Hello there! This is sort of an AU? Maybe more like a rewrite of the original? Angsty Kristanna and whatever the catchy name for Hans/Anna is to come, friends. Rated T for the moment, though possibly subject to change. Happy reading!

\

There are things about Anna's childhood that are steadfast: she is only to leave the castle with expressed permission and under strict supervision. She should not sneak into the kitchen for more chocolate after dinner. It is possible to ask too many questions about her sister. She and Elsa used to be Best Friends and now they are not. Under no circumstances is she to sneak out of the castle, alone.

/

The day she meets Kristoff for the first time is also the day she sneaks away from the castle for the first time.

She is 9. It's her birthday. She is cautiously optimistic that today will be the day her sister leaves her room, at least for a little while. It's been so long since they've played, made snowmen outside - although it's warm today, hot even, which puts a memory that she can't quite reach in the front of her brain, like it's been burnt at the edges and is frayed and she is unable to grasp it in a way that makes sense before it's gone. A snowflake, melting in the December sun.

Still. Today is Anna's birthday. There will be cake! Presents! Playing! Yes, Anna believes today is the one, so she carefully tugs on the dress and sandals that have been laid out for her before tiptoeing - gliding, really - down the hall. Her whole body wiggles in excitement when she reaches Elsa's bedroom and then she's tap-tap-taptaptapping on the door.

"Elsa," she whispers, breathless from anticipation.

No answer.

"Elsa!" she tries again, a little louder.

Still, nothing.

She puts her hand on the doorknob and turns it. "Elsa?" the door slides open just a little, just enough to slide half of herself inside and she's peering around into the room.

What happens next as shocking as it is confusing: Elsa wakes with a start, wild eyed and scared. She yells, "Anna, get out!" which Anna is not expecting because it's her birthday and it's special. It hits her in the heart, then, the feeling that her sister doesn't love her anymore, even though Anna loves her sister more than anything.

"Elsa," she says, her voice broken, quiet, "Elsa, it's my birthday."

Elsa pauses for just a moment, a second where Anna's breath hitches and she thinks maybe, maybe she's won and today will be a good day, happy, like when they were younger. And then: "Anna! Go away!"

Without saying another word, Anna withdraws her body from the room and leaves, cold and sniffling.

/

Instead of going back to her own bedroom, Anna runs down the stairs, out the front door. She runs and runs, away, away from the castle, away from her sister who doesn't love her.

She runs and runs until her lungs burn, a welcome change from the frigid air that hangs heavy around her sister and everyone in her orbit.

\

If asked, she can't say how she got out, but her best estimation is through a window around the back, in the wall, that she clamored to, up and over and out. It's insufficient, of course, but even as an adult, she thinks, yes, that's the way, isn't it?

/

Anna stops once she reaches the fjord, sitting on the dock, feet dangling just above the water's crest. What she doesn't know is she's 9 years, exactly half of her lifetime away, from this fjord and all in its proximity freezing over, deep and painful. Even without this knowledge, her little hand forms a fist at her heart. A warning maybe, though it falls on deaf ears.

\

Anna isn't sure how much time has passed, but the sun is beginning its ascent higher into the sky and she knows that she has to get back to the castle before someone notices she's missing. She's young, but she knows the rules. She's little, but she knows that she's a princess and she has to go back. She's dreading setting foot back inside those walls, but it's what's expected and she has to follow. She sighs, stands up, and drags her feet back down the dock and toward home.

/

For the second time today, Anna is taken aback: she trips and falls, seemingly out of nowhere, a slow motion ascent with waving arms and a sharp intake of breath, hitting the ground with a small thud. "Ow!" she cries, sitting up onto her knees, cradling her arm.

"Sven!" a voice says and Anna turns, horrified when she realizes the bush beside her is talking and its just tripped her. "I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

Anna leaps to her feet and begins to run now, holding her arm gently, going as fast as she can in the direction opposite of the Talking Shrub. The castle feels so far away now and she's realizing she's not sure how she'll get back in.

"Wait!" a voice yells and she turns her head to see a boy, blonde haired and dressed for winter, sprinting after her. No fair, she thinks, gathering momentum, trying to get away, he's too tall! "Wait!" he says again and she doesn't stop, doesn't look back again, until she's force to stop, lest she runs into …the reindeer in front of her? This is turning out to be the worst, and also strangest, birthday. Before she can get around the reindeer, the boy catches up to her and says, "Boy, you run fast," he's out of breath and she feels a swell of pride in her chest that she's outrun him as he adds, but her face stays contorted in a frown or at least her best estimation of one, "Are you okay? You tripped over Sven."

She turns to look at him now, mindful of the animal to her back, and she tilts her head at him, skeptically. He's older than she is, she can tell, more like Elsa's age, although it's been so long since she's seen Elsa it's hard to even- "Sven?" she repeats.

"The reindeer. I called him Sven. He's bigger than he thinks. Are you okay?"

Protectively, she twists her arm away from him, "Yes. I'm fine. I have to go."

"Hang on!" he practically yells and she wishes he would be quieter because she's surely going to be found at this rate and then she's definitely not going to get chocolate after dinner, even though it's her birthday, and she won't see Elsa and her parents will be mad. "Are you sure?"

Anna hadn't realized she's been crying since she hit the ground, hot tears prickling at her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Yes, this is really, truly, the worst birthday she's ever lived through and it's only just starting. "Yes," she sniffles, using her non injured arm to wipe tears away with the heel of her palm, "Yes, I'm fine. I really do have to go."

The boy nods, "Okay, but… why are you crying?"

Anna, exasperated, blurts out, "It's my birthday and I have to go home!" as though this is an explanation for anything.

"Oh," is all the boy can say, before he says, "Your birthday makes you cry?"

Thoroughly finished with this exchange, Anna turns on her heel and sprints, around Sven, beelining for the castle. The boy stays behind, watching her go. Anna doesn't turn back, just runs and runs, back home, back in the way she came out and is relieved when she's back inside the walls of the castle.

/

"Oh, Anna."

Anna stands in front of her mother, who inspects her dress, covered in grass and dirt, bleeding from the small cut on her arm from her fall.

Before Anna can offer an apology, her mother says, "Let's get you cleaned up," in a sweet tone, not angry at all, and Anna is relieved as much as she is sad. Elsa is still in her room and it is still her most horrible birthday.