Chapter 1: Seen You in His Arms
Kristoff rose with the dawn in the stables. He set to work feeding Sven, and then turned to the wood and carpentry tools he was still getting used to. Arendelle's eternal winter that would likely never end now had officially killed his career; woodworking would have to do for the foreseeable future.
That was when he remembered: there would be no work today. The royal family had declared today would be a holiday. For today, newly-minted King Hans would be marrying Queen Anna. Today, Kristoff would have to witness a woman he... cared about marry another.
FLASHBACK: "It's so c-cold." Anna couldn't stop shaking, her lips blue and her breath coming in shaky rattles out of her chest.
Kristoff frowned, worried. That rattling couldn't be good. He'd heard it before, as a child. The princess had had her skirt frozen when he'd found her at the trading post…the ice, and the cold of the snow, and she'd been wearing summer clothing. Even someone born and bred in the icy Arrendale winters could catch their death like that.
"Do you feel alright?" He pulled off his glove with his teeth, reaching a hand to touch her forehead. She looked flushed, more than she should with the cold wind battering them, and her face looked damp with sweat. Her skin felt like fire. "Come here." Anna squeaked as the burly man pulled her closer and laid his ear against her chest.
"U-um, this isn't-"
"Quiet. Just breathe."
She stilled, face flaming, and worried her lower lip with her teeth. What in the world had gotten into him? Sven looked back at them, and Anna could swear the reindeer was winking at her, making her go even redder.
"Hey, he gets a warm hug? I want one too!" Olaf almost looked pouty, stick arms reaching for the princess.
"No!" Kristoff snapped, pulling away. "Don't touch her!"
The snowman's pout deepened. "Well, someone's grumpy!"
"Kristoff, what's the matter?" Anna asked, staring up at him. Her eyes were already glassy.
'Definitely a fever.' The older boy thought. 'And her lungs are crackling already. She needs medicine, and a fire, and she needs it fast before the cold-sickness sets in.'
"I'm taking you back to the castle."
Anna's eyes widened with indignation as she stiffened, shoving away from him. "No! I have to find my sister! Elsa needs me!"
"Yeah, she needs you. She needs you alive! You're sick, you've been out in the cold and wet and it's moved into your chest. If you don't get somewhere warm soon, it could kill you!"
"What? I-I don't think I'm sick! I'm just a little woozy, and cold, that's all!"
"Either you agree to come back to the castle, or I'm knocking you out and carrying you back. I've seen people die of the cold-sick." People like his grandfather and his father, back when he was young, before the trolls had found him. "I won't let you die of it too. As soon as you're well, I swear, I'll take you straight to the North Mountain and you can talk some sense into her."
Her lower lip trembled and he froze, praying that the stubborn, independent girl he had met only two days ago wouldn't start crying. Kristoff wasn't sure if he could handle that. "You promise?" She whispered, staring up at him. He felt his heart gallop in his chest.
"I promise."
Twelve hours later, after a breakneck pace on the back of Sven, found them at the gates of the Arendelle castle. As Kristoff watched the tall prince of the Southern Isles and assorted servants hustle the girl inside, he wondered whether he had made the right decision. END OF FLASHBACK
A shout from outside pulled Kristoff from the stables. In the distance, he could hear church bells ringing from the palace chapel. Despite the frozen landscape and lingering chill, citizens were beginning to line the streets, in anticipation of the royal sleigh passing by. As Kristoff emerged to the back of the crowd, a roar went up, crescendoing as the wedding sleigh came in sight.
And that's when Kristoff saw her: with her fiery red hair, and clothed in the most beautiful bridal gown he had ever seen. A white fur coat kept out the cold. There was a smile on the blushing bride's face - was it just Kristoff's imagination, or did the smile appear weak? Forced? King Hans was less exuberant, his chin lifted and his waving to the people, aloof, regal. A grin was barely on his face, and something about it chilled Kristoff far more than the eternal winter ever could.
He now felt relived that the King had apparently refused Anna's suggestion that Sven help pull the sleigh. It was something that she had floated to Kristoff a few weeks earlier, when she came to visit him in the stablehouse. Perhaps it was just as well that Sven hadn't been harnessed for the task. Kristoff wanted nothing to do with this... farce of a ceremony. Even as his feet carried him after the crowd that was now running after the newlyweds, swarming the castle courtyard. Soon after, Hans and Anna appeared on the royal balcony, overlooking the courtyard.
When Hans bent and kissed Anna, the crowd roared. A tiny part of Kristoff's soul roared too, but not in celebration.
No. Kristoff silently roared in anguish.
"So, Queen Anna now, huh?" Kristoff didn't look at the girl as he scratched Sven's head, checking his bridle. She didn't answer, just staring off into the corner of the stables, legs swinging from her perch on one of the stall walls. "What's got you so torn up?"
"Hans wants to have children." Her blank statement and numb voice made the blonde look up in shock.
"What? You just got married a week ago! Isn't that a little, I don't know, quick?" 'Though,' he thought, 'This was the girl who got engaged to a guy she met that night.'
"I don't know, maybe? He says we need to show the people that the royal line is secure, now that it's just me." She was twisting her hands together, almost nervously.
"And you don't want to?" Kristoff pressed, staring at her over Sven's back. She looked so small, so far from the fiery redhead that he had met. Her sickness had left her thin, pale, and drained, so much so that even her hair looked lackluster.
"It's just, I'm only eighteen. I don't think I'm ready to have children. And-" Her lip trembled. "I want to find Elsa, I can't do that if I'm- If I'm pregnant." It almost sounded as if she choked on the word.
Kristoff had to bite his tongue to hold in his anger. How dare Hans force Anna into this. It wasn't his right! 'But he's her husband.' A tiny voice inside him argued. 'It's not your right to interfere.'
"I have to do what's best for Arendelle." She whispered, in a small, broken voice.
"Anna." The blonde man walked over to her, wrapping her in his arms.
He chose not to comment on the growing wet patch on his shoulder. He just held her until she stopped shaking, wiped at her eyes, and pulled away. He watched her as she made her way back toward the castle, back to her husband and her responsibilities. He watched her and wondered why it felt like his heart was breaking right alongside of hers.
"Well, someone's put on weight since the last time I saw them." Kristoff smirked, expertly hiding his worry behind a mask of playfulness. He'd gotten too good at that in the last few months.
"Ha-ha, Mister Funny Man." Anna grumbled, rolling her eyes as she walked toward him, her thick cloak no longer capable of hiding the large bump in her front. It had been nearly eight months since Elsa had left and winter had set in, and it showed no signs of stopping.
It had been a hard, cold time for Arendelle. Kristoff's ice business didn't exist anymore. He tried not to let it bother him too much. Supply and demand, after all. Didn't make it hurt any less. He'd taken up woodcutting instead, chopping down trees in the mountains and bringing the firewood down to the town to sell.
Things hadn't been any easier for Anna. She was now six months pregnant, and very weak. She, technically, shouldn't have been out of bed, let alone out in the cold, but she always came out on the days that Kristoff came in to peddle his wares. The illness from months ago, and the ongoing cold had stripped all fat off her bones, leaving her thin and tired. With anything she had left going to the baby, she could barely move these days. The blonde watched her with keen eyes, trying to see if today would be a good day or a bad day.
She was smiling, so that at least was a good sign. "How's the ice business going?" She teased, eyes dancing despite the dark circles under them.
He rolled his own eyes, and started unloading the cords of wood from his sleigh. He had had to replace the one that had gone over the cliff. Anna had wanted to get him a new one, but Hans had told her the treasury was too low. He had shrugged it off at the time, but added it to the mental tally of all the things the man would need to answer for if they all made it through this.
"How're you doing?" Kristoff asked, avoiding looking at her. "How's the brat?"
"He is doing just fine, thank you very much." She retorted primly, nose in the air, before nearly bouncing up and down with a grin on her face. "He's kicking now!"
Kristoff looked up, wide eyed. "Kicking? Doesn't that hurt?"
"Well, a little. Mostly, it just feels weird." She started, one hand going to her belly. "He just did it! Quick, come here!"
Before the blonde man knew what had happened, the Queen of Arendelle had grabbed his hand, placing it on her stomach. For a split second, he marveled at how it spanned her entire body. She was so little these days, despite the thick clothes and swollen stomach. And then his mind went blank as he felt a little flutter across his hand.
"What-?" He looked up at Anna, who was grinning at the look of confusion on his face. "That was the baby?"
"Yep! He's saying 'hi' to his Uncle Kristoff!"
The former ice peddler felt his face go warm at that, and opened his mouth to tell her that he didn't want to be Uncle Anyone, when someone grabbed the back of his coat and yanked him backwards, throwing him into the wall of the stable.
"Unhand my wife!" King Hans of Arendelle barked at him, hand around his throat and one arm cocked back for a punch. Kristoff could see a small squad of soldiers at the stable entrance.
"Hans, no!" Anna yelled, grabbing his arm. "It wasn't Kristoff's fault, I just wanted him to feel-"
"You shouldn't be out here, Anna." Hans' face was like a thundercloud as he shook her off. She staggered, her stomach putting her off balance, as her turned towards her. "And I thought I told you that I didn't want you talking to this cur anymore."
"But Hans, he's my friend, I-"
"It's not proper for a married woman to be cavorting with men that are not their husbands. Now get inside." He gestured to the captain of the soldiers. "Get someone to take her inside. By order of the King, she is not allowed outside of her chambers until the baby is born."
"That's not fair, I'm fine-" She wasn't allowed to finish as Hans grabbed her arm, shoving her toward the captain. She gasped as she lost her balance and fell into the man's arms, staring at her husband with tears in her eyes. "Hans…"
"That's an order, Captain."
Anna was being tugged away, crying, and Kristoff couldn't stand it anymore. "Leave her alone!" He yelled, trying to get to the girl. A backhand across his face made stars dance in front of his eyes as he fell to his knees. He looked up just in time to see a screaming Anna be pulled into the castle before a swift kick in the ribs had him laid out on the ground. Sven, in his stall, was going insane, kicking at the door and trying to get to his friend.
"And as for this piece of trash, see that he is not allowed in the city proper again, on pain of death." The hard, cold eyes of the king stared down at him for a moment, before the man turned away. "Queen Anna is not to have contact with him again."