Heart of Ice- Kristoff/Elsa
Chapter 1
Elsa ran up the ice staircase, tears stinging in her eyes. Flurries of snow brushed her cheeks as she ran. The crystal blue stairs sparkled in the light of the sun. Too upset to even see what was happening all around her, Elsa ran. The stairs reached their end just over the cliff and there she stopped. She was all alone now, no one else to hide from, she would never have to hide again. For the first time she was completely free. Elsa closed her eyes and took in a breath of the ice cold air. "Let it go." She exhaled. No sense in feeling sorry for herself, she was in control now. A smile found its way to her lips, she stomped the ground. Blue crystal snowflakes rose into towering columns, raising her hands above her head Elsa created a new palace for her new life. She wiped her eyes and took another breath, admiring the beauty of her own work. She never knew how truly beautiful her curse was until today.
"Look, Sven, ice!" Kristoff woke with a start. He often dreamed about that day. His love for the cold, for ice, and the memory of the day he became a part of his family, brought that dream to his mind almost every night. Rubbing his face, he groaned as he rolled over. "You know you have the worst morning breath, Sven." The reindeer snorted in reply and licked his friend on the cheek. "Well of course but its nothing compared to the way you smell," Kristoff muttered in the voice he used for Sven. He laughed out loud, "Thats true too." He scratched Sven's head as he stood up. "Alright. Lets get some breakfast so we can head out soon." Kristoff pulled out a bag of carrots and broke one in half, feeding one half to Sven and eating the other half himself.
After the two of them finished their small meal Kristoff pulled his coat on and wrapped his kerchief around his face. He bridled Sven and patted his back, "You ready, buddy? We've got to find where all this snow is coming from."
"Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold!" Anna moved as quickly as she could in her freezing dress. "Oooh! Wandering Oaken's Trading Post. And sauna!" Excited and relieved Anna stepped inside the shop shivering. "Woo hoo! Big summer blow out!" Anna tried to hide a laugh. "Half off swimming suits, clogs, and a sun balm of my own invention, ya?" "I'm looking for more..winter things.." she tried to sound as genuine as she could, "Like dresses, boots, coats." Oaken pointed her to his winter aisle. She asked if he had seen her sister by any chance, he hadn't. Of course not, she thought to herself, this was going to be a whole lot tougher than she had originally thought. Just then the door burst open and in stepped a tall man who looked half frozen. "Woo hoo!" The shopkeeper repeated his sale to the new customer. "Carrots." the frozen man spoke. Anna stared at him confused. "Behind you. Carrots." "Oh!" she gasped, "Sorry, excuse me." "Crazy weather we're having, wonder where it could be coming from." Oaken attempted conversation with the man. "The north mountain." 'Not one for many words..' Anna thought to herself, 'Elsa! The north mountain!' The stranger slammed a pick axe and rope on the counter with his carrots. "That'll be forty." "What?" the man replied, "No ten." Anna tried to question him more about what was happening on the mountain, "Excuse me while I try to deal with this crook here." The shopkeeper slowly stood up, "What did you call me?" Grabbing Kristoff by the shoulder he threw him out into the snow. Anna stared down at the items on the counter, she might as well get his help, she barely made it this far on her own.
Elsa swung the huge ice doors open to look out to her mountain. It had almost become natural for her to smile now. She stepped out onto her terrace, she didn't mind being alone. She had been alone all her life. Left only with the coldness of her curse, but right now it didn't feel like a curse. She smiled to herself, it felt like a gift. Staring down at her hands she made a snowball and threw it up into the air. Thousands of little snow flurries danced slowly to the ground, twirling and dancing to their own music. Elsa finally felt safe. Alone and safe. A noise interrupted her thoughts, voices. All the breath left her body. From her tower she saw her sister emerge from the tunnel. "No." She spun around as quickly as she could slamming the doors of her balcony behind her. "No no no no no." she kept muttering to herself as she ran through the halls. A knock. Elsa froze.
The door swung open as Anna knocked. Kristoff was silent, awestruck by the beauty of the ice around him. Ignoring Anna's prodding for him to wait outside, Kristoff walked slowly into the ice castle. His head was spinning. Never in all his years of working with ice and braving the cold did he ever imagine anything so beautiful. The ceiling, the walls, the fountain, he slid over to it to feel the beauty of it up close. Everything was so overwhelming. As he looked to the staircase that wrapped around the entryway, his heart stopped. There stood Elsa at the top of the stairs. "Elsa!" He heard the voice somewhere behind him. Anna slid in front of him and started up the stairs. In her he saw everything he loved, the crystal color of her eyes, the silvery shimmer of her hair, the light rose color that rested on the tip of her nose and her cheeks. If he could not find words before, he certainly could not now. "I'm so sorry," Anna's voice seemed miles away. "If I had known.." "No, you don't have to apologize." Elsa took a step back away from her sister, "Please just go. It's safer that way. Go." "But Elsa.." Anna pleaded. Kristoff could not seem to remember how to move, so he stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Those eyes.." he thought to himself. "Elsa please!" Anna grabbed her sister's hand. "Stop, Anna!" Kristoff snapped out of it. Elsa was growing more and more upset, "I said go!" She pushed her sister away. A snowstorm started spinning in the room. "Elsa, I'm not afraid of you!" Anna walked back up to her, pushing her away again Elsa's hands shot ice. Striking her sister in the heart. Elsa turned and ran. "If you won't leave on your own, I'll make you!" Waving her arms Elsa conjured a huge snowman that picked Anna and Kristoff up and threw them both out of the castle.
Kristoff stood up and shook himself off. Anna sat there in the snow, defeated. "Ok, come on now. I told you she would want to be alone." He reached out his hand to help her up. Anna looked back up at him, "I had to try." As she stood up, an ice shard struck her heart, she doubled over in pain. "Whats wrong?" "Ah-" she tried to get the words out, "Ice.. hit.. my.. heart" Her words were hard and labored, as she spoke white began to streak through her hair. "Whats happening to your hair? Its turning white." "Is it?" Anna grabbed one of her braids to see. "Come on," Kristoff said picking her up, "I think its time you meet my family."
Sven ran as fast as he could carrying both of them. It took all his strength but he kept running. "What makes you think..ugh your family can help?" Anna clutched her heart. "I've seen them do it before." Those eyes! The ice! Kristoff realized where he had seen those crystal eyes before, the ice trail in the grass that had lead him to his family, it was Elsa. It had always been Elsa.