Anna spread her cards on the table and stuck her fist in the air with the other.

"I win!" She smiled and let out a whoop of glee as Kristoff groaned and tossed his own cards on the table. "That makes three in a row!"

Kristoff shook his head, but he was smiling. He never seemed to stop smiling when Anna was around.

"I knew I never should have taught you how to play Five Card Reindeer," he said, sliding down the bench to pull her straight into his lap. "I'm never going to win again."

Her expression softened.

"Would that really be so bad?"

Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward to kiss him, long and slow and deep- the kind of kiss that made him wish they were back in his cabin in the mountains, not in a palace sitting room where they were sure to be interrupted. As the clock chimed above the mantle, he tightened his arms around her back and deepened the kiss, not ready to let go. And when she moaned and clutched at the hair on the back of his neck, he wanted to toss her in his sleigh and rush straight out of the city.

Someone knocked on the door before he had the chance. He tried not to growl in frustration. Elsa's servants were too well-trained. With a sigh of annoyance, Anna pulled back.

"That's Gerda's knock," she said, still breathless from the kiss. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes looked glassy, and it took all his willpower not to kiss her again. "She wants to dress me for the ball."

"Another ball?" He frowned. "That's what, the third this month?"

Anna nodded. She didn't look any happier about it than he felt.

"Elsa's gotten serious about diplomacy. She wants to make up for all the years we kept the gates closed." She bit her lip and looked away. Never a good sign. "And I guess we're sort of popular right now. Every titled man within a thousand miles wants to visit Arendelle… and… uh... the pretty, unmarried sisters in charge." She shrugged and gave him a wincing glance. "It's really annoying."

Kristoff raked a hand through his hair. He didn't want to be jealous, he really didn't, but he still found his free arm pulling her close against his chest. He'd walked into this relationship knowing they came from totally different worlds and it would be complicated to date a princess. And every moment with Anna had been worth it.

But he still felt like punching something. Or someone. A bunch of entitled someones.

"Do they know you have a boyfriend?" he asked.

Anna cringed.

"They don't seem to care." The words started tumbling out, the way they always did when she was nervous. "I tell every man I dance with that I'm spoken for, and they just laugh it off and keep trying. Perhaps it's because they never see you at the balls, or because we're not married, or because you're not titled." Her shoulders sagged. "But I wish they would stop. I'm quite happy, you know, being spoken for..."

"Are you?"

Sometimes he worried that he wasn't enough for her, that he wasn't smart or cultured or well-mannered enough to deserve a princess, let alone a princess as beautiful, kind, and funny as Anna.

"I love you," she said softly, and his heart turned over in his chest. And then she smiled and it happened again. "Even if you refuse to dance with me."

"I'm the worst dancer in Arendelle. Seriously. I'd stomp on your toes. All of your toes."

She'd never asked him to attend the balls with her. She knew how uncomfortable he felt in crowds- almost as uncomfortable as he felt in tight dress clothes. And he really wasn't lying about the dancing. Unlike Anna and Elsa, he'd never had lessons.

Gerda knocked on the door again, and this time, she leaned her head inside the room. He felt irrationally happy that Anna stayed in his lap, that she wasn't ashamed of their relationship.

"I'm sorry to intrude, Princess Anna," Gerda said, glancing between them with a small smile, "but if you wish to arrive on time tonight, we really must get you dressed."

"I know," Anna muttered. "I'll be right there."

Gerda arched an eyebrow. She knew Anna as well as he did, maybe even better.

"Five minutes," Anna amended. "I'll meet you in my room. I promise."

As soon as Gerda closed the door behind her, Anna sighed and laid her head on his chest.

"I'll miss you tonight," she said. He stroked her hair, taking full advantage of their five minutes. "Come for lunch tomorrow?"

"I have Ice Master duties," he said. He felt her frown against his chest. "But I'll come anyway."

After another long kiss, she left, and he sat at the table and shook his head. Sometimes, it made him laugh to think that a year ago, all he wanted was to be alone. And now, all he wanted was to be alone with Anna. He gathered up the cards and walked back into the hallway, down the grand staircase, towards the door that led to the stables. Sven enjoyed his visits as much as Kristoff - he was getting fat off carrots from the palace gardens.

Before he reached the door, he felt a cool draft across the back of his neck, and he turned around and waved.

"Hello, Bjorgman."

He tipped his head.

"Snow Queen."

Elsa rolled her eyes and walked towards him. She was dressed in a long, blue ballgown, her hair wound up high to hold her silvery crown in place.

"When are you going to start calling me Elsa?" She motioned for him to follow her down another hallway. A gust of wind at his back urged him to start moving. It prodded him all the way to another sitting room, the furniture in this one made entirely of ice. "Like it?"

"It's great," he said, and meant it. They exchanged smiles, each knowing the other appreciated ice more than anyone else in the kingdom.

"So…" Elsa sat and spread her skirts across a frozen settee. She motioned to an equally cold armchair. She didn't say another word until he sat down and looked at her expectantly.

"Yes?"

Elsa leaned back, idly twirling a tiny string of snowflakes in her palm.

"When are you going to marry my sister? It's been a year."

"I-" Despite the chill in the room, Kristoff suddenly felt too warm. "I mean, I'd like to- that is, we'd like to- at least, I think we'd- I mean, I haven't asked her."

She smiled and took pity on him.

"Perhaps you should." She blew the snowflakes towards his chair. "Honestly, I thought you'd get the hint when I named you Ice Master and Deliverer."

"Wait...you did that so I'd-"

"I didn't want you to feel unworthy of my sister," she said. "And I didn't want anyone else to criticize your relationship, not when it's obvious that she loves you."

"And I love her," he said, "more than anything. But there's a big difference between a Sami Ice Master and a princess."

Elsa tossed a perfect snowball back and forth between her hands.

"Then I'll simply have to name you Prince of the North Mountain." She arched an eyebrow. "Seems fitting, right?"

He gaped at her.

"That's… but I'm not-"

"I already think of you as my brother, and no one deserves it more." She shrugged. "Besides, I doubt I'll ever marry, and if I do, it will be for the good of Arendelle. I want to see Anna marry her true love."

Kristoff opened his mouth only to close it again. He felt like he'd hit his head on another cliff. Everything he'd ever wanted - a home, a family, and the girl of his dreams - suddenly felt closer to his grasp than he'd ever dared to hope. And the Queen of Arendelle herself was offering it to him. He really must have hit his head. But when he rubbed it, he didn't feel a bump.

"I'll announce your title at the ball tonight," Elsa said. "And hopefully, your engagement by the end of the night."

"At the ball?" His shock and joy suddenly melted into panic.

"It's the perfect opportunity."

"Yeah," he swallowed, "the perfect opportunity for me to make a fool of myself."

Elsa grinned.

"I thought that was one of the things Anna liked about you."

He narrowed his eyes.

"You're hilarious. Almost as hilarious as naming a guy a prince when he doesn't have formal clothes, dancing skills, a ring, or social graces… and don't get me started on all those forks you people use."

His would-be sister-in-law stood up and smiled gently.

"Those things are easy to fix," she said. Another gust of wind propelled him to his feet. Elsa walked in a slow circle, assessing him from head to toe. "Just leave it to me."

Two hours later, he paced back and forth behind a curtain at the edge of the ballroom, trying to resist the urge to rake and tug the hair Elsa had expertly blown back from his face. He stared down at the snow white jacket and polished, blue boots she seemed to have conjured up with snow clouds and a twist of her finger.

His hand kept straying to the ring in his breast pocket, both to make sure that it was real and that it wasn't melting. His hand had shaken when he first touched it, for it was more beautiful than anything he could have bought in all of Arendelle, a thin band of white gold that separated into threads as delicate as ice crystals to cradle an oval-shaped diamond that wasn't a diamond at all, but a perfectly cut, crystal clear shard of ice that Elsa had promised would never melt. It reflected the light from the candles behind the curtain, sending dozens of pink, blue, and gold dots of light bouncing across the ceiling.

He dropped the ring back into his pocket and tried not to watch as Anna danced with a lanky, young earl who kept trying to make her laugh. Kristoff grit his teeth whenever he succeeded.

She hadn't been exaggerating when she said she and Elsa were popular. The second the dance ended, both sisters were swarmed with admirers eager for the next few minutes of their attention. Not that he could blame the men circling his girlfriend, for Anna looked stunning. Her amber-colored gown hugged her body and sparkled below the chandeliers, and she'd swept her hair back from her face, exposing the freckles on her cheeks that he was dying to touch. Covered in snow, draped in moss, or dressed in a ballgown, she always made him lose his breath.

When a snowflake landed on his nose, he braced himself. Elsa conjured up a pedestal and steps of ice in the center of the dance floor and walked to the top, holding a frozen crown. The crowd began to whisper until she held up her hands.

"This is a special night," she said as the wind began to prod him through the curtains. At the same time, it forced the crowd to part, opening a clear path straight to Elsa. "For feats of bravery in service of Arendelle and the royal family, for his nobility of character, and for making my sister very, very happy…" Here Elsa paused and smiled slyly at Anna, whose eyes had gone wide. She covered her mouth with her hands. "I am honored to bestow the title of Prince of the North Mountain on Kristoff Bjorgman, Ice Master and Deliverer of Arendelle."

As Anna let out a gasp and the assembled nobles started tittering, some in excitement, others in jealousy and disappointment, Kristoff took a deep breath. He felt sick - he'd never felt so many eyes watching him in his life, but that insistent wind at his back wouldn't let him turn and run away.

"Do it for Anna," he reminded himself under his breath. "You can do it for Anna."

With that thought in his mind and his heart in his throat, he stepped out of the shadows and lifted his chin high. Slowly but unswervingly, he walked through the parted crowd to the base of Elsa's platform. Before he sank to one knee in front of the queen, he stole glance at Anna, her expression astonished and her eyes shining as she watched her sister take three elegant strides down the steps and lay the crown of ice on his head.

"Rise, Kristoff of the North Mountain," she said, the solemnity of her voice eased by her beaming smile. She gestured to the musicians in the antechamber, and they began to play the first lilting notes of a waltz. Elsa winked at him. "Go dance with my sister," she mouthed through cupped hands so only he could see.

Kristoff swallowed and nodded. He walked to Anna, afraid to look into her eyes and all too aware that the entire crowd still watched them.

"Would you like to-" he stopped and squeezed one eye shut, hating his nervousness. Taking a deep breath, he bowed to the waist. Very slowly, he lifted his head and wished he'd done so sooner. Anna was gazing at him with so much love that it made his chest clench tight. Suddenly, he didn't care who watched them, he just wanted to touch her. "May I have the honor of this dance?" he asked softly.

She nodded with the exuberance he'd come to love and placed her small hand in his. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close, really hoping Elsa meant it when she said magic would carry him through this.

The crowd drifted to the edges of the ballroom as light snow began to fall and Kristoff felt the wind at his feet gently guiding him in the steps of the waltz. From her pedestal, Elsa smiled and fluttered her fingers. The rest of the guests might assume she was just moving her hand in time with the music, but Kristoff knew she was working her magic so he didn't embarrass himself. He knew she did it so that Anna could have her romantic moment, and he'd never been more grateful that the girl he loved had a sister who loved her, too.

"I thought you didn't dance," Anna said, her eyes wide as he led her into a twirl and pulled her back into his arms. "I thought you hated crowds, and formal clothes, and-" She looked up into his face. "Did- did you do all this for me?"

"I'd do anything for you," he said honestly, easily, "this is nothing."

Anna's lips quirked at the corners.

"I know it's not nothing," she said, "but I'm so happy you're here."

"Your sister helped." When she laid her head against his chest, her steps slowing down, he rested his cheek against her hair. "I think this means she actually approves of me. Maybe."

Guided by the wind, they danced through the ballroom and out onto a terrace that overlooked the bay the surrounded Arendelle. The doors blew shut behind them, the glass instantly frosting with ice crystals and turning opaque. Anna lifted her head and laughed.

"I think Elsa wants to give us some privacy." She stepped back and studied him in the moonlight, her lips drawn in a shy smile. "You look- well, you look-"

"Like an imposter?"

"No." She shook her head. Rising up on her toes, she touched his cheek. "Perfect. Handsome. Like yourself." She blushed and lowered her eyes. "Like my true love."

"You're mine, you know," he said hoarsely. "My true love, I mean." He lowered his own eyes, afraid that if he looked at her, he'd lose his nerve and mess up everything that was already so hard to say. "I thought- I thought I'd always be alone, and that I was okay with that, but then I met you, and-" He couldn't help it, he hugged her tight. Some things were easier said withour words, but she deserved those, too. "You changed me forever. You make everything better, just by being you. You're funny and smart and I can't keep my hands off you, and I never, ever want to let you go." He swallowed. "I know I'm not really a prince or the kind of man you imagined yourself with, but-"

She stilled his lips with her fingertips.

"You're better," she said, her smile wide and radiant, "you're you."

Her hand slid from his lips, over his chin, and came to rest over his heart. He knew she could feel the ring in his pocket, because her breath caught and she looked up, her expression vulnerable and stunned.

"Anna-" He touched her cheekbone. "Anna, I-"

He was too nervous, the moment was too momentous, and he couldn't get the words out, so he reached into his pocket instead. He watched her lips part in a squeak when he pulled out the ring, and he was pretty sure his heart had never beat this fast in his life, not even when he'd been terrified that he was about to lose her to the ice.

"Do you think that maybe," he said, "you could help me not be alone... for the rest of our lives?"

She nodded, her eyes full of tears, and held out her hand. As soon as he slid the ring onto her finger with shaking hands, she threw her arms around his neck and held him as tight as he held her.

"I promise," she said as he lowered his mouth to hers.

And that was the last thing either of them said for a long, long time.

~ The End ~