Anna was the princess of Arendelle, second-born to the now-deceased King and Queen, and younger sister to Snow Queen Elsa. There she was, learning how to skate, with help from Elsa and the little snowman Olaf. She was just starting to get the hang of it when she bumped into someone. She lost her balance, and was just about to fall on the ice when someone caught her. She looked up to see a young boy, probably 19 or 20, looking down at her. His hair was black, and his eyes were green.
"Hello," he greeted.
"Oh, um, hi!" Anna responded. The boy pulled her up. "Whoa!" She exclaimed. "Thanks," she brushed down her skirt, not because it was dirty or anything - just out of embarrassment.
"You must be Princess Anna," the boy said.
"Yes. How did you know?" Anna asked.
"I saw you over there with the Queen," the boy answered. They both looked over to see the platinum blonde-haired woman looking over at them. She was wearing a blue dress that was made of ice. Anna gave her a little nod to say that she was fine. Her sister got the hint and went back to her own things. Anna directed her attention back to the boy.
"So, um, what's your name?" She asked.
"My name? Haven't I...? Oh, how silly of me! My name is John," the boy said, bowing.
"Nice to meet you, John," the princess said, doing a small curtsy, but still keeping her balance. Before they could say anything else, Kristoff skated up to Anna and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Oh, hi, Kristoff!" Anna greeted. "Kristoff, this is John. John, this is Kristoff."
"Nice to meet you," John said, arm outstretched to shake the ice master's hand. It took Kristoff a little while before he shook the hand. "You're not a people person," he observed.
"No, not really. I usually just hang out with my reindeer," Kristoff replied. "Anna's the first person I actually like." The princess nodded to confirm what her boyfriend was saying.
"Oh, I see," John said. "Well, I best be going. It was nice meeting you, Princess. Maybe we'll bump into each other again."
"Yeah, maybe," Anna said. "Bye, John!" The villager bowed, then skated away. She directed her attention to Kristoff and asked, "Is someone jealous?"
"Jealous? Me?" Kristoff asked. "Never!" Anna laughed, then grabbed his arm.
"Come on. I'm sure Elsa wants to know what was going on," Anna said. Without waiting, she skated over to her sister, still sliding a little bit.
"Oh, there you are!" Elsa said, turning to see Anna and Kristoff skating up. "So, who was the boy?"
"John," the princess answered, and Elsa gave her a mischievous look. "No, there's nothing going on between us. Me and John, I mean."
"I see," Elsa said, before changing the subject. "Are you hungry? There's a buffet in the dining room, if you are. Oh, and there will be a ball tonight to celebrate the re-opening of the gates."
"A ball?!" Anna asked, half-excited and half-nervous. They hadn't had a ball in about a week - since Elsa's coronation day. And honestly, that didn't end very well. Anna hoped this one would be different, though. Especially since everyone accepted Elsa even with her powers.
"Yes. Now go on and enjoy yourself, but be ready by sundown," she instructed.
"Yes, Elsa," Anna said with a little curtsy, but then jumped on her sister and hugged her. "Thank you!" She exclaimed. Elsa gave a little laugh and wrenched her sister off of her. Although they had hugged twice on the day of the Great Thaw, as everyone called it, she was still getting used to it, after being afraid of anyone touching her for thirteen years.
"You're welcome. Go on," she instructed her sister. The princess smiled and skated around gleefully.
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It was about an hour before sundown when Anna decided to go get ready. She walked into the castle, her skates gone now thanks to Elsa removing them for her. She ran down the halls and up the stairs into her room. She opened her closet and looked for a dress to wear. She found her dark green dress that she had worn on coronation day, and a light green one that looked like it would be a little tight. She walked over to the mirror and held up each one, trying to figure out which one she wanted to wear. Then, she heard a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" She asked.
"It's me!" Kristoff called back. Just the person she needed!
"Come in!" She said. "And close the door behind you." After about a minute, she turned to her boyfriend and asked, "Which one?" She held up each one for Kristoff to see. The blonde boy walked up to them and examined them closer.
"Well, this one," he said, grabbing the coronation one, "reminds me of our first meeting, and this one reminds me of your sister's current dress. Which do you think I would choose?" The princess looked up at him and smiled at him.
"Thanks, Kristoff," she said.
"You're welcome," he said, and began walking out of the bedroom. Before he closed the door, he turned to Anna and said, "And keep your braids down. You look better that way." With that, he closed the door and walked down the hall. Anna smiled and began getting ready for the ball.
Anna ran down to the ballroom, but began walking calmly as she got closer. She began to walk in, but she noticed Kai hold out his hand and shake his head. The princess understood, and took a step back.
"Queen Elsa of Arendelle," Kai introduced. Just past the servant, Anna could see her sister beginning to walk from the doorway on the other side.
"Thank you, everyone, for attending the celebration of the grand reopening of the gates!" Elsa began. Anna realized her sister was going to be doing a speech, so she took another step back, realizing it would be a little while. After about five minutes, Elsa said, "Let the party begin!" And with that, she blast ice at the walls of the ballroom, making it a winter wonderland, but without any snow. The queen gestured for her sister to come in, which the princess did, and all the guests clapped. Then, the music began to play, and everyone began to dance.
"Hello, my lady," someone said beside Anna. "May I have this dance?" The princess turned to see who had just asked her to dance, and looked at the boy with great surprise.
"Kristoff?" She asked. Normally, she would recognize her boyfriend, but his hair was combed and slicked back, and he was wearing a suit, which Anna had never seen him wear before. The ice master smiled at her.
"How do I look?" He asked, raising his arms so Anna could get a full view of him.
"Very handsome," she answered. "Honestly, I've never seen you look better." Kristoff pulled her close, about to kiss her, but then thought better of it.
"Shall we?" He asked, and Anna nodded. He led her to the middle of the ballroom, then began doing a waltz. Anna wasn't sure where he had learned to do it, but she didn't care. She was spun around multiple times. Just before the song ended, Kristoff whispered, "I love it when you spin," then spun her out one last time, pulling her back in just as the song ended. They looked at each other for a little bit. Kristoff didn't want to let go.
"May I have the princess for one?" A boy asked from behind Anna. She turned to see John there.
"Um, sure," Kristoff said, reluctantly letting go of Anna. John grabbed her hand, and they began dancing.
"So, how old are you?" Anna asked, trying to start up a conversation.
"Twenty. You?" John asked.
"Eighteen," Anna answered. "How many siblings do you have?"
"Five in total - two brothers and three sisters," he answered.
"Wow. That's not nearly as many as one boy I knew had, though," Anna said. "He had twelve older brothers."
"Wow. I feel bad for that mom," John said with a little laugh.
"How long have you lived in Arendelle?" Anna continued.
"Since I was 6," he answered. "We moved here exactly a year before the gates were closed."
"Oh," Anna said, not able to think of any other questions.
"Do you mind if I show you something after this dance?" John asked. "Outside, perhaps?" Anna looked up at him, puzzled, but then nodded.
"Sure," she answered. John smiled, and they finished the dance in silence. As soon as the dance was over, John led Anna outside.
"Where's a good, quiet place?" he asked. Anna had to think for a moment about that one.
"There's the gardens," she suggested. "No one ever really goes there."
"Great!" John said. They walked over to the place together, not talking much. When they arrived in the middle of the area, Anna turned to face the villager.
"So, what did you want to show me?" she asked.
"Something," John answered simply. "But first, you have to promise that you won't tell anyone."
"I promise," Anna vowed. John took in a deep breath, then snapped his fingers. To Anna's surprise, a little flame appeared. Her mouth was half-open from the sight.
"Pretty cool, huh?" He asked, but Anna was speechless. "My parents say that, like your sister, I was born with these powers. They don't know how, though. They say that, as far back as they can remember, no one else had powers."
"They're amazing," Anna was finally able to say. "That's the same for Elsa. Although Dad said that they may have come from our great-great-grandfather's sister, because she, too, had the platinum blonde hair color."
"You know a lot about your family history," John observed.
"Yeah. I guess it just happens when you have thirteen years all to yourself," Anna shrugged.
"You were shut out?" John asked, and Anna nodded. "Wow. I always thought that life inside the castle was more exciting."
"I wish it had been," Anna said. "You have no idea what thirteen years all alone is like."
"You're right; I don't," John said. "But I didn't have the greatest life with my siblings, either. Being the firstborn, many didn't play with me. I often just practiced with my fire powers inside. Only my family and, now, you know about this. Please don't tell anyone, not even the queen. Promise?"
"I promise," Anna answered. They looked at each other for a few seconds, then Anna remembered there was a ball going on inside. "Uh, we should probably go back inside," she said. John agreed, and the moment they went inside, she walked into the dining room, feeling a little bit hungry. She noticed Kristoff almost immediately, and walked over to him.
"Hey, Handsome," she greeted, standing next to him while he dished up.
"Hey. You hungry?" he asked, handing her a plate.
"Thanks," she said, and dished up her own food. When they finished, they sat down at one of the tables and began eating. "So, what all happened with that John guy?"
"Nothing really. We just got to know each other a little bit more," Anna answered. Anna grabbed one of the carrots off of his plate and began eating it.
"Hey, that's mine!" he said, trying to grab it from her. But Anna kept it out of reach.
"Come and get it!" she said, and began running away. Kristoff chased after her. She began laughing as she continued to run around the room. But Kristoff soon caught up to her and picked her up.
"You're such a pain," he joked before kissing her. When they broke from the kiss, Anna gave him back the carrot, then finished her food. When she was done, she leaned up against him.
"You okay?" He asked her, concern showing on his face.
"Yeah. I'm just enjoying this moment," she explained. After a few minutes, she got up from the table. "Come find me when you're done," she told the ice master, before walking out of the dining room and back to the ballroom. Being with Kristoff was always so much fun!