Hey everyone. Less than two weeks to go until Frozen opens! Do you have your ticket yet!?
Enjoy the second chapter. Again, the characters from Frozen are owned by Disney.
Three months later…
Anna stood in the palace courtyard anxiously watching the eastern horizon. The first rays of yellow and orange had already begun to push back against the inky night, but it was still more dark than light. Anna rocked from foot to foot in anticipation. She had already been up for hours, much too excited about the day's journey ahead to sleep, but one of Elsa's many conditions was that Anna wait for the sun.
"Come on," the princess whispered urgently. "Come on, sun. You can do it. Just a little faster, okay? I finally get to see Kristoff today, so I need you to move it!"
It had been ninety-eight days, seventeen hours, and thirty-four minutes since Anna had last seen the muscular blond. They had spent their time apart furiously writing letters to each other, safely delivered by Vogel to the other's excited grasp. Kristoff's letters would describe the icy lakes and rivers he and his fifteen-person crew harvested as they journeyed further and further away from Arendelle, the men themselves, and the kingdoms they sold their wares to. Anna, in return, would write about the latest visiting dignitary, Elsa's continuing progress with her gift, and the latest village news. The letters made the separation easier, but only as much as a salve would dull the pain from a knife. Anna was aching to once again be in Kristoff's strong embrace.
With mischievous glee, she thought of the last letter their icy messenger had arrived with just a couple days before, which, in Kristoff's own messy writing, described how he and his team had arrived at Lake Amstel to harvest the kingdom's own supply of ice, and would be departing for Arendelle with their load on the 24th – tomorrow. Kristoff had ended his letter with "SEE YOU ON THE 24th! I CAN'T WAIT!" and enough x's and o's to cover the bottom of the page. As she had raced to tell Elsa the news of Kristoff's return, an idea sprung to Anna's mind. By the time she located her sister the entire plan came out in a hurried, ecstatic jumble.
From what Elsa could gather from her sister's flurry of words, Anna was planning to travel to Lake Amstel on the 23rd for a surprise visit, then return with Kristoff and the others on the 24th, as scheduled.
At first, Elsa had adamantly refused, reminding Anna of the conversation the three of them had had prior to Kristoff's departure. It was too dangerous, she'd get hurt, Kristoff would be distracted…but Anna insisted – pointing out in Kristoff's letter how he expected to finish up work by the late afternoon on the 23rd and then rest up for an early morning departure.
"It'll be perfect!" Anna had insisted. "Everyone will be relaxing, I'll arrive just in time for dinner, and we can have a nice big meal to celebrate the end of the harvesting season."
But Elsa remained wary. By horse, Lake Amstel was a full day's journey from Arendelle; much too far for Anna to travel alone. Besides that, she didn't know the road well. She could get lost, Elsa had reasoned. Or end up stranded in a ditch, or attacked by bandits or wolves…
"Then come with me," Anna had begged. "Your powers would keep us safe from everything!"
"I would, my dearest, but the Spanish ambassador is arriving tomorrow and staying a week. Kristoff will be home soon. You can wait one extra day."
Anna, however, refused to be defeated.
The argument had lasted the rest of the day and would have continued into the night had it not been for Joris Ericksen tipping the scales. Captain of the Arendelle palace guards, he had grown a soft spot for Anna ever since her courageous sacrifice during the Winter Incident. Upon hearing of her dilemma, he was quick to volunteer his services to the Queen as Anna's escort and guard. With over thirty years of combat experience, Joris was strong, capable, a skilled swordsman, and most importantly - was someone both sisters trusted with their lives.
"Milady," he said to Elsa with a low bow. "I humbly offer to take Princess Anna safely to Lake Amstel and back again. I know the road well, and it's an easy, albeit long, journey into the Eastern Mountains. I will watch over her and protect her from harm, both on the road and at the lake. You have my word."
Joris had sealed the deal. With such a promise, Elsa could no longer hold back her consent and begrudgingly agreed.
But as Anna squealed with delight and threw her arms around her sister, the Queen quickly added; "However, there will be conditions."
One of those conditions, it turned out, was that Anna and Joris were prohibited from travelling in the dark. In other words, they weren't allowed to leave Arendelle until the sun appeared on the horizon.
And so, Anna stood in the courtyard on the morning of the 23rd, watching and waiting for that first sliver of orange fire until suddenly….
"It's here! The sun's up! Let's go!"
Many hours later, Joris, Anna, and the two horses which pulled their sled, were gliding easily through yet another patch of forest. The sun had been on its downward path for a few hours now, and Anna had grown bored of their fiftieth round of I Spy. For Joris, spying something green somehow always ended up being a tree.
As promised, the journey had been an easy one. The only beat of excitement had come no more than ten minutes before, when the road had suddenly turned sharply to the left and the horses had cut the corner a little too close. Another few feet and the entire party would have slipped off the road and down a steep ravine, reminding Anna of just how far up into the mountains they had come.
"So Joris," she asked above the steady beat of hooves, "on a scale of one to ten, how happy do you think Kristoff will be to see us?"
Her companion smiled and adjusted his grip on the reigns. "To see you, my lady Anna, he'll be a fifty. But to see me…I fear a negative four." He laughed good-naturedly at his own self-deprecating humour. "Although perhaps when he and the rest of the men see all the goodies we've brought with us, he may consider it a zero!"
Anna gave an easy laugh as well as she glanced back at their supply packed into special cold boxes in the back row of the sled. For seventeen grown men plus her, Joris and Anna had brought enough lamb, cheese, chicken, bread, beef, fruit, and chocolate for double that. Not to mention the keg of wine.
"No, no, Joris, your title has to count for something! You'll help Kristoff keep the rest of the men in line when they try to drink all our glogg. I think that deserves at least a two!" she ribbed.
Joris laughed again. It was something he seemed to be doing less of in his advancing years, but also something Anna managed to easily elicit. Brave, generous, and entertaining, he was proud to serve her.
"Oooo, I can't wait to get there!" Anna squealed. "We must be getting close. How much longer, do you think?"
Joris thought back to the last sign post they had seen, and did a mental calculation from there. "I'd wager it's another five miles." He turned to Anna and smiled. "If our horses can keep up their canter, we'll be there in about half an hour."
"Half an hour!" Anna exclaimed happily, pumping her fists in the air. "Yes!"
Coming around a bend, something on the tree-lined path caught her attention. "Wait, Joris," Anna leaned forward in her seat and pointed at something straight ahead. "What's that?"
Joris looked ahead as well and immediately knew they had a problem. It was a tree; a large fir tree which had fallen across the path. It looked to have been uprooted and toppled over from a storm. Joris pulled on the reins and brought the two horses to a halt, frowning. "It would appear that we have a bit of an obstacle to overcome."
Anna smiled. "Good thing I'm here, then. I've got a bit of a knack for that."
Joris's eyes narrowed as he took in the scene. "That you do…" he replied distractedly. Looking around, he took note that none of the other fir trees which lined the path appeared damaged, despite some being much smaller than the one currently blocking their way. If this large tree had fallen in a storm, why wasn't there damage elsewhere?
Joris's instincts told him to beware.
Anna, meanwhile, was turned around in her seat and rummaging through the supplies in the back. "I'm pretty sure we packed some rope, so if you want to unhook the horses, I'll tie – "
"Milady, stay in the sled," Joris suddenly snapped.
Anna turned back to him in confused surprise, then watched as Joris stepped out of the sled and reached for his sword, unsheathing it.
Anna was instantly on her feet. "What is it, Joris? What's wrong?" She looked all around her, trying to discern what it was that had made him so uneasy.
"I don't know yet," he said honestly. "Please just stay where you are."
Cautiously, with his sword at the ready, Joris began to walk towards the fallen fir. His instincts told him that if this was a natural accident, there would be other corresponding signs. But something was off. The snow and earth at the base of the tree, for instance, should have been overturned by the roots being ripped from the ground. The branches of neighbouring trees which were in the path of the fall should have been snapped off. There should have been debris scattered about the snowy road from the force of the impact.
It took Joris only a moment to realize the truth.
"Anna," he cried, spinning back towards the sled, "it's a – !"
He stopped dead in his tracks.
There was a large man in the sled with Anna. He had a thick arm clamped hard around her torso, pinning her own arms down. In his free hand he held a menacing knife, and it pressed dangerously against her delicate throat.
"It's a trap?" the man finished for Joris, with a sneer.