"…so then, the eternal winter was removed, your mommy gave me a new sled, I gave her a kiss in gratitude, and we all lived happily ever after!"
"No, you didn't, Daddy."
"Okay, you're right. We got a married a couple of years later, and THEN we all lived happily ever after."
"Now that better."
Kristoff laughed. He had just finished telling the story of meeting Anna to their now two-year-old son Joseff, and Joseff thought that the best way to have its happy ending was to say when his mommy and daddy got married. But Kristoff didn't just laugh from telling the story. He laughed because he was in some awe at just how fast his son was growing up and starting to learn things, even if Joseff was still a toddler.
Today was a day when Kristoff offered to take a little time off from work to spend time with Joseff and give Anna some rest. When Joseff was born, Kristoff was instantly smitten with his new baby, and had fainted upon first seeing him! And while the first several weeks and months of caring for the infant Joseff had its rough times, Kristoff loved the time he spent with both Joseff and Anna. For a man who barely had any human contact growing up, he never thought he could love the life he was now living. Besides the trolls and Sven, Kristoff loved Anna and Joseff more than anything in the world, and was happy with his life as a family man.
In fact, in the time he had spent enjoying taking care of Joseff, Kristoff had realized that he wanted to have another child with Anna. He had wanted to mention it to her for a while now, but he chickened out every time he had a chance because he was worried that she didn't want another baby. He knew pregnancy and infant care had been difficult for her, and he wasn't sure if she wanted to go through all of that again.
Kristoff smiled down at Joseff sitting in his lap. "Okay, Joe. The story is over, and it is time for you to go to bed."
"No bed," Joseff objected.
"Yes, bed," Kristoff argued, though in a playful voice.
"Not sweepy," Joseff said, though he yawned heavily immediately after he said those words.
"Oh, yes, you are sleepy." Kristoff stood up from the chair in which he was sitting and walked over to Joseff's crib. He carefully laid Joseff down, then handed him his blanket and stuffed reindeer. "Good night, son. Tomorrow is a new day."
"Night, night, Daddy. Love you."
Kristoff thought he would melt upon hearing those words. "I love you, too." He leaned down into the crib as best as he could and kissed Joseff's forehead. Then he quietly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Seconds after Kristoff left Joseff's room, Anna went inside to say good night to her son, too. Once she reached the crib, she looked and saw that Joseff was close to falling asleep. But once he saw his mother's face, he cried, "Mommy!"
"Shhh!" Anna shushed. "Not so loud, honey. I just came to say good night. You have to go to sleep now."
Just then, Elsa entered the room, shutting the door behind her. Joining her sister at the crib, Joseff's face lit up again when he saw his favorite aunt. "Auntie Elsa!" he squealed.
"Shhh!" Elsa shushed, even though she was smiling.
"I no wanna sweep," Joseff babbled. "Pway with Auntie Elsa and Mommy!"
"No, now it's time for you to go to sleep, my little prince," Elsa said. "We can all play tomorrow if you behave and go to sleep now."
"Awww, okay."
Anna grinned widely. "Now that's my good little boy." She leaned down into the crib and kissed him. "Good night, sweetie. Mommy loves you so much."
"Auntie Elsa loves you, too, Joseff," Elsa added, then she gave Joseff a kiss as well.
"I wove Mommy and Auntie Elsa," Joseff said before he yawned and laid his head against his pillow.
Elsa gently stroked Joseff's face and Anna gently held one of Joseff's hands before both sisters left the nursery together.
"Can you believe how big he is getting?" Elsa asked. "It won't be too long before he can talk more and he'll become a very active little prince in Arendelle." She briefly before she finished, "I never thought I would say this, Anna, but…I miss Joseff being a little baby." Anna looked at her sister curiously, and Elsa added, "Yes. I miss having a baby in the castle."
"Actually, it's interesting that you mention that," Anna said, then she tucked some hair behind her ear like she did whenever she was nervous.
"Why?" Elsa asked, then her eyes widened. "Anna, y-you're not pregnant, are you?!"
"No, no, calm down!" Anna shushed Elsa, hoping no one heard. "But…I want to be." Anna exhaled, then bravely stated, "Elsa, I want to have another baby."
"That's wonderful!" Elsa stated happily, though more quietly so no one would hear. She hugged Anna tightly. "Have you talked to Kristoff about it?"
Anna shook her head. "I've wanted to for a while now, but I'm a little worried he won't want more kids, considering he's never been much of a people person. But I think it would be good for Joseff to have a brother or sister, so he can have a little friend…like when I was born and you had me." She grinned mischievously when she said the last sentence, and Elsa just smirked.
"That's true about him with people, but the way I see him so happy when he is with you Joseff makes me think that he could happy with another child."
"Maybe you're right, Elsa."
"Besides, you want to have a child for your and Kristoff's sake and not just for Joseff, don't you?"
"Sure I do. It would even be nice to have a girl so that each of us can have a child of the same sex. It might even be good for Kristoff to interact with a daughter as well as a son."
"Well, you'll never know how he really feels about it until you talk to him, Anna. You never gave up on me, so there's no reason for you to give up on something like this."
A few minutes later, Anna walked into her room, where Kristoff was starting to ready their bed. He had his back to her, so she tried to make sure she didn't surprise him when she said, "Hi, honey."
Kristoff turned around and smiled when he saw Anna. "Hi, Anna." He leaned forward and he and Anna held each other when they briefly kissed. But when he saw that Anna looked nervous, he asked somewhat worriedly, "A-are you all right, Anna? You look nervous."
"Oh, I'm fine, Kristoff. But I do wanna talk to you about something."
"What's that?"
Anna inhaled and exhaled deeply, hoping all of her nervousness would escape. "Kristoff…I want us to have another child."
Kristoff widened his eyes a little bit in pleasant surprise, hoping that he didn't look horrified to Anna. "Are you sure?"
Anna nodded. "Yes. I've been thinking lately about Joseff and even about my own childhood. I think it would be good if Joseff had a little brother or sister, as a little friend and playmate, like Elsa and I were until we were separated. Even if Joseff makes friends outside of the palace, I don't want him to grow up to be an only child. I don't want him to grow up being lonely like I was or with limited human contact. I want him to have a better childhood than we did, so I really think that it will be good for him to have a sibling."
Before Kristoff could say anything, Anna added, "And it's not just for him, but for us. It might be good for us to get more hands-on experience with kids, and who knows? Since we have a boy, it might be nice to have a girl, too. That way we'd each have a child of the same sex."
Kristoff just smiled. "Anna, I don't know how to say this to you…but I have thought the same thing. Yes, in the times that I have enjoyed taking care of Joseff now that he is bigger, I realize that I miss having a baby in the palace. I've wanted to tell you for a long time now that I want another child, too."
Anna thought she might cry. "Elsa misses having a baby around, too. But Kristoff, oh…we are more alike than we ever thought we would be!"
Kristoff laughed, then he and Anna embraced in a passionate kiss. "And of course…we make beautiful babies together."
The couple kissed again, though this one was tenderer, despite holding as much love as the last kiss did. Once they broke apart, Kristoff asked, "Just out of curiosity…when would you like to start?"
Anna pretended to think. "Hmmm, now works for me."
"Me too!" Kristoff exclaimed. Then he and Anna abruptly went to work locking their door, pulling the drapes, and extinguishing all sources of light in their room before they cuddled up in their bed and lost themselves in many hours of passion and love.
Okay, here is something new for all of you. Since working on my series about Joseff is going a little slow, I decided to try and write a new story since I haven't for a while. In the art of NightLiight, Kristoff and Anna have two children, Joseff and Heidi. I have decided to try and write another series about Heidi's introduction, although the setup will not be exactly like the one about Joseff (e.g., it will not focus on every single month of her first year). I just decided to do it because I want to write future stories with both kids, but I thought intro stories for both of them were appropriate.
So this story is like a building bride to connect both series. Right now, Joseff is over two years old, and he is three years older than Heidi. Part of the series will even include him and how Heidi's arrival has an effect on his life. Eventually, stories about them outside of these series will be when they are past their infant and toddler ages.
Rest assured, I WILL finish "A New Royal Family Member," but in the meantime, it will be nice to have a new story to do as well.
Cover image is "Peaceful Afternoon," which was the inspiration for the latest chapter of my series.
