March, 1713.
That was the year Anna first laid eyes on her. Of course, she had no idea who she was. But so help her, she'd be damned if she didn't find out. She spotted the girl as she was walking through the bustling mid-morning crowd of Arendelle market, accompanied by another woman. Had Anna paid any attention at all to this other woman, she may have figured out who the girl was a little sooner, considering the company she was in. But Anna was far too preoccupied with her all too blatant staring at the beautiful young woman who had graced them all with her presence that day.
She was of higher class, that much was certain. The way she held herself, polite and reserved, she was the complete picture of sophisticated grace. Not to mention the sumptuous, elaborate clothing. But what really caught Anna's eye was something other than just the unknown girl's clothing. It was her face, her hair, her eyes... her entire being. Anna was certain she hadn't seen anything quite so perfect in her life; flawless pale skin, impeccably styled platinum blonde hair that was up in an elegant bun, that adorably dainty nose, the well defined cheekbones, and those eyes... big, bright blue eyes that were filled with curiosity as they examined all the trinkets and merchandise that the market stalls had on offer.
Anna continued to watch the woman from where she was sat, perched upon a wall overlooking part of the town. From her position she could see the majority of Arendelle's market and the docks where the fishermen and sailors gathered. Not too far from the town, if she looked in the right direction, she would be able to spot Arendelle Manor right on the edge of the Fjord. It was easily the largest building in all of Arendelle and the home to Lord Kristiansen and his family. But none of that intereseted Anna. She was still captivated by the blonde woman who was slowly making her way through the market.
And that's when she looked up. The woman happened to glance up to the wall where Anna was sitting and their eyes locked. Anna was momentarily stunned as she gawked down at her before quickly pulling herself together and offering the blonde a smirk and a wink. The woman quickly pulled her gaze away from Anna and stared at the ground, blushing profusely. Anna chuckled to herself as she watched her face turn red. And that's when she noticed just who it was that this woman was in the company of. She knew that woman. Well, not personally; but she knew of her. Everyone knew who she was. Lady Kristiansen of Arendelle.
And then it hit her. This woman, this exceptionally beautiful young woman had to be the daughter of Lord and Lady Kristiansen. There was no doubt about it, the resemblance between the two women was remarkable. Anna had never seen their daughter before. She was never seen in public, always kept herself hidden away in the manor. But for whatever reason, she was out in the market today with her mother. It had to be her; the mysteriously unknown daughter of the Kristiansen family, heir to the Lordship of Arendelle.
As Lady Kristiansen and her daughter started to make their way out of the market and back to their estate, the latter took one last glance up at Anna on the wall. Anna's gaze was still on the young woman and she offered her a small smile this time, diminishing her arrogance with the lack of a smirk. The woman's reaction was very much the same, though to a lesser extent; she blushed slightly and lowered her gaze as she walked alongside her mother. As she watched them walk away, Anna's only thought was 'I have to find out her name.'
She jumped down off the wall and walked swiftly through the market towards the docks, discreetly swiping a carrot from the vegetable stand as she passed. She didn't have to search for too long before she found who she was looking for; her tall, stocky, blonde haired best friend and of course, his reindeer companion.
"Kristoff," she greeted him warmly as she approached. Kristoff had been checking things in the back of his sled before he turned around upon hearing her voice. No doubt he had just finished loading his latest shipment of ice onto a cargo ship to be transported out of the country.
"Anna, hey. What are you doing here, we hadn't arranged to meet until noon. That eager to see me, huh?" he asked, eyebrow raised and smirk etched on his face.
"Oh shush, I came to ask you something. It's important! Absolutely could not wait until noon!"
"It couldn't wait thirty minutes?" Kristoff deadpanned.
"Absolutely not!"
As Kristoff waited for her to divulge whatever it was that was on her mind, Anna made her way to the front of the sled to greet Sven the reindeer who was harnessed up to it. "So just out of curiosity, do you know anything about the daughter of the Kristiansen family?" she asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Who, Elsa? Elsa Kristiansen?" Kristoff was rather taken aback by the question. "Why on earth could you possibly need to know anything about her?"
"Elsa..." Anna said softly, more to herself than anyone as she fed the previously stolen carrot to Sven, who gratefully consumed it without hesitation.
"Anna?" Kristoff attempted to get her attention as he unhooked Sven from the harness in order to lead him to the stables.
"Hmm?" Anna responded, too lost in thought to realise what her friend had just said.
"I said," he replied, rolling his eyes at her, "Why do you need to know about Elsa?"
"Oh... I just saw her in the market earlier. I've never actually seen her before. I mean, has anyone even seen her before? I don't know but goodness, she is so beautiful. I can honestly say that I have never seen a single person to have been graced with beauty such as that. Gods, Kristoff she is just really pretty and-"
"Woah, wait a minute," Kristoff said, interrupting her rambling. Whist Anna had been preoccupied with going on and on about how attractive she found the Lord's daughter, Kristoff has managed to put his sled away and secured Sven in the local stables. The duo were now making their way back through the market and into the main part of town. "You mean to tell me that Elsa Kristiansen was outside, in public... surrounded by people? I thought she was a recluse. Not many people have managed to even catch a glimpse of her." he explained as they reached the tavern. It was customary for the two to meet in the tavern at noon on the day of Kristoff's arrival back from an ice harvest. The two of them ordered their drinks and sat down at their usual table.
"Well I didn't even know who she was at first," Anna explained. "It wasn't until I saw who she was with that I realised. Lady Kristiansen was in the market today, which isn't too unusual I suppose. But my God, Kristoff... Elsa... she is just... wow.."
"A little lovestruck, are we?" Kristoff smirked at the younger girl sitting across from him.
"What?! No! Of course not! I'm just-" Anna couldn't stop the blush that was now spreading across her freckled cheeks.
Kristoff chuckled at her embarrassment before taking on a more serious tone.
"Look, Anna... I know she's pretty and mysterious and interesting but... you have to stay away from this girl okay. Nothing good can come from this."
"What? Why not?"
"Anna, seriously. Whatever sudden interest you have in her, you need to get rid of it. You're going to get yourself into trouble."
"What's wrong with casually noticing a pretty girl?" Anna asked defensively.
Kristoff sighed. He knew he was going to have to explain.
"Anna... I know what you're like. You don't just casually notice someone. It's nice that you've taken an interest in someone but you have a tendency to fall too hard too fast. I just don't want to see you getting hurt. Not to mention Elsa is the daughter of the Lord of Arendelle. If that doesn't automatically make her out of bounds to anyone then I don't know what does."
"What d'you mean 'out of bounds'? She's not out of bounds! She's a person, you can't put boundaries on a person!" Anna was not enjoying the turn this conversation had taken.
"Anna, look at it this way: she is the daughter of Lord Kristiansen and sole heir to Arendelle. Not only that but she tends to stay away from the social side of things, hence why you've never seen her before today. You wouldn't even be able to manage to get the chance to have once conversation with this girl. And even if you did get that chance, I doubt she'd even know how to respond to a simple 'hello'. Plus, you're a commoner. I'm fairly certain she wouldn't want to deal with riff-raff such as you and I. To be honest, I'm amazed she was out in the market today. I'm willing to bet that's the last you or anyone else sees of her in a long time." Kristoff finished his explanation.
Anna couldn't hide the disappointment from her face. She knew Kristoff had a point. But by God, she was willing to prove him wrong. She knew she was being stubborn but that was a fact that Anna cared not about. She needed to talk to this girl. She had been completely captivated just by looking at her today. She could only imagine what it would be like to be able to talk to her, to have a proper conversation with her. If she was out in the market today then she had to be willing at least to some extent to socialise with commoners such as herself. So Kristoff couldn't have been entirely right on that point. Anna was going to see this girl again... somehow... some way... they would find themselves in each other's presence and Anna was going to strike up conversation. If only to hear the voice to match to her face. Anna was determined.
"Hmm... So how's your ice business?" Kristoff then went into detail about what had happened on his latest ice harvesting trip. The rest of their time in the tavern was spent conversing about ice and other such small talk. Anna was only half heartedly interested in the conversations today though. Try as she might, she just could not get that woman out of her mind. Elsa Kristiansen.