CHAPTER 1: PROLOGUE

You could say I was there for her when no one else was. Whenever she needed someone to talk to, I was always around to listen. Whenever she had no one to joke or play with, I was always there to laugh with her. Whenever she needed a friend to tell her everything would be alright, I was always the one. In some ways, we were both there when we needed each other the most. In some way, you could say she helped me more than I helped her.

Perhaps I should start from the beginning.

For the longest time, I lived with my parents up in the North Pass of the mountains surrounding the city of Arendelle. We lived in a small quaint cottage down in a secluded gale, close to the winding road that traveled up and over the range. It was the same road many of the ice-men took to travel up to the frozen caps to carve out and transport ice blocks back to town. My father worked as one of the ice-men while my mother took up shop in our home as an apothecary, making herbs and remedies for any travelers seeking a cure to their aliments. I always wanted to join my father on his expeditions to the frozen icecaps, but he never brought me along. We always had a distant relationship, one I wish I had time to mend if there was still time.

One day, my father never came home. I remember sitting all day by the window, hoping that I would see him coming down the road. It wasn't until one of his closest pals returned to deliver the sad news. He had fallen through a thin patch of ice on the lake and had died from hypothermia before he was fished out. After that day, life around our home grew quiet. Granted, my father was never around enough for it to seem like he was part of our lives; but just knowing that he was never coming back again left a hole inside the both of us. I could say that I was bothered about him being gone to this day, but that would be a lie.

When I had turned ten, I made a decision to go out and find some way to help my mother bring in some means of an income. Her medicine business was not enough for us to live on, and with father out of the picture, she needed someone to provide after her. Luckily, I was able to get hired by the palace of Arendelle to take care of the stables. Every day, I would maintain the horses and make sure enough hay, oats and water was delivered to them. Sometimes, when no one was looking, I would amuse myself by giving the horses names, mimicking voices for them and making up elaborate conversations to kill the dead time. Kind of pathetic, now that I look back on it.

However, working in the palace was not always drudgery and work. There was always time for me to slip away from my duties and venture around the King and Queen never really went anywhere and no one from outside of Arendelle ever came to visit. It was a strange matter, but I never seemed to question it. As soon as I had fed the horses and groomed them, I would sneak through the back parlor door and make my way through the grand hallways. Being inside the palace was always the highlight of my day, because it was inside that I would spend time with my best friend: the princess Anna.

I still remember the day when we first met. She spotted me a while back near the stables during one of my episodes. I had gotten into a debated conversation with one of the horses that I had named Claudio.

"I mean, what I don't understand is how you can eat the same thing that you use as a bed?" I jokingly asked the horse. "I mean, you don't see us humans eating our own mattresses, now do you?"

"Well, your beds aren't as tasty!" I mimicked one of the horses in my own gruff, bellowing voice.

"You got that right!" I responded.

I heard the sound of someone giggling behind me. I spun around and was surprised to find a seven-year-old girl with strawberry-blonde hair peaking over the stable door at me. She had freckles dotting along her nose and her hair was braided into two pigtails. Her eyes beamed delightfully at me.

"What'cha doing?" she asked in a squeaky voice.

"Nothing," I shrugged, trying to act like I wasn't making a fool of myself.

"Were you talking to that horsey?" she asked again.

"No. Why would I be? Only weirdoes talk to horses... which I wasn't."

She giggled even louder. I could feel my face growing red from embarrassment. "That's not strange at all," she added encouragingly.

I turned to her, somewhat puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Sometimes, I talk to the paintings on the wall."

I caught myself before I let out a snicker. "Now, that is weird."

"Not as weird as talking to horses, but I like talking to them either way."

For some reason, I couldn't help but smile at this girl. There was something about her cheerful and sunny attitude that seamed contagious.

"I'm Anna. What's your name?"

"Kristof. I'm the stable boy."

She finally came around the corner. She was wearing a bright green dress with a black embroidered shoulder straps. By her side, she was also carrying a basket of apples.

"What's up with the apples?" I asked.

"Well, I wanted to go on a picnic today, but I have no one to go with me. Would you like to come?"

I scoffed at the thought of me attending a girly-picnic out on the grass; it certainly did not seem to be that riveting. "Sorry, but I got a lot of work to do. These horses won't feed themselves."

Anna's face drooped as she lowered the basket by her side. "Oh..." she mumbled, a little disappointed. "Okay then..."

Somehow, I felt a little ashamed for responding like that. She seemed so nice and eager to be friends with me, and turning her down like that was just... rude, for lack of a better word. Suddenly I had an idea to help lift up her spirits. "But..." I playfully suggested, "you want to know who would really like those apples?"

Anna turned back to me, shaking her head.

"Claudio." I patted the side of the horse I was standing next to. "And I'll let you in on a secret."

Anna leaned in closer, her eyes glowing with wonderment.

"Claudio can actually talk."

"What? That's silly."

"No, he really does. That's why I was talking to him earlier."

"But you said you weren't talking to him."

"Well... that's the point of it being a secret. You don't want anyone knowing about it. But you have to feed him apples for him to speak to you."

Anna gasped excitedly as she hoisted her basket up. "Here, here! I have some!"

She skipped over to me as I gestured her over to the large stallion. "Now, you have to hold the apple up to him on your hand," I whispered into her ear, "but make sure you ask him his name first."

"Okay," Anna whispered back to me and then turned her attention back to the horse. "Hi there, I'm Anna. What's your name?"

The stallion shook its head and gave a small brea.

"Why, my name is Claudio!" I mimicked the horse in my gruff, bellowing voice. "The ole'dest stallion in this stable."

Anna giggled as she continued to play along. "Really? How old are you?"

"Many moons old!" I mimicked again as the horse gave another brea.

Anna proceeded with the apple, extending it up to the horse. "Would you like an apple, Mr. Claudio?"

"Why, certainly!" And right on cue, the horse leaned in to snatch the apple from Anna's hand... but she had pulled it away in a teasing manner. "What's the magic word?" she gleefully asked.

"Pleeaase?" I mimicked again, trying to make the horse sound desperate.

This time, Anna beheld the apple and the horse devoured it earnestly. Anna clapped her hands delightfully as she smiled and turned to me. "Again, again! Do it again!"

Ever since then, Anna and I been good friends.

Every day, I would meet her inside the palace and we would spend hours playing in the empty ballrooms and chambers. We would enact out the stories we read in the library, and play Dread Pirate Roberts along the winding staircase. Some days, I would manage to sneak her out to the pastures with one of the ponies and teach her how to ride both ways, side-seating and saddle pose. I introduced to her early on how to play or climb trees. We even invented a game of bouncing from sofa chair to the couches in the grand , and we would have to keeping bouncing until the other one got tired and hit the floor.

There was one strange feature about Anna that I never fully understood. On the right side of her head, she had a white strand of hair that started at the scalp and was interwoven with one of her braids. It reminded me of the strands of gray hairs that some of the elderly ladies in the town square had; but why Anna had one was bewildering to me. I asked about it one day, and she giggle to admit that even she didn't know how she got it. I guess it must have been something like a birthmark for her, something that she was born with.

To be honest, I was surprised she had wanted to be friends with me at all. I mean, most girls her age didn't like hanging out with boys. Most girls her age would rather spend time playing dress-up or tea-parties with their other friends. It was only after two months of befriending her that I realized something. In the time the gates of the palace remained closed, I never saw any other children come to visit. Anna never hung around with anyone else her own age but me. It finally dawned upon me that Anna didn't have any other friends, except for me.

She did tell me she had a sister: Elsa. Everyone talked about her, but no one ever saw her, or if they did, it was for only a glimpse as she made her way from one room to the next. Anna would tell me stories about how she and Elsa would play in the snow all the time, building snowmen and having snowball fights. Sometimes, she wished they could have that kind of fun again. When I asked why her sister doesn't play with her anymore, Anna would become silent and shrugged her shoulder, not having an answer.

"She doesn't even talk to me anymore," Anna would confess, her eyes downcast. "Sometimes, it's almost like I don't have a sister."

I never had a brother or anything close to a sibling, but I guess it must be hard having a sister who never wants to talk or play with you. Eventually, I stopped asking about Elsa, and we would continue with our own merriment.

The years went by, and still the gates remained closed. At seventeen, Anna had grown into a beautiful woman. Her features had become more refined, although she still had those adorable freckles on her nose. Her auburn hair shone radiantly in the sunlight, and even her white streak of hair gave her a nice touch. There were days when I didn't want to admit it, but she was growing more beautiful to me. Sometimes, I wanted so much to tell her, but just thinking about how awkward it would be to have your best friend say something like that forced me to keep my tongue silent. There was nothing I wanted to happen that would change our friendship.

Then the tragic day came.

When news of Anna's parents had reached the palace walls, it felt like a dark cloud descended upon everyone. Even I was close enough to Anna's parents to feel the pain of their loss, and I remember retreating into the stables as I started getting choked up with grief. They were like a second set of parents to me, always welcoming me into their home and treating me like a son. Never for one second did they ever see me as a mere stable-boy. Now, they were gone.

But it wasn't me I was concerned about. It was Anna that I feared for.

At the funeral, I stood with the other servants as we held a small service in their memory in the Grand Ballroom. I would cast my glance over at Anna, who stood alone in her mourning dress. She looked so lost, like a child wishing to see the sun again. She had remained silent throughout the whole morning, trying to look strong before her subjects, but only I could see the grief and despair hidden behind her eyes. I kept looking about to see if her sister Elsa was there, but like always, she wasn't anywhere in sight.

Later on that day, I went looking for Anna, to see how she was doing. I had turned the corner and saw her sitting at the foot of her sister's bedroom door... trying to talk to her through the barrier.

I couldn't believe it. Even now, Elsa still didn't have the heart to come out and comfort her sister. What kind of a sister was she! They were her parents too! Elsa had been locking herself away for so long, keeping her sister out as well as everyone else. Now, when Anna needed her the most, she still wouldn't even budge the door open.

I did my best to keep my anger until control. When I glanced down the hallway again, I could see Anna making her way towards me, her head hanging with dismay. I didn't want her to get the suspicion that I was spying on her, so I tried to quietly retreat back down the hall without her noticing.

"Kristof?"

My voice caught her by surprise. I turned around to see her standing there. I remember how her eyes looked. They were red and swollen from crying, and while she did her best to wipe the tears and smile at me, I knew she was hurt.

I tried to make up some excuse, to not give her the impression that I was eavesdropping. Unfortunately, I had nothing. "I-I was just..."

Anna raised her hand to stop me, saving me from embarrassing myself. She already knew I witnessed everything. I hung my head in shame.

"I guess I thought I could finally speak to her," she whispered. "Even now that they're gone, I thought she might want to know..." Her voice quivered as she tried to choke back some tears. "...that I still am here for her."

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Anna. All she wanted right now was to know that her sister didn't hate her, that she still had someone inside of these cold-concealed walls who still loved her.

Without thinking, I pulled her towards me and wrapped my arms around her.

For a moment, neither of us moved. Then, I began to feel the heavy sobs from Anna as she buried her face into my shoulder. I only held her tighter as she clung to me, trying to hold herself up as her weeping only grew more violent.

I don't know what came over me, but I began to feel the warm sting of my own tears on my face. I never liked anyone to see or hear me cry, but I didn't care. I just wanted Anna to know that she wasn't alone with what she was feeling. Her grief was my grief, and her loss was my loss. If anything, I just hope she understood that neither of us were alone in what we were going through.

As we continued to hold each other in that cold, empty hallway, I couldn't help but feel like there was someone else there wanting to share in our sorrow. Someone I couldn't see in that moment. For some strange reason, I felt like Elsa was there, weeping beside us.

When I opened my eyes, I only saw the two of us. The bedroom door still remained closed.