you know that I'm here with you, and Hans can't hurt you anymore."

Letting go of her hug, Anna looked at Kristoff. "Kristoff?"

"Yes Anna?"

"Would you lie down with me?" she asked.

"What?" Kristoff was shocked at her request. "Anna I-"

"Please Kristoff? I just think it'd be easier for me to not think about-him-if I can feel you right next to me. Just until I fall asleep, please?"

Kristoff looked at Anna. They hadn't been dating for that long, and especially after what happened with Hans, both of them were being careful with their feelings for each other.

Normally Anna would look at Kristoff with her puppy dog eyes and bat her eyelashes to get him to do what she wanted. But this was different. Anna's eyes looked sad and scared. He realized that Anna didn't just want him to lie with her, but she needed him there. She needed his warm body next to her to comfort and protect her from her dreams. It was impossible for Kristoff to say no to her.

"Just until you fall asleep," he said, pulling down the covers so he could climb in the bed.

Anna smiled. "Thank you," she said.

"No, thank you, I was getting cold just sitting there," Kristoff replied with a smile.

Anna giggled, and then scooted over in bed to give him some room. He got under the covers and sat up in the bed, his back and head resting against the headboard. She put her head on his lap, and he pulled the covers up to her neck.

"Goodnight, Anna," he said, kissing her on the top of her head.

With a small smile on her face, Anna closed her eyes and once again began to fall asleep.

Elsa was ready for her journey, but she couldn't leave without knowing how her sister was doing. Even though she knew it was much too early for her sister to be awake, she still decided to check in on her to make sure she was ok.

Elsa walked up to Anna's door and quietly opened it, slipping into the room with as little noise as possible.

She looked at her sister's bed, and her eyes widened. The ice harvester was sitting upright in the princess's bed, fast asleep. Anna's head was on his lap, and one of his hands was on her arm, protecting her. Anna was snoring like usual, but it didn't seem to bother Kristoff. They looked so peaceful, sleeping there together, and Elsa couldn't help but sigh.

Kristoff had stayed with Anna all through the night, sleeping with her to protect her, yet sitting upright to respect her and her privacy. Elsa couldn't have dreamed for a sweeter and more respectful man for her sister to be with, and in this moment she knew that she could trust him. She smiled, looked one last time, and then turned to leave the room.

Elsa opened the door to leave, and the hinges on the door creaked. Elsa winced, hoping she didn't wake either of them. She turned around to check, and she noticed Kristoff's eyes opening. She considered leaving before he realized she was there, but she figured he would still see her leave. His eyes opened fully, and as he examined his surroundings, his eyes fell on the queen standing before him and they immediately widened in fear.

"Elsa! I didn't mean to-I mean I didn't-we didn't-I was going to leave-I mean when she fell asleep, of course, but-"

"Kristoff!" Elsa smiled. "It's ok, Kristoff, I believe you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-wait, what?" He looked at her, confused.

"Thank you," she said. She smiled at him and then left the room, gently closing the door behind her.

Author's Note: This is my first ever fanfiction, but don't worry, there's plenty more to come! Any comments or constructive criticism is welcome! Thanks so much for reading!