Finally, here's the third chapter, and I really do apologize for leaving you guys hanging. I was busy for a few days and the story had to be put on hold. But I promise, the next chapter won't take me nearly as long as this one did. Hope you enjoy, and please review!

Chapter 3: Kidnapped

The next few days were some of the most boring that Anna could remember, besides the thirteen years the castle gates had been closed. But ever since the news of Hans' escape, Anna had been trying to keep her word to Elsa by staying within the castle grounds. It wasn't easy, but at least she had Kristoff to keep her company. As Elsa had temporarily suspended ice harvesting and deliveries, he didn't have anything to do. They had started to spend the majority of their time with Kirsten, who, per Elsa's instructions, they now kept under close watch. But despite the comforting presence of Kristoff and the stricter security measures on the castle, Anna still didn't feel safe, but she knew that if anything were to happen to her or Kirsten, Kristoff would protect them.

Meanwhile, Elsa had been spending a lot of time in her study, whether it was meeting with dignitaries or reading the many missives that were coming in daily from the Southern Isles. She was kept busy from early morning until evening, when she took a break for supper and then walked around the castle and grounds enforcing the new security measures. She knew they were stricter than what was really necessary, but considering what Hans had almost done to her and Anna just before the great thaw, she wasn't taking any chances. As queen, and Anna's older sister, she now swore to protect her from any threat of danger that might come their way, using her powers if she absolutely needed to.

Fortunately, there had so far been no sighting of Hans, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. True, he could still be in the middle of his journey, but he could also already be there, and was just biding his time, waiting for the right moment to act. Elsa had strictly told the guards to notify her immediately if there was a confirmed sighting. She would then alert Anna and Kristoff, who were to take Kirsten to the safe room, a small room under the ground floor of the castle but above the dungeons. The head guards would be in charge of alerting the citizens. In the meantime, everyone was to stay inside or within one hundred yards of their houses until further notice. Also, no one was to be outside after dark, as Elsa had temporarily set a strict curfew. Hardly anyone complained, though, as they all wanted to be safe.

Today saw Anna and Kristoff lounging around in their bedroom, lying on the bed playing with Kirsten, who was on her back between them. Anna was glad to be able to spend more time with Kristoff, but she wished it could have been under better circumstances.

Her thoughts must have shown on her face, because Kristoff was looking at her, concern etched on his face. "Anna?" he said.

"Hmm?" said Anna distractedly. She was tickling Kirsten's toes, making her giggle. But she was staring off into space, as if she had something on her mind.

"Are you okay?" Kristoff asked, gently laying a hand on her arm. "You've been awfully quiet the past few days. It's not like you."

"Oh," said Anna, shaking herself back to earth. "I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind."

"It's about Hans, isn't it?" Kristoff asked quietly, rubbing her arm.

"Oh, Kristoff, if only there was something we could do," Anna said, her voice catching in her throat. "It's only been a few days, but I'm so sick of being stuck behind closed gates. It's just like those thirteen years while Elsa was shutting me out. The only difference is that I can interact with people who aren't servants or…..or our parents."

"Hey," Kristoff whispered, lightly stroking her cheek. "Everything will be fine. Elsa's doing all she can to ensure everyone's protection, especially her sister and her family." He smiled, leaned over, and kissed her forehead.

"I know," said Anna. "It's just….I thought we were done with the closed gates. Seeing closed and locked doors was a painful experience for me, and I hoped it would never happen again."

"But it won't be for that long again," Kristoff said, taking her hand.

"How can you be sure?" Anna asked, looking at him. "How can you possibly be sure?"

"I'm not," Kristoff answered. "I'm just hoping, like you."

Moving as close together as they could without squishing Kirsten, they wrapped their arms around her and each other and laid there for the longest time. Soon, Anna fell asleep, but Kristoff stayed awake to watch Kirsten. Looking at her, then at Anna, he suddenly realized just how much he loved them, and he vowed to protect them from now until the end of time.

A short time later, Kristoff was startled by a knock on the door. He opened his eyes with a start. He must have dozed off without realizing it. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, looked down, and breathed a sigh of relief. Kirsten was still lying between him and Anna, now fast asleep like her mother.

The knock came again. Kristoff heaved himself off the bed and walked over to the door. Stifling a big yawn, he opened it to find Kai on the other side.

"Good evening, Kristoff," he said, bowing. It had taken a while, but Kristoff had finally managed to get the staff to call him by his given name, instead of using the formal title of "sir". "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"No, no, it's fine," Kristoff said, stifling another big yawn. "We were just—" But his yawns got the best of him.

"I see," said Kai, chuckling. "Well, if you're up to it, Her Majesty requests your presence at dinner."

"Okay," said Kristoff, yawning yet again. "We'll be right down."

"Very good," said Kai, bowing again. "I will let Her Majesty know." He disappeared down the hall.

Kristoff closed the door and went back over to the bed. He gently shook Anna's shoulder. "Anna," he whispered. "Wake up." She didn't stir. He smiled, leaned down, and did the one thing he knew would wake her up. He gently blew in her ear. Anna squirmed and opened her eyes. She smiled.

"I hate when you do that," she said, sitting up and stretching.

"You know you love it," Kristoff said, putting his hands around her waist and pulling her to him. He started nuzzling her neck.

"Kristoff!" Anna said, giggling. "Stop it! Is this the only reason you woke me up?"

"No," Kristoff answered, lifting his head and smiling at her. "But what's wrong with wanting to cuddle with my beautiful wife?" He kissed her.

"Kristoff," said Anna, after they broke apart. She had that stubborn, determined look on her face, the look that told him "Don't mess with me".

"Okay," said Kristoff, caving. "Elsa wants us to eat dinner with her."

"Now, was that so hard to say?" Anna asked, kissing him on the cheek. She carefully picked up Kirsten, not wanting to wake her. "Come on!" she said, grabbing Kristoff's hand and pulling him toward the door.

They walked quickly down to the great hall, making a little more noise than they intended and accidentally waking Kirsten, who started crying. Anna gently rocked her and she quieted down fairly quickly.

They entered the great hall and found Elsa waiting for them. The table was already set. There was a tureen of hot French onion soup, a platter of roast beef, boiled potatoes, some mixed vegetables, and a pitcher of cider.

"Hi," said Elsa, smiling at them.

"Hi," Anna said, sitting down across from her sister and smiling back. Kristoff sat down next to her. "Any news?"

"Nothing yet," Elsa replied, indicating that they should start serving themselves.

"How'd the meetings go?" Anna asked, ladling out soup for her and Kristoff.

"Stressful," Elsa answered, pouring herself some cider. "I'm glad they're over. How are you guys holding up?"

"Okay," said Anna, sipping her soup. "I'll be glad when this is all over and we can get back to our normal lives. I was telling Kristoff earlier how much I hate being stuck inside."

"I know," said Elsa, reaching over and taking Anna's hand. "But at least this time, you're not alone."

Anna looked at Elsa, then at Kristoff, and finally at Kirsten, who was sleeping again. Elsa was right; she wasn't alone. She had a sister who loved her, a husband who loved her, and a baby girl she knew would love her. She couldn't believe that anyone could love her so much, and yet she felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

"You're right," she said, looking around the table. "I'm glad we're all together this time." She took Kristoff's hand and squeezed it. He squeezed back, and Anna leaned back against him, being careful not to disturb Kirsten.

"So," said Anna, smiling mischievously at Elsa. "Tell me about this Prince Fredrik."

"There's nothing to tell," Elsa said, shrugging. "Like I told you a few days ago, he's one of Hans' older brothers and he's helping defend Arendelle from a possible attack."

"Hmm," said Anna, looking up at Kristoff. "Is he handsome?"

"I didn't notice," said Elsa, but she blushed. Of course she had noticed. How could she not? That curly dark hair, the smooth features, his full lips, and those bright green eyes. The truth was, she couldn't get him out of her mind.

She looked back at Anna, who was still smiling. "Anna, I know what you're thinking," she said. "There's nothing between us and there never will be. I don't even know if I can trust him."

"You seem to trust him enough to let him help defend Arendelle," Kristoff pointed out.

He was right, of course. She couldn't deny that. She also couldn't deny to herself that she did hold a bit of an attraction to him, however small it might be. But she couldn't let anyone know that, not until she was absolutely sure of her feelings.

"Look," Elsa said, standing up and pushing back her chair. "It's getting late, and I have a few things to take care of yet before I retire. I'll see you both in the morning." And she left the hall, leaving Anna and Kristoff staring after her in confusion.

"That was odd," said Kristoff after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, it was, even for her," Anna said, her brow furrowed. Elsa had never acted like that before. Had it been something she had said? She did have the habit of speaking her mind, a lot of the time without thinking, but never had Elsa been so affected by her words that she had run out of the room. "I think I'll go talk to her." She stood up, Kirsten still nestled in her arms, and started walking towards the door.

"Anna, no," said Kristoff, getting up, putting his hands on her shoulders, and gently turning her back around to face him. "Just — leave her be."

"But Kristoff, she's my sister," Anna said, looking up at him. "I have to see if she's okay."

"I know," said Kristoff, brushing her cheek lightly with his thumb. "But I think it's best if we just left her alone. At least for tonight."

Anna sighed. "I guess you're right," she said, and yawned. "I think I'll go to bed. I'm pretty tired."

"Tired?" Kristoff chuckled. "You slept most of the afternoon."

"Hey, being a new mother is hard work," said Anna, playfully punching him in the arm. "I relish every hour of sleep I can get."

Kristoff just smiled and shook his head. Here was another reason why he loved her so much. She had that natural ability to make anyone laugh.

They returned to their room and started getting ready for bed. Anna carefully undressed Kirsten and put her in a nightgown, before gently laying her in her cradle and tucking her blankets around her. She herself then undressed, put her own nightgown on, and climbed into bed next to Kristoff while undoing her braids. When her hair was free, she lay down and Kristoff gathered her into his arms. He loved it when Anna's hair was loose, loved running his fingers through it. He never got tired of it.

"Kristoff?" said Anna, her voice a bit muffled against his chest.

"Hmm?" he said, twirling a lock of her hair around his fingers.

"Why do you think Elsa refused to talk about Prince Fredrik?" Anna asked, looking up at him.

Kristoff was silent for a minute. "I don't know," he said finally.

"She did change the subject rather abruptly," Anna continued. "And that makes me wonder if she has some sort of feeling that she's not ready to discuss yet."

"Well, when she's ready, I'm sure she'll let you know if something's going on," said Kristoff, kissing her hair. Anna let the subject drop, and nestled closer to Kristoff, falling asleep within just a few minutes.

But Kristoff stayed awake, thinking about Hans. What if he were to break in during the night? They'd be completely unprepared. No, they wouldn't, he thought, mentally shaking himself. Elsa had guards positioned on the outer walls twenty-four hours a day, and the shifts rotated every few hours so every guard was alert and watchful for any kind of activity. And they would know immediately if anything were to happen.

He sighed, turned over, and closed his eyes. He didn't need to worry. As long as there were guards stationed at every entrance to the castle, grounds, and outer walls of the kingdom, there was no possible way for Hans to get in. As long as there were guards, they were safe. At least, so he thought.

Dawn had barely broken when Kristoff was awakened by Anna screaming his name.

"Kristoff!" she screamed again. He sat bolt upright as though he had been slapped in the face. He looked around and saw Anna standing in front of Kirsten's cradle, her hands over her mouth, a terrified expression on her face.

"Anna, what is it?" he said, jumping out of bed and rushing over to her. "What's wrong?"

"Look!" she cried, pointing a shaking finger at the cradle.

Kristoff looked down. It was empty.

"He took her!" Anna cried, tears streaming down her face. "He took our baby!" She flung her arms around Kristoff's waist and buried her face in his chest, shaking while sobs racked her body. Kristoff held her tightly to him and rocked her, trying to soothe her, not knowing what else to do. He looked back down at the empty cradle, where just a few short hours ago, their baby girl had been sleeping peacefully.

I got to tell you, it nearly broke my heart to write what happens at the end here, but it had to happen sometime, especially since I ended the first two chapters on a more pleasant note. But I hope you enjoyed it, anyway! Another chapter will be coming soon! (I hope.) :)