Fire and Ice

by jenniferjun1per

Modern AU where Kristoff is a firefighter in the mountains, Anna is European royalty visiting the area with her sister the queen. When Elsa disappears into the mountains Anna undertakes a dangerous mission to find her, managing to convince a reluctant Kristoff to guide her. With the fires raging all around them, will they find Elsa in time?

1. Prelude

Fire and Ice - Prelude

Fire is his life. But only because it had taken away everything he had.

He was young when it happened; stupidly, blissfully young. When nothing else mattered in life except hockey cards, dirt bike riding, and making model airplanes. They had always lived in the mountains, their humble cabin standing proudly amidst the pines that grew there. Theirs was a simple, but profoundly fulfilling life.

Until the night of the worst forest fire that county had ever seen. His father had been fighting the fire relentlessly for days, rarely making it home at night. They had thought they were on the verge of containing it, but one night the wind shifted, and the fire turned on them.

Kristoff doesn't remember seeing or hearing the fire. The door to his room had burst open that night, jarring him out of a peaceful slumber. He had bolted upright in his bed, momentarily dazed, seeing his father rushing towards him, a wild look in his haggard eyes. Kristoff had been terrified as his father frantically scooped him out of his bed, not saying a word as he was carried down the stairs. He clung to his father, a feeling of dread growing in the pit of his stomach. If his father was here, in the middle of the night, then something was terribly, terribly wrong. He didn't need to ask what was happening, no matter how much he tried to deny it in his mind.

No, no, no, this can't be happening! Daddy and the rest of the firefighters will put it out, and everything will be okay, he had thought.

Finally outside, his father had placed him in the waiting arms of a neighbour. He had placed his hand on Kristoff's cheek to make sure he was alright, then turned around and ran back into the burning house. Kristoff was confused, until he looked around and realized his mother was nowhere to be seen.

The night was filled with the crackling sound of fire burning, but it was that one echoing crash that would haunt Kristoff's nightmares for years. House collapsing in on itself, firefighters shouting and running. But the loudest sound of all-

Kristoff screaming.