The fire crackled with fury, bent on burning itself brighter than the cold would allow it. The snow fall, light at first, was increasing with might. But this small little fire, despite the snow, continued to burn fervidly.
Anna scooted herself even closer to the flames. The stars, still visible through the clouds, twinkled above her, the harvester man, Kristoffer, and his reindeer, Sven. No, his name is Kristoff, she thought, correcting her mistake. She felt bad about getting his name wrong. She felt even worse about ruining his sled. She planned on replacing it. But she was glad that he decided to stick with her to help find her sister, even after the crash. And the wolves.
Her sister... Elsa... she thought almost sadly. The princess still couldn't figure out why Elsa never told her about her secret. I mean, come on! Ice powers are way too impressive to not share with your younger sister. You're not supposed to run away to a mountain. But like that small, never-surrendering fire, Anna was determined to find her sister. Now that Anna knew about Elsa's powers, she can bring her sister back, have her unfreeze Arendelle, and everyone will be happy.
Sadly, also like the fire, Anna was growing colder by the minute. She shivered, moving her hands closer to the diminishing flames. She only barely survived the first night on her own, if it wasn't for Kristoffer, Kristoff, she might even not have made it all the way through tonight.
The blond man walked back to the place they were camping. In his arms were a group of sticks. A few twigs fell out of the bundle as he set it on the ground, and started tending to the fire. Quickly, it grew bigger and brighter than before. Once he was satisfied with the flames, the man leaned back against Sven, and shut his eyes.
I guess with a little fuel, and a little help, the little fire can be as big and important as it wants, she thought. Anna smiled as she warmed up by the fire. Maybe that's what she needed. She had the fuel and passion to accomplish her goal, but maybe she just needed a little help getting there. Kristoffer, Kristoff, could help her.
"So, pretty cold night, huh?" Anna tried to strike up a conversation with the man. He looked up at her oddly, which was a bit strange she thought, considering that he was snuggled up against a reindeer.
He closed his eyes again. "You don't say," he replied sarcastically in lazy voice.
"Yeah. I do say," Anna said, picking up a lone stick. She started to poke at the base of the fire, breaking the red glowing chunks of wood into tiny pieces. "So, I imagine it must have been hard to find all this wood. Dry wood I mean," she clarified for him. "You know, because of the snow?" She decided to explain further.
"Not if you know where to look," Kristoffer, Kristoff, said vaguely. Anna slouched and blew piece of hair out of her face. She shifted her position, leaning her chin on her hand, yet still able to poke mindlessly at the fire. She looked at the man. How could he just be so rude and not try to make conversation back?
"And where exactly is the ideal place to find dry wood in this situation?" Anna continued her attempts at talking with the man like a civil person. Kristoffer, Kristoff, sighed and sat up to reason with her.
"Look, we've got a long day tomorrow and I'd like to get some sleep. I suggest you do the same," he explained to her, annoyed that she won't be quiet for two minutes. "We all need to be well rested if we're going to find the queen so she can thaw out Arendelle, and I can get my ice business back in order. Okay?"
"Yeah. Okay. Sorry," Anna said, sitting up straight. The harvester nodded and went to lie back down. Anna found this an opportune time to tell him why she was asking her questions. "I just wanted to know where I could find dry wood in case it gets cold, well colder, so I could get it myself and not bother you," she told him, waving her stick around some.
"Hey, hey! Careful with that," Kristoffer, Kristoff, warned her, holding one hand up to protect his face. He sighed. "On pine or fir trees, usually near the trunk, you can find a good amount of dead branches to use," he told her. He stood up and walked over to the small woodpile. He picked up a stick and held it close to her face.
"That is a very nice stick..." Anna said. She gently pushed away the piece of wood, all while staring at it's awkward closeness to her face.
"I'm showing you what the wood looks like," he explained to her, lowering the stick. The man held it between both hands. "This specific branch can from a pins tree. See how the wood is darker and more grayish, and how easy the bark falls off? That means it's dead." To show what he meant, he pulled apart the bark from the stick.
"Yeah," Anna nodded, understanding what he meant. "Yeah, I get it. The dryer wood is the dead branches on trees. Like pine."
Kristoffer, no his name's Kristoff, looked satisfied with her response. He gave her a small nod of approval and walked back to his spot by the reindeer. Lying back down, he looked in her direction again.
"So, do you have any second thoughts about marrying Mr. Of-the-Southern-Isles, yet?" he asked, a smirk appearing on his face.
"That's Prince Of-the-Southern-Isles to you," Anna corrected him knowingly. "And no. Hans and I are in love," she declared.
"Come on!" the man pleaded. "You seriously just met him that day. You can't love someone you just met." He pulled his hat down in frustration.
"That logic is flawed," claimed Anna, folding her arms down. "I can love whoever I want, whenever I want, regardless of the time I met them."
"But you don't have to marry them!" Kristoffer, Kristoff, looked at her seriously. Anna could tell that he couldn't believe why someone who do that. He just doesn't understand true love. "I don't get you," he admitted, lying down and closing his eyes for the umpteenth time.
Anna looked away from him. What she and Hans has, it is true love, right? The things that Kristoffer, Kristoff, said couldn't possibly be true, could they?
Anna scoffed at her foolish thoughts. He doesn't know anything. He is just a cold, lonely, grumpy, loveless person, who happens to be helping me. He pretends to have friends that are "love experts". I actually feel bad for him.
"No," she murmured to herself. "They couldn't possibly be true," she decided, waving her hand slightly.
"What's not true?" asked the man. His eyes were still shut and he was still resting. If Anna hasn't heard him speak, she would have thought him to be in a peaceful sleep.
"I thought you needed to get sleep," said Anna. She placed her hands on her hips.
"I do. But I can't if you're muttering about truths over there," he defended himself. He shuffled slightly, attempting to gain comfort. Sven the reindeer—whom the harvester was using as a pillow—snored blissfully, not noticing the movement.
"Sorry," Anna apologized, twirling one of her braids a bit sheepishly. She picked up a stick and began to poke at the embers again.
"Hmm..." Kristoffer, Kristoff, his name is Kristoff, hummed, starting to falling asleep. Anna shivered violently, trying to keep the little, determined, but dwindling fire alive by adding more wood to it. However, the pile of sticks was quickly being burnt up. It was then she decided to go and hunt for more wood. Anna stood up and brushed her dress off with her hands, dusting away any dirt.
Dead branches on trees, she remembered, wandering about the forest. The princess took care in not straying too far from the camp, in case she can't find it again. Aha! She spotted a tree that fulfilled those qualifications needed. Examining the trunk, the strawberry blonde found the correct branches and started to break off a select few. After she had collected a fairly decent amount of sticks, she took them back to the fire and started piling them on.
The little flames began to grow. It wasn't much, but it helped. Anna rubbed her mittened hands, bringing them closer to the fire. She was in no way prepared for this winter. No one was. Anna could easily imagine her shy older sister, huddled up somewhere on the North Mountain, scared out of her mind, probably clutching her other glove, trying to look as dignified as possible (as a person could be on a mountain), and being as meek and quiet as she always was. But Anna was determined to find Elsa, and will somehow convince her to reverse the eternal winter.
A strange green thing collided with the princess, hitting her shoulder before landing in her lap. "Ew!" She sprawled back, looking at what landed on her, then at where it came from. There stood Kristoffer, Kristoff, a few feet away. She didn't even realize he got up. "Wait, what is -" she started to ask.
"It's a moss blanket," he informed her, not waiting for her to finish. He sat back down, intent on finally sleeping.
"A moss blanket?" Anna held it in her hands, thoroughly confused with why the man would throw a moss blanket at her. She looked him in the eyes, hoping he could clarify why he would do such a thing.
"To keep you covered up in the night," replied the man. He shut his eyes and adjusted his comfort again. Sven still hadn't awaken. "Believe me, I know from experience, it's warmer than it looks."
Anna smiled at him. "Thank you," she said to him, very grateful. She wrapped the moss blanket around her shoulders and sighed. It was warm. She frowned slightly as a thought occurred to her. "Wait... Won't you be cold?" she asked the harvester.
He shook his head. "Naw. I've been through worse conditions," he told her. "And besides, I've got Sven."
Anna nodded. "Okay... So, how do you know from experience? Just wondering," she couldn't help but ask, propping her chin up again with her fist. She batted her eyelashes innocently, hoping it would increase her chances of get him to talk. But he didn't see, because his eyes were closed, so it didn't work.
"My friends," he told her bluntly, huffing some, because he just wanted to sleep. "Now, please, go to sleep. We leave at dawn, if not a bit earlier. Goodnight." He pulled his hat over his face, so he wouldn't be disturbed any further.
"Goodnight, Kristoff," Anna said softly, looking around for a place to sleep.
No, not Kristoffer, it's- wait... She smiled. She got his name right. She got that cold, lonely, grumpy, loveless person's name right. Anna found a patch of only slightly frozen grass and snuggled into the blanket. Maybe he wasn't so cold after all. Just like that little fire, just like that moss blanket, maybe, just maybe, he's a little warmer than he looked.