A/N:

What would have happened if Elsa had never froze her sister's heart. Anna returns to the castle to be with her "true love" and never learns of Kristoff's feelings for her, and summer never returns to Arandelle.

Prologue

With each passing moment, Kristoff's memories of his parents became more and more dim. He channeled every ounce of energy into recalling their faces, their mannerisms, and how their hugs made him feel so safe...but it seemed like no matter how hard he tried to hold on, the simple passing of time forced him to let go.

They had been somewhat of a nomadic family; it seemed like they stayed in a different place every night, trudging through countless blizzards before finding a new place to sleep until morning. They'd been humble mountain folk, probably too young and too poor to have brought a child into the world in the first place. But from what Kristoff could scarcely recall, they taught him the valuable lesson that nothing in life was for free. He never blamed them for leaving him to fend for himself at such a young age. Life was tough and sometimes it led you down a path you didn't want to go. He didn't know where they went; all he hoped for was that they would someday come back and they could be a family again. Once they were gone, wandering about aimlessly looking for ways to keep warm and fed was all Kristoff really knew how to do. He was a tiny child and each day he didn't know how he was going to make it through. Sometimes he would cry, but sooner or later he saw that it just made him feel worse. He wanted to be a strong, dashing hero someday who could tackle the mountains and he knew crying wouldn't bring hero status...or his parents back.

By some stroke of luck, he wandered upon the arctic lakes. He saw the harvesters piercing through the ice with their tools. Hit after hit, they split that ice apart as if it was effortless; as if they could do anything. It seemed like they all had the art of it down perfectly. They were gruff, scary-looking men, the type he had avoided through his travels so far, but he was hungry and exhausted to the point where he was willing to ask anyone to take care of him.

On the further edge of the lake, Kristoff spotted the gruffest of the men, the only one who was not busy at work. It seemed like he was going to retrieve an extra axe, and little Kristoff mustered up the courage to walk straight up to him and ask him for help. "Um... excuse me, Mr. Sir." His heart was thudding impossibly loud beneath his chest at the thought of what this man might be capable of, but somehow he tried to stand his ground. This is what heroes do. They don't get scared he tried to convince himself over and over.

The man was terrifying. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. "Jesus. This isn't a playground. What are you doing out here, kid?"

"My name is Kristoff," he said, his voice slight and timid. "Can you help me? Do you have any food?"

The man chuckled darkly. "None for you, kid. I don't give away free stuff. Now get lost." He smirked as he grabbed his axe in one swift motion and began making his way back to where the workers were. Kristoff felt like he may as well have pierced the axe right through his tiny stomach. He had planned on at least getting a crumb from these men. Now what? He supposed he'd just have to wander more.

The man was only a few paces away when he stopped dead in his tracks. "Wait," he said, turning around and looking at the boy up and down. His angered persona suddenly melted away as realization hit him. "You're... You're Kristoff! The Bjorman boy!"

"Yes!" he replied, never having been happier to have heard his own name.

"I'm Henrik! I knew your father. Your old man pulled me out of the freezing water when the ice cracked one day... He saved my life! I thought..." He sighed sympathetically. "They left you behind, didn't they? Your parents?" He asked, kneeling down to match the young boy's level. "Word spread of it a couple weeks ago. They got crushed by that damn avalanche. I thought you had gone down with them. You should be glad they loved you enough to leave you behind...Kara and Sven were good people."

Kristoff gave a small, sad smile, trying to hide the fact his dreams had been crushed. He knew his parents had left, but always imagined they'd one day return. At that moment, he tried to somehow store the memories of his mother kissing his head goodbye and his father ruffling his hair, and made a promise to himself to have them there in his mind forever. "Thank-you, Mr. Henrik."

Henrik smiled as he thought for a moment. "Being on your own's tough and you can't rely on walking all the time. I'll tell you what, you're not gonna make it out here without something to help you, so I'll get you some transport animal in exchange for some work, of course."

Smiling was something the young boy hadn't done much of lately, but hearing that he could be like a brave knight with a noble steed was enough to paste a huge, goofy grin upon his face. Without even thinking twice, Kristoff hugged Henrik.

Henrik laughed warmly. "Well, kid. I don't do this often. But your father helped me out, so now I'm going to help you. It's only fair."

Later that day, Henrik and Kristoff made their way to the stables, about half a mile from the frozen lake. Kristoff saw the strong, majestic horses and knew right away that those would be reserved for the dashing heroes in need of transport. Clearly, a little boy like him wasn't to expect something so grand. Henrik gestured to a tiny reindeer calf that stood, almost shyly, behind the wooden fencing. "No one wants the reindeer, kid. So he's yours if you want him. He's a runt for now, but hopefully he'll grow with you," Henrik said, gesturing toward the little reindeer.

Kristoff smiled his new, big goofy grin as Henrik released the little reindeer to his new owner. He tapped the reindeer's little antlers as soon as he came near, and quickly he saw that the little reindeer's smile was big and goofy too. He'd never had a best friend...could this have been the new beginning? "What was my papa's name?" He asked Henrik, still staring at his new reindeer friend in awe.

"Sven," Henrik said quietly, silently remembering the man that had saved his life.

"Then he'll be Sven too," Kristoff said, wrapping his tiny arms around the reindeer's neck. He knew he'd never see his parents again, but he wasn't going to be alone anymore; he and Sven were going to take these mountains by storm, he just knew it.