It hadn't been a very eventful day, Kristoff noted as he trudged through the dirt and mud, the rains of the season leaving the usually dusty ground, marshy and unwelcoming. He had decided to quit his job harvesting ice since he'd nearly killed himself on the job twice now.

He couldn't help but yearn for the days where it was just him and Sven and no one else. He tripped over, clinging to Sven awkwardly as he misjudged the depth of a puddle, coating his legs from the knee down with cold, heavy muck.

He hissed at the temperature as the moisture caused everything around his calves and ankles to suddenly become unbearable. He cursed, loudly and profoundly and tried to kick off the majority of the gloppy substance, but it only caused the stuff to flick around and spread further.

He sighed in defeat after he nearly fell over again, and Sven boosted him up with his head. For a moment, Kristoff stared into those big gooey eyes that adored him unconditionally, and held his head in his arms, stilling his rage and suddenly revelling in how amazing it was that such a creature could come to love him so.

Sven grunted softly and licked his face, breaking the trance for a moment, but the feeling of loss overcame him. He scratched his friend behind the ears and rested his head on his fuzzy mane and mumbled,

"Sven, you're my only friend. I love you so much buddy." He choked on his words for a moment as the realisation set in that truly, since he'd surrendered Anna to that prissy 'king' he had been left with a gigantic, obnoxiously gaping canyon in his heart.

Yes, yes, he hadn't known her for more than three days, but in truth, he had finally found someone who accepted him, and liked him for all his flaws and his bugs. He found someone who, like Sven, didn't care how he smelled, or didn't talk nicely, and was weird beyond several human levels.

After Anna, all he was left with was Sven again, which used to be enough, but unlike Sven, again, Anna was another of his own kind. He'd lived his life as a gruff, and resentful misanthropists for so long, that to actually even LIKE another person that way was a pretty big deal.

Sven playfully butted his head into Kristoff's side and forced him against a tree licking his face relentlessly. He sputtered and laughed, trying to beg him to stop, and once the licking finally subsided, he groaned and put on his best 'unimpressed' face before rolling his eyes and leading the silly creature out of the muck and back up the mountain.

"You know, sometimes I wish I could see her again... Like you know, at ALL? I mean, what is WITH that guy? He's so proper, and stuffy...not her type at all." He began to complain.

He noisily trudged up the mountain trail... The same one he'd trekked with Anna all those years ago. He'd made some kind of ritualistic habit of visiting the magnificent palace of ice to lay his respects to the queen and just simply enjoy the beauty that she could have brought to the world.

"And he killed her sister... That's like... That's like if someone killed you Sven." He whispered.

If some random guy he'd trusted suddenly went up and decided to kill Sven, then he sure as Hell wouldn't be running off to go and, you know, MARRY HIM FOR CHRIST SAKES...

"Maybe it's just some royalty thing. But if I were the king, though I'd suck, I would at least be a better person." He spat venomously.

Then, suddenly, he took notice that Sven hadn't been responding to him like he normally did. He turned to the side and noticed the reindeer had his head low and his eyes alert. His ears were perked and he was completely still.

Kristoff felt a flurry invade his gut and he suddenly took a step closer to him. He petted his mane and looked around, trying to see if he could spot what Sven was sensing...

A slowly increasing in volume 'crunch' littered the air, but it wasn't from the steps of one...but many.

Krisroff cursed the heavy downpour of rain for obscuring his vision, and he sheltered his eyes, peering into the distance.

"If YOU were king, eh?" A sickeningly smooth voice rumbled.

Kristoff knew that voice, he'd heard it over the crowds and in the streets before addressing the public and...

"YOU... A king? Hah! The king of what? Fleas and mites? Ice... And snow?" He chuckled, and then his figured appeared, atop a black horse, and a sinister aura radiating from his soul.

Around them, several matching guards made their presence known and the next few minutes of his life, for the longest time ever, Kristoff would wish were his last.

Hans gestured to them with a single hand and then called to his men, "Behold, gentlemen, the King of Arendelle!"

Sven huffed loudly and lowered himself even further.

"Oh, and who could forget his noble steed..." He drawled out the side of his mouth, rolling his eyes.

A chorus of cruel chortles and wheezes followed and Sven grunted angrily. Kristoff growled in unison, their voices linked together in raw emotion; fear and hatred.

Was...was THIS the man Anna willingly gave her life to? He glared at him and retorted, "We aren't pretty, but the queen surely would appreciate us more than a two faced jerk like YOU..." He stated, unable to hold back.

For or the longest time he had held his tongue, never speaking a word of his love for her, aside from to Sven, but now, even with all these men watching, he was too enraged to care.

"What the hell do you want from us?" He hissed.

Hans flashed a flawless grin and raised a brow, looking DOWN on him, so cockily...so arrogantly. No, this was not the man she deserved in her life.

"You'll see, Kristoff..." He whispered.

He barely had time to recall whether or not he'd ever even told this guy his name before suddenly a bunch of men were surrounding him, grabbing onto him, viciously, another group of men holding down Sven, the creature crying out in shock and pain as they pulled him away from his master.

Hans raised his voice above the chaos and ordered, "Take him in. I leave the creature to your mercy. This shall not be spoken of again."

Kristoff screamed in despration, his heart racing too fast, and stars flying past his eyes like little snowflakes. He reached out his hand to try and grasp his only friend, screaming out his name and begging the men to let him go.

"NO! PLEASE, DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH ME BUT JUST LEAVE HIM! DON'T HURT SVEN!" He sobbed as one of the men drew out something from his back.

Sven roared in fear, his spirit's voice, screaming in Kristoff's mind,

"Please! PLEASE KRISTOFF, COME BACK!" He cried out, verbalising his dearest friend's woes.

A deafening crack, shattered his ears and suddenly the whole world around him slowed.

He could hear his blood pulsing through his own ears, and the hot tears against his eyes were suddenly unfelt against his numb face. He could no longer speak, for his breath had left him with his final cry, the sound of Sven's spirit disconnecting with his own, and the rain, falling mercilessly against the beaten ground.

The reindeer's legs wobbled and another crack boomed over the elements, and the creature fell to the ground.

"no..." Kristoff gasped.

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