Disclaimer: All Frozen rights belong to Disney.
CHAPTER ONE
"Slide, and pivot! And slide, and pivot!" repeated Olaf energetically as he skated around the people of Arendelle. Those that he passed stared at him for a second in awe and disbelief, before remembering that they were also ice skating in the castle's courtyard, in the middle of the summer. Children were sliding and skating around the ice, squealing and giggling as they chased each other and the friendly snowman. The adults were in on the fun too; those who knew how to ice skate performed dances and tricks that dazzled everyone. Those who didn't know what to do, well, they held each other up and took small steps at a time.
One of those people happened to be Princess Anna, who clung tightly to her older sister so not to fall. "Oh, Elsa, I'm never going to get this!" Anna cried in frustration, followed by a look of terror and she slipped and fell on her bottom.
Queen Elsa covered her mouth with her hand, containing a laugh, before offering a hand to her sister. "I told you, it takes practice. You can't always be perfect at something on your first try."
"Easy for you to say, you're perfect at everything," Anna replied, taking Elsa's hand and cautiously pushing herself up.
Elsa froze for a minute, staring into blank space, and whispered, "Anna, you know that's not true."
Anna's grin faded, and she grabbed Elsa's other hand. "Hey, Elsa, it's okay. You've got it now, there's no need to worry."
Elsa shook herself out of her daze and stared into Anna's turquoise-blue eyes. She gave a shaky laugh and a slight nod. "Yes, you're right. I-I think it's time that I go inside now. I'm not feeling too well."
"But we were having so much fun!" Anna protested. "And so is everyone else! Look at the kids! And Sven!"
Elsa quickly looked at the reindeer, who had put his antlers down on the ice and was pushing kids across the rink at a fast pace, nearly running everyone else over. Behind him, slipping a sliding, was Kristoff, shouting, "Sven! Sven, stop! Don't talk back to me like that! You could hurt someone!"
Anna giggled at Kristoff, the amazing man whom she had just met, and yet already felt something towards.
Elsa looked back at Anna and said, "The ice will stay up until I will it to go away, they can still have fun. Now, if you'll excuse me."
Elsa turned to the castle's doors and skated across the ice quickly. Anna stared after her, a feeling of disappointment and hurt settling in her stomach. Just a day ago, Elsa had been cheerful and sociable and clinging to Anna everywhere they went. Now, it almost seemed as though she was folding into herself again, isolating herself, the very thing that had caused Arendelle to freeze over in the first place.
Kristoff made his way over to Anna and grabbed her hand. "Is...everything okay?" he asked.
Anna looked at Kristoff with fear in her eyes. "It's Elsa. She's pulling away again, I can feel it. I have to go talk to her, reason with her before she gets worked up and freezes everything again!" Anna tried to take a step to the doors, but only succeeded in falling down. Thankfully, Kristoff was right there, and he wrapped his strong arms around her waist to hold her up.
"Hang on, Anna." Kristoff said gently. "I know you want to mend things with Elsa right away. And believe me, I don't want another freezing-over again either. Do you know what that did to my ice business?"
Anna smirked slightly.
"But," Kristoff continued. "You guys haven't been friends for thirteen years. That's a really long time. I know you love each other more than anything else in the world, but you hardly know one another. It's going to take some time. And not only that, but Elsa isn't a master of her powers yet. She's still scared and uncertain, I'm sure, and deathly afraid of ruining things again."
"But that's exactly what caused her to turn Arendelle into a Winter Wonderland!" Anna retorted. "She has to know that she doesn't need to be afraid and can let it all go."
"Anna, it won't be that easy. She trained herself to be afraid for thirteen years. That's a lot of training and hard work she's going to have to undo. It won't happen in a day."
"So, what do I do?" Anna asked helplessly.
"Just be there for her, physically and in spirit. That's all she needs."
Anna glanced up into Kristoff's brown eyes and gave him a genuine smile. "Since when did you become so wise and full of advise?"
"My family isn't just a bunch of love experts, you know. They're pretty wise for...rocks."
"They certainly are love experts," Anna said quietly, gazing into Kristoff's eyes.
When they had gone to visit the trolls only two days ago, the optimistic, cheery, and surprisingly creatures had decided that Kristoff and Anna were perfect for each other and were to be married right then and there. Of course, Anna and Kristoff were opposed, having only met the night before. But how right those darn little rocks had been; Anna wasn't sure if she loved Kristoff just yet, but there was definitely a connection.
Kristoff nodded his head. "I told you so," before leaning in slowly, cautiously, making sure he wasn't breaking any rules. Anna's lips met his, and a rush of warmth went throughout her body. Anna didn't care what everyone thought of her, the Princess of Arendelle, kissing the mountain man who adored ice so much that he cried and talked for his reindeer. He had saved her life at the risk of losing his, and that was enough for her.