3- Making a new friend
For the next few weeks, Anna and Elsa remained as close as they always had been, except they often shared little kisses with each other. Elsa had decided to keep the ice dress she had made for herself, much to Anna's delight. They would usually arrange to go up to the ice palace – or the snow sister clubhouse as Anna had dubbed it – at least once a week.
One day, when the two sisters had finished playing in the ice palace, Anna decided to ride back to Arendelle. Elsa, however, was hesitant to let her go.
"Are you sure you know the way back?"
"Don't worry Elsa, while you may one day be queen of the kingdom, I will always be queen of sense of direction." Anna declared as their ice stallion trotted along the mountain path.
"I'm just saying I should give this thing wings to make us get home faster." Elsa insisted.
"And miss out on the nature? Come on Elsa I thought you loved the outdoors."
"Not when there's a distinct possibility that I could get lost."
"Quit worrying, Elsa. You won't be a good queen with that attitude." Elsa pouted, she hated when Anna sounded like their mother.
The forest they had entered seemed to last forever, an endless path of trees and ferns that seemed to stretch for over a thousand miles.
"Admit it. You're lost, Anna." Elsa said.
"Never fear, my love." Anna replied, doing a very bad impression of a knight. "I shall guide us to our home."
"Or to our early graves." Elsa sighed as she face palmed. Eventually the two of them came to a clearing which seemed like a dead end. "Ok, we're clearly lost now!" She declared.
"We're not lost, Els. We merely just took a wrong turn somewhere."
"Which means we're lost."
"Not as such but- Ok we're lost." Elsa looked up at the setting sun.
"It will be dark soon."
"And that means we'll probably get eaten by wolves, or bears, or some weird fusion of wolves and bears. A bwolf or a wear."
"Don't worry about that, I could make a tent for us to stay in. We'll be safe." Anna looked around and noticed the clearing was covered in mossy boulders.
"Elsa, where exactly are we?"
"I'm not so sure." Elsa replied, tapping one of the boulders. Anna walked back and lost her balance, landing on her rear.
"Hey lady! Watch where yer stepping!" A voice called out as Anna rubbed her head.
"AHHH ghost!" Anna screamed as she jumped into Elsa's arms.
"Anna get down." Elsa said, "I'm sure there is no ghost here."
"Then what do you call us, blondie?" Another voice called out. Elsa jumped.
"Then again, they could be some kind of demon." Both girls started shaking as the rocks and boulders started rolling around in circles around them, like roman chariots in an arena.
"What the hell is happening?!" Anna cried as the rocks stopped moving. The rocks rolled over, revealing their true shape. They were in fact small, dwarf-like creatures made entirely of stone.
"What are they?" Anna asked.
"Trolls." Elsa stated.
"Trolls? I thought they were just stuff that mama and papa made up when we were kids."
"Well apparently they're real."
"We might as well say hello then." Anna whispered. The young princess stepped forward and cleared her throat. "Hey troll guys! I am Princess Anna and this is my big sister Elsa!"
"Wait, they're royalty?" A voice came from the crowd of trolls.
"The royal family's here!" Another voice cried out. All the trolls began cheering and crying out for joy, a sight which made both sisters very confused.
"Um... what did I say?" Anna whispered.
"I think you told them a bit too much." The trolls all bowed before them as their elder stepped towards Anna and Elsa. He had what appeared to be some kind of cloak and a beard of moss.
"Greetings your majesties," the old troll welcomed them. "My name is Grand Pabbie, welcome to our little home."
"Thank you, but we cannot stay long. We have to get home." Elsa replied.
"To your father the king? Ah yes, I know him. And you also, Crown Princess Elsa."
"You know our father?" Anna asked.
"Indeed, it was my magic that helped him win the battle of Sweden all those years ago. He is one of my oldest friends."
"So he obviously told you about me." Elsa realised.
"He didn't just tell me about you, he brought me to you."
"I've been here before?"
"Yes but you were only an infant then, sneezing little snowflakes out of your nose. You have such great power within you."
"You were so cute!" Another troll, obviously female from her voice, called out.
"Ah Bulda," Pabbie stated walking over to her. "This is my mate Bulda, she is like a mother to the rest of our people."
"Mate?" Anna was confused. "You mean you guys have kids?"
"Where do you think the little pebbles came from?" Bulda joked. Anna looked down to see a bunch of tiny trolls cuddling up to her feet.
"Aww, they like you." Elsa cooed.
"Elsa!" Anna blushed furiously. Elsa giggled but they were both interrupted by a large thud nearby. They turned to see what appeared to be a boy around the same age as Elsa, with short blonde hair and a muscular build. Next to him was a reindeer, who was lying on top of him.
"Kristoff!" Bulda cried as she walked over to the boy. "What have you done to yourself?"
"I just tripped on a rock, Bulda." Kristoff replied, helping himself onto his feet.
"And fell flat on your face! You could have hurt yourself!"
"But I didn't and that's the main thing." Kristoff then noticed Anna and Elsa. "Why do we have outsiders here? And why does one of them look like a mermaid".
"We're here because we got lost! And Elsa does not look like a mermaid!" Anna declared.
"Well she's wearing fish scales…"
"They aren't fish scales, they're ice crystals."
"You have to excuse Kristoff, he's not really used to meeting strangers." Pabbie apologized.
"Grand Pabbie, why are these girls here?" Kristoff asked.
"They are our guests, Kristoff." Pabbie explained to him, "and can you give them some respect? They are royalty." Kristoff's eyes widened and he glanced at the sisters. He along with his reindeer then bowed before them.
"Our apologies, your highness."
xXx
"So you and the reindeer were raised here by the trolls?" Anna asked Kristoff.
"Yeah, Sven and I have been here since I was a kid." Kristoff explained, "according to Pabbie, I'm from a tribe of mountain people whose village got wiped out by an avalanche."
"And you were the only one that survived?"
"Yeah, I believe so. What about you? You don't seem like the type of girl that would be raised in a castle."
"Nah, Elsa is more like that." Anna stated, pointing to her sister who was talking to Pabbie.
"Makes sense, she's older and more mature." Kristoff said.
"And cute and cuddly." Anna sighed dreamily.
Kristoff rolled his eyes, "so anyway, Sven and I are gonna lead you back to your castle."
"What about you? You're just gonna come back here?"
"It's how we've always done it."
"So you wouldn't mind staying in one of the guest rooms at the castle?"
"I don't do well in fancy places."
"It would be for like only one night, and Sven can stay in the stables."
"Alright, but only one night, ok?"
"Sure, sure." Anna chirped.
Meanwhile, Grand Pabbie had taken Elsa to a quiet part of the woods.
"So my powers are magical?" Elsa asked her elder troll companion.
"Not as such, my dear." Pabbie explained, "you are a rarity Elsa, you are the conduit for all magic and mystic energy for this entire country. You merely take that magic from within you and it becomes your ice."
"A conduit? Are there more like me?" Elsa was curious about whether she was the only magic user in the world.
"There used to be, in ancient times before the age of the sword and shield, but they all died out long ago." Pabbie said, dashing Elsa's hopes.
"So I'm alone then..." Elsa replied, looking down at the ground.
"It might not be like that." the old troll reassured her, "one day you and your sister will have children who may inherit your abilities."
"Me and Anna?" Elsa was confused. Had this old troll figured out that she and Anna were together?
"Yes, I know of your deep bond with one another." Pabbie replied, "I would hate to see such a force of true love broken in two."
"Then I will stay with Anna, no matter what." Elsa declared.
Pabbie smiled, "you have the heart of a queen within you, Elsa."
xXx
"Ok we should be nearing your home now girls." Kristoff stated as they neared the Arendelle castle. Elsa and Anna looked at each other, wondering what explanation or excuse to give to their parents. As the sleigh pulled up in the courtyard, the sisters saw their mother and father rush towards them.
"Mama! Papa!" Anna greeted them as they hugged her.
"Where have you two been?" Their mother asked. "Your father and I have been so worried."
"Sorry mama." Elsa explained, "Anna and I went into the woods and got a bit lost."
"But we found these awesome troll guys, who had magic and stuff." Anna continued.
"So you've met Pabbie then?" Their father inquired.
"Yes, he was very kind and wise." Elsa said. Their father looked at Kristoff.
"And who is this boy who brought you home?"
"Oh that's Kristoff. He lived with the trolls. Can he stay here for one night?" Anna asked.
"I promise I will be respectful to you and your home, your highness." Kristoff interrupted. The king chuckled.
"You have already earned my respect, my boy, by bringing my daughters home to me." Anna and Elsa smiled. It seemed like their little adventure had been successful after all.