This...was bad. This was BAD. This was SO, so, so, so, so not good.
There he was, lying under about three feet of snow, and the royal horses were running away like the little sissy ponies they were, leaving Kristoff trapped and freezing. Sven was sick and so he had to stay at home, he had forgotten his bags out at the old cabin he camped in and needed them desperately for his change of clothes. His change of clothes was soiled now, or wet rather, and he needed to put them on basically immediately, and he was sweating despite the cold.
It figures this would happen to him on his wedding day. "And I was already late by two days for the prep..." He grumbled.
After about ten or twelve minutes of digging himself out of the snow, he hauled himself up and nearly fell backwards into a tree, and then fell forward onto the broken spare sled that had been neatly halved by a fallen pine tree. He was sure glad he hadn't taken the good sleigh today. He was meant to have that sleigh prepared for Ana and himself to ride off in tomorrow when they got to spend their first week as a couple wherever they pleased, courtesy of Elsa
He wasn't so sure she would be so generous if he ended up being a no show, and time was only ticking by faster as Kristoff continued to trudge on. He cursed the snow, and the trees and the wind, and everything. He hated everything right now. Things couldn't get any worse.
"if only I could catch a lift with someone..." He mused out loud, just as a wayward sled thumped its way into his back sending him flying two feet away, a rather belated "WATCH OUT!" Could be heard.
The man in the sleigh hopped out and rushed to his aid. He hauled him up and brushed him off.
"I'm sorry, so sorry kid, I didn't quite see you with all this snow all over you.." He gruffly stated.
Kristoff cracked his neck and then replied, "its fine. I just had a pine tree fall on me, and I'm still alive... For now..." The man was about a few inches taller than him and his head and face were obscured with a hat and scarf, covered in snow. He was another ice harvester.
"hey, I'm still sorry, but I tell you what, it's not a good idea to be waking around in weather like this." He waved to the snow fall in the distance, looming above the north mountain like a bittersweet reminder of how he and Anna even got to this stage.
"Anna..." He remembered
The man didn't seem to notice as he continued his offer, "so, how about to make up for it I take you wherever it is you need hauling to?" He chuckled heartily motioning to his sleigh.
Kristoff grabbed him by the shoulders and gasped, "THANK YOU! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!" He let go of the man and then hastily hopped into the side of the sleigh and folded his hands in his lap very anxiously, nearly shaking with anticipation.
The man was a little confused but strode over quickly and got up in. The sleigh started and Kristoff exhaled a breath he hadn't realised he was holding.
"So, where're you headed son?" He asked, "To the kingdom I assume?" He added.
"YES, uh, I mean, yes. Yes and thanks again, you're a real life saver." He added.
The man hummed and smiled from under his scarf, and then whipped the reins to speed up the reindeer before them.
"Any special occasion?" He prodded a little.
Kristoff nodded and shifted nervously, "yeah...just a wedding." He squeaked.
"Ah! So you're going to the royal wedding eh? I haven't thought of going, an old gruff mountain man like myself..." He stated as they rode on. Kristoff blushed, knowing that he had felt the same way when Anna basically forced the proposal out of him...much like his family had... He was just a gruff and smelly mountain man. He wasn't at all prince material, but it was about to happen in three hours.
"Then again, you know..." The man began, "I hear talk that the Princess is actually marrying one of us." He motioned to the ice blocks in the back of his sleigh and chuckled.
"Fancy that! Some lucky old troll gets to live the high life while the rest of us are stuck hauling loads forever. The lucky guy." He said.
Kristoff looked at him curiously and then, hesitantly, asked, "you don't like him?"
The man shrugged and said nonchalantly, "I can't hate a guy I've never met. Actually, I think with a guy like him representing us to the rest of the world, I can only hope he behaves himself. We ice harvesters are underpaid, and forgotten about. We may provide the kingdom and outlying areas with the ice, but no one seems to know or care where it comes from."
Kristoff felt a heavy burden suddenly, but not in a totally bad way. He was right, this man. He was now the international representative for the people in his line of work. Not only was that seriously and epically cool, it also made him suddenly sick to his stomach and he found it kind of hard to breathe for a minute.
"I'm sure the guy will do fine though." Kristoff tried, attempting to ease himself, "After all, it's the princess who needs to learn a little bit about representing people, seriously!" He added laughing.
The man looked at him incredulously, "What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"oh you know, she's kind of loud, and hyper... She doesn't use proper table manners, or talk like she's royalty.. She almost like a regular girl actually..." He caught the weird look he was getting from the man and then he suddenly started laughing and waving his hand
"hahaha, oh just ignore me.. I, uh, I've just heard this through hearsay..." He cleared his throat and they continued on. The man shrugged and then continued.
"You got a name?" He asked. "
Oh? Oh yeah... Hello, my name is Kristoff! it's nice to meet you." He recited, like he had for the past three months. He was getting better at the whole politeness and formalities.
The other guy snorted a little but disguised it as a cough. "huh... You know, I had a son named that. It isn't a common name like it used to be." He mused.
Kristoff nodded slowly, "what do you mean 'had'? I, I mean not if its too personal or anything..." He wondered.
"Yeah... Poor kid. He was an iceman in the making, just like me. One day I couldn't go out with him to the lakes on one of the trips. I had been teaching him the tools of the trade, but that one day I was sick and left him in the care of my coworkers." He heaved a heavy sigh and furrowed his brows.
"You know, I never blamed them for losing him, but rather it was myself. I shouldn't have let him go without me. I can only hope the best became of him." He ended, sadly.
Kristoff felt a tug in his chest and he swallowed back hard. That hit pretty close to home. He was just left by the crew one day and they failed to hear him calling out, asking them to slow down.
"And, I suppose I know from personal experience, there are forces out there that are good... And bad... But I still wonder to this day..." The man continued. There was a heavy silence between them for a long while until the kingdom was very nearly in sight.
"Well, Kristoff, we're almost at the kingdom. I'll leave you there though. The royal folks don't need smelly old me stinking up their fancy party." He sighed.
Kristoff looked at him meaningfully and then he stated, more assertively than planned, "Actually, I think you should come." He looked the man in the eye very seriously as they pulled into the town.
"Are...are you sure? Don't I need some invitation?" He began.
"Nope. All are free to come by Princess Anna's request. No closed gates at all." He said.
"I'm still not so sure I want to." He insisted, "I, I'm not good with people."
"There's no need to talk to anyone there. Just come and watch. You can try the food, maybe have a drink or two. It'll be fun! You deserve a break!" He tried. The man hummed noncommittally and then slowly came to a stop by the gates.
"and..." Kristoff started, ready for the final offer, "its probably...kind of awkward for me to be saying this right now... You know after this whole conversation we just had but... It IS kind of... MY wedding... So..." He grinned sheepishly at the ice harvester who's eyes visibly widened as he suddenly realised who he'd been yacking to for the past hour or so.
"Y-you mean to say, that, YOURE the..." He motioned to the castle, shakily. Kristoff blushed and nodded.
"Yeah. So... Since you just saved my skin back there, I simply refuse to let you NOT come. I'd be honoured to know you were there." He said, feeling suddenly extremely important and dignified. It was a bit of a silent agreement, but words weren't really necessary.
Kristoff was able to get ready in the remaining two hours, and Sven had come around after some rest. The ice harvester discovered that there were other guys like him there too, and so he had some people to stand with throughout the pre-party, bragging just a little that he'd been the 'impromptu chauffeur' for the groom.
Then came the ceremony, and all eyes were on Anna as she donned a white, and blue gown with an icy trail, made with love by her sister, a delicate bouquet of white roses and forget-me-nots, and then the more subdued formal wear of the groom, in a simple pale grey, blue, and white set (which he honestly planned to never EVER wear again... So tight and itchy!)
Silence filled the castle grounds and they remained so right up until the first kiss as a married couple was shared. It was sweet, and shy, but passionate nonetheless and in the back of Kristoffs mind he was so thankful he had made it on time.
He ended up admitting to Anna about it after they'd gone down into the center to join with the food and drink.
"You mean you almost didn't make it?" Anna raised a brow, her face a bit pale.
"yeah, those good for nothing horses left me stranded after a pine tree almost killed me. Then I was lost, trudging through the snow.. And HEY!" He waved to the man who had taken him here
"This is the guy who literally saved our marriage! He gave me a lift here after he found me out there! You have to meet him!" He said. He pulled Anna along, who was just as excited to meet this saviour of the day as Kristoff seemed to be to introduce her.
The ice harvesters whom had all congregated in a small corner, away from the life of the party, all awkwardly stood upright, and stared, wondering why they of all people were being greeted with such enthusiasm. Kristoff walked straight up to the man and then, out of breath, began,
"Anna, this is the man who brought me here, and ... You...I didn't really, get you're name..." He waved his hand nervously
"hi, I'm Anna, its a pleasure to meet you," she bailed him out, "I can't thank you enough for this."
With that, the other guys all looked at him like he was from another planet. They'd all heard his little story, but they hadn't taken a single word of it seriously. they began whispering a little amongst themselves.
The man in question however, instead of the triumphant, but good natured boast he might have proclaimed to his coworkers, simply bowed awkwardly and then slowly took off his hat and scarf. Kristoff and Anna didn't know what to think when his face was revealed. It was... Like...
"Oh wow, Kristoff he looks like YOU.." Anna exclaimed, a little freaked out, backing away to compare them. Kristoff just continued to stare, frozen to the spot.
It was like looking in a mirror, albeit a slightly taller one. He took a cautious step back and then asked, "Do.. Do I know you?."
The man smiled weakly and then, with a hoarse and silent voice he said, "Kristoff Bjorgman, eh? Funny... That's my name too." He said.
Suddenly a million things came flooding back to him... A warm cottage room, a small bed... Three reindeer in the front yard, and a man and woman waving goodbye as he and Sven made their way away. He looked at the men standing around them and suddenly he remember their faces.
"You guys...?" He whispered.
"Whoooooaaah.. Okay.. This is kinda heavy... Uh, I'm gonna let you go..." Anna whispered, running off to do something else and let them have their moment.
"It's him! Its Kristoff!" Some of the guys started saying to each other, some were taking it worse than others and the man before him broke into an even bigger smile saying,
"I always hoped the best would become of you." He stepped forward and yanked him into an embrace, crushing him and mentally wishing he never had to let go.
Kristoff was too emotional right now to care he was being physically touched by another human, as he buried his face to hide the tears and he awkwardly hugged him back, the other guys cheering loudly and jumping from the barrels on which they sat, rejoicing.
"KRISTOFF'S BACK!" They chorused. They finally let go and laughed at each other and the rest of the day was a blur of rejoicing as though the marriage wasn't already reason enough.
As it all drew to a close, Kristoff and Anna got up into the "Royal Icemaster's" sleigh and Sven was hooked up, groomed especially for the occasion.
They headed off, kissing and waving to the citizens as they left, and in the distance, to the west a lone sleigh with a scruffy reindeer wished them all the best, even more so than he already had all these years.
"He's not exactly a chip off the old block... But he sure turned out to be pretty special." He said, and with that, he whipped his reins and he and his trusty steed rode off back to their old cabin.
"Just wait till his mother finds out we made a PRINCE!"