Chapter 4: Dance on Ice

"Do other dragons really exist?" Anna asked as she sat beside the dragon at the ledge outside the beast's cave. Ice Dragon glanced down at Anna in puzzlement. "… They do, yes. Why do you ask?"

The redhead just smiled widely and leaned back against her hands. "I was just curious… And because I want to know more about dragons; you obviously have more to you than meets the eye. And I can tell dragons are the smartest beings in the world; I did some reading." She was quite proud of herself for that, and felt accomplished whenever she saw the dragon's surprised expressions.

Ice Dragon did not seem to fully believe her and Anna sighed in defeat, "Okay. My mother mentioned how dragons did not really exist, and I was surprised because, well…you exist."

Three weeks since their fateful meeting and Anna still continued to visit. The more she snuck out to see the great beast, the more tolerant the said beast became. Now Ice Dragon had all but adapted to the fact that the princess was going to visit her cave whenever she pleased. Though Ice Dragon still showed signs of mistrust, the icy beast was now more curious rather than annoyed.
Anna was still determined to name the dragon; no names she ever thought of have pleased the beast, and at times she felt like giving up and just leaving Ice Dragon's name as that; Ice Dragon.

But she refused to stop thinking of the perfect name. No force in the world would or could make her stop! When she had announced this, Ice Dragon simply shook its head and wondered if this obsession with searching for a name was a cause for concern.
Ice Dragon shook its head and returned to the current topic before getting sidetracked by an odd mixture of thoughts. "What is the real reason you're asking if other dragons exist? You're sitting next to one, aren't you?"

Anna sighed. "I had a talk with my mother about…dragons. I asked her about them since she liked reading so much. She said dragons don't really exist."

Ice Dragon did not seem surprised or offended, and just waited for Anna to finish what she wanted to say. "The way you and I carry out conversations, I believed that people actually KNEW about dragons and that they're just rare sights. I didn't think you were thought to be a fairytale," Anna admitted, placing her hair behind her ear; a habit of hers, Ice Dragon had noticed. It was a second habit aside from touching the white streak of hair.

"That's to be expected. Mu dovah dreh ni hind wah kos nuthaak," Ice Dragon said, not at all bothered by Anna's little confession.

Anna looked up at her blue-scaled companion; she still did not understand a single thing Ice Dragon said when the dragon language was being used. "But then…why don't people know or think you exist? Are you…hiding your existence so that you won't be hunted?" It was also the most logical reason she could come up with.

"You would be right. That is exactly the reason why. Humans…" Ice Dragon glanced at Anna before correcting its sentence, "…most humans prefer to kill what they deem as monsters. And we dragons are monsters in their eyes."

Anna shook her head. "I don't think that. You are not a monster; if you were, then I would have been dead by now."

Ice Dragon still wondered why it decided to spare Anna since the first time they met. The beast huffed to itself; a dragon was a noble, majestic, and honorable creature. Not a murderer. It was an assumption many humans made about her kind; that dragons were mindless hunters and murderous animals that had no control over their actions.

To Ice Dragon's shame, it was not entirely false. Just like there were many humans who would kill and hunt down dragons, there were also dragons that live up to the humans' fear very fears. Those were the lowest kind of dragons; the power-hungry and selfish beasts that tarnished what all tried and true dragons stood for.
Dragons wanted nothing more than to be left to themselves without the risk of being massacred by selfish humans, but some prideful dragons would approach and kill humans to test their powers. It was truly disgusting, and disgraceful.

But while dragons wished not to approach and harm humans directly, humans were nonetheless unwelcome in a dragon's territory, or anywhere near a dragon.
And yet here was Princess Anna of Arendelle, a persistent and stubborn young woman who discovered Ice Dragon merely by accident, only to continue visiting until she had become almost a regular occurrence to Ice Dragon's day.

Anna's eyes brightened all of a sudden, she jumped up and she reached for her bag. Ice Dragon let out a low puzzled growling sound as it watched Anna while she dug around in her bag. After a moment, the redhead pulled out a smaller bag; a pouch of some sort.

"Here! I have something for you." Anna said as she opened the pouch and pulled out a little brown lump with white stripes.

"What do you intend to do with those odd droppings you brought with you?" Ice Dragon asked, sniffing at the strange brown lump. Why did it even have stripes? And it smelled odd.

Anna gasped and choked on her own air in disbelief at what the dragon had just called the chocolate truffle. The redhead glared up at the icy-beast. "These are not droppings! They're chocolates! The most wonderful and amazing kind of edible goodness in the world!"

Ice Dragon looked skeptical at this. "You…eat these? It looks nothing like food. Why did you even bring those here?"

Anna sighed in exasperation as she stood up and presented the truffle to the dragon. "It's for you. I want you to experience the taste of the most amazing thing known to the world!"

Ice Dragon stared at her in disbelief. Eat the strange brown, stripped lump? The icy beast was more than unsure and reluctant to even taste that lump that Anna calls 'chocolate'. Ice Dragon leaned down to stare intently at the chocolate truffle and sniffed at it again. The scent was nothing like it had smelled before. It smelled sweet and something else the dragon could not describe. It was all new and too unusual. What did the humans do to create such a strange thing and call it edible?

"Come on, try it!" Anna insisted, holding the truffle out to the dragon's snout.

The blue beast snorted and turned its head away. Anna huffed indignantly and followed the dragon's head, insisting it take the truffle. Ice Dragon snarled and turned away again, but Anna just followed with the chocolate truffle in her hand.
"Just try it! You're much bigger than the truffle is; it won't be able to even harm you!" The redhead said, trying to get Ice Dragon interested in the treat. So far, the dragon disliked the idea of eating it. Anna wondered how anyone could resist the lure of chocolate.

Ice Dragon groaned in irritation. "Why are you so insistent on me eating that…that…thing?"

"It's chocolate! It is the most amazing thing to have ever come into existence!" Anna said, frowning at the dragon. She was going to make Ice Dragon eat the truffles, and Ice Dragon was going to like it.

Snarling in defeat, Ice Dragon stuck out its forked tongue and lapped up the entire truffle into its maws, making Anna grin victoriously.

The truffle was much too small in comparison to the size of Ice Dragon, but the taste was still very much there and it caught the dragon off guard. It tasted sweet, and something else Ice Dragon could not possibly describe. Anna saw the icy beast's eyes grow wide, and she grinned triumphantly. "You like it, don't you?"
Ice Dragon cleared its throat. "Well it…does not taste like droppings." The dragon resisted the urge to lick its lips in order to take in the aftertaste of the chocolate truffle.

Anna just continued to grin, knowing that the prideful dragon just refused to admit defeat. "Alright then, if you say so. But I know you liked it!"

With a groan, the dragon stood up and spread its large blue wings, flapping them experimentally and causing a light gust of cold winds. "I have been in my cave for too long today…" Ice Dragon took note of its surroundings; it was a nice, clear day and even a dragon would want to spend the day outside of its cave for a nice weather such as this.
Anna's eyes widened; was she finally going to see the dragon in action aside from just laying about inside its cave, or at the entrance of the cave? She stood up just as the dragon did.

Ice Dragon noticed and sighed. "You plan on coming along?"

Anna looked up at the dragon. "You don't want me to?"

The beast growled, "I doubt that you would even listen even if I did tell you not to follow me." As much as it hated to admit, Anna's stubborn nature made it hard to argue back even though she was much smaller and easy to crush in Ice Dragons large paws.
Anna sighed as she got her climbing gear ready, but the dragon stopped her. "It will take too long for you to get down like that. I can easily fly down and waiting for you would waste half the day."

The redhead frowned and crossed her arms at the proud beast. "Then how do you suggest I get own?"

Ice Dragon looked over the ledge then back at Anna. "Do you like staircases or slides?" The question puzzled Anna, making her blink and scratch her head in confusion. "Slides are nice," She said finally, wondering why the dragon would ask such a question.

The dragon moved to the edge and exhaled a blast of frost. Anna watched with wide eyes as an ice slide materialized before her.

Ice Dragon stopped once the slide was complete and began to flap its wings again. "It will go much faster this way." And without another word, the beast flew downwards to the bottom of the mountain, leaving the redheaded princess in awe.

Anna stepped towards the slide and took a deep breath before she settled down and moved at high speeds down the ice slide. She screamed in amazement of the speed and the adrenaline coursing through her body as she descended the mountain.
As she got closer to the bottom, she saw a large pile of soft snow in front of the slide that was intended for her to land in. Anna laughed as she crashed into the snow pile and emerged from it. The dragon watched her with a slight amused, yet puzzled expression.

"Wow! I have to do that again!" Anna exclaimed excitedly.

Ice Dragon sighed and turned the other way, intending to enjoy its walk on this fine day. Anna quickly brushed the snow off her person and ran after the dragon until she was beside it. She had never seen Ice Dragon anywhere else other than the mountain, so it was pleasant change to see Ice Dragon out and about.

Anna began to hum a little tune as she walked alongside the large beast. Ice Dragon would glance at her a few times but said nothing; the dragon was more curious about the humming but it was not willing to admit that to Anna.

Soon, they made their way over to a large lake. Anna inhaled the clean air and sat by the lake, enjoying the view. Ice Dragon settled down as well, leaning its head forward and whipping out its forked tongue to drink from the lake, feeling refreshed after doing so.
The princess leaned back on her hands and looked at the clear blue sky on content. She never imagined she would be sitting beside a huge dragon, relaxing and enjoying the day. It was like a fantasy made into reality.

"What do you like about being a dragon?" Anna asked after a long moment of silence, picking a rock and threw it at the lake.

Ice Dragon looked at the sky. "Flying, the freedom…and the power I have." The beast lifted a paw and stared at it as a blue mist of cold surrounded it. Anna watched in amazement at the dragon. The abilities that this ice dragon wielded were dangerous, but also lovely if Ice Dragon was not in an aggressive mood.

Anna continued to skip stones on the lake while the dragon watched. The beast's cold blue eyes took in the movements of each stone and each skip, and then glanced at Princess Anna.

As Anna threw another stone at the lake, but nearly jumped when the stone suddenly turned into frozen lump in mid air before landing in the lake.
The redhead looked up at ice dragon and saw icy mist rise out of its maws; evidence that it had indeed been Ice Dragon who caused the stone to sudden freeze. Anna gaped and then broke into a wide smile. "Wow!" She cheered, clearly impressed.

It was amusing how humans were so easily entertained, Ice Dragon thought.

Anna began gathering more stones until she had an armful of them. She glanced at the dragon and met its eyes before tossing another stone at the lake. Once again, it turned to ice and fell into the water. The redhead threw another, and another, and each time the Ice Dragon would freeze them by unleashing small icy blasts from its jaws with impressive accuracy.
When Anna threw another stone, Ice Dragon threw its arm out, unleashing a blast of cold from its paw and freezing the target. Anna just grinned even more; this was more fun than she had thought, and it was all because the dragon had initiated this instead of her.

It was odd that Ice Dragon felt a strange sense of accomplishment at seeing Anna smile so widely all because of a few frozen stones.

"That was amazing! What else can you do with ice powers?" Anna asked excitedly. Ice Dragon had never seen such precious child-like innocence before since the beast had not interacted with younger dragons as a hatchling, nor did the dragon know what human children acted like aside from knowing that any young creature would be so innocent.

Anna watched as Ice Dragon looked at the lake and got up onto its paws. The dragon moved forward and the moment its paw touched the water, a bit of the lake froze under the gigantic paw. The redhead gasped at the sight and as the dragon took another step forward, and another, and another, until Ice Dragon was very much walking on water, freezing it in the process.

Anna had the widest smile on her face as she took in the beauty of the now frozen lake. This dragon was even more amazing than she had imagined.
She took a carefully step on the ice, and then the other foot followed. She slipped slightly but managed to keep herself upright as she tried to skate over to Ice Dragon. Instead she ended up sliding and wobbling over.

The beast stood there on the ice, watching as the princess approached on unsteady feet; it was quite a sight to see. Anna laughed sheepishly once she was close enough. "I'm not good at skating…" She admitted, trying to straighten herself up while she stood on the ice.

Ice Dragon let out what sounded like an amused snort. Anna pouted up at the dragon, placing her fists on her hips. "Hey! You try walking on ice without having claws to help you grip things!"

The dragon chuckled and settled on the ice, never once slipping or showing signs of discomfort. Of course Anna had no idea what she had been expecting; this beast was an ice dragon after all. She huffed and slid over and accidentally bumped into the dragon's large, armor-hard chest. Fortunately, Ice Dragon did not seem bothered and just stared at Anna curiously like a child would watch a butterfly.

Anna blushed and grinned sheepishly as she looked up at the tall, intimidating beast. Despite the sometimes-quick temper Ice Dragon had, it had a gentle side that Anna was slowly beginning to see with time. And while the dragon was still wary of humans, the redhead was glad that she was at least welcomed to return to the dragon's lair, even if she had not been invited most of the time.

She took notice of the blue glowing lines that ran horizontally along the dragon's chest. The most prominent line ran vertically down Ice Dragon's chest, and another one going horizontally that was more noticeable than the others. It reminded Anna somewhat of a cross shape.
Before she even realized what she was doing, she reached up carefully to trace one of the glowing lines on the dragon's chest. Ice Dragon reacted with a growl and stepped back cautiously. Anna drew back and looked at the beast apologetically. "I'm sorry!"

Ice Dragon shook its head and settled back down. Anna then made a mental note that this dragon did not liked being touched.

Anna touch was surprisingly the warmest thing that Ice Dragon had ever felt. And it was odd considering how impenetrable a dragon's scales were. Of course that did not prevent a dragon from feeling things, but a small touch from a human having some sort of effect caught Ice Dragon off guard. And oddly enough, the beast did not care this time. Perhaps Anna was just growing on the dragon; that was the only explanation the beast had.

The redhead was still wobbly on her feet as she tried to move around the frozen lake. She flailed her arms around as she was about to fall backwards, but was surprised when something kept her upright.
Ice Dragon had bent its head down and Anna landed on its muzzle, keeping her from falling on her back on the ice.

"Thanks…" She said with a grateful smile. The dragon carefully nudged her forward with its snout, and Anna slid across the lake without a hitch this time.

"This is amazing!" Anna cheered as she slowly got used to gliding across the ice while the dragon watched; this was the first time the beast ever seen, let alone interacted with a human who was so carefree and full of wonderful innocence.
Everything about Anna was just so warm, and friendly. It was as if this princess had no evil bone in her body, and somehow the dragon was beginning to believe that. Perhaps.
Anna looked over at Ice Dragon. "Don't you skate? I mean you do have claws and control ice."

Ice Dragon stood up. "I don't need to skate. I can walk on ice easily." And sure enough, the dragon just took casual steps on the frozen water as if they were not even standing on slippery ice at all.

Anna huffed and crossed her arms. Were all dragons so literal-minded? Because it was certainly no fun at all! She slowly skidded over to the beast and looked up at its icy-blue eyes. "Come on! You're a dragon! You can turn things into ice! Have some fun with it once in a while! You just turned this lake into ice! Try skating a bit!" She slid off once more, giggling in delight when she managed to keep herself up and reach a decent speed without falling over.

The dragon huffed, not seeing any reason why it would need to slide about when ice practically obeyed its every command. "Fun…?"

Anna slid around a bit and then skidded to a halt. "Didn't you have any sort of fun when you were a baby dragon?" Surely even young dragons had fun, didn't they? "Come on! Having fun is easy; all you have to do is enjoy life and everything around you! Like me! I'm having fun right now!"

Ice Dragon just stared blankly. "I had no time or reason to have fun as a hatchling."

This made the redhead gape in disbelief. No fun even as a young dragon? Was it only Ice Dragon, or did all dragons just do not know how to have fun or enjoy life from the moment they are hatched? Anna knew she could not stand for this. She skated over to the dragon again. "Well you're going to learn how to have fun, and that's that!" She said sternly, giving the dragon a look.

"… Why?" Ice Dragon just huffed out the question, icy mist flying from the beast's nostrils.

Anna sighed and rolled her eyes. "Because life without fun isn't a real way to live… You have to enjoy life; if you're so serious all the time then all you'll ever think about is 'what if' or any kind of regrets you might or will have! Don't you think it's time you did something about it before you end up regretting?"

Ice Dragon stared at the redhead for a long moment before walking back to the shore, and off the frozen lake. Anna followed her companion but stayed on the lake.

The dragon settled on the grass, head down flat on the soft green blades. Anna just continued to slowly skate in circles. "I still wonder what I should call you. Hmm… Ice Dragon is such a mouthful. How about just 'Ice'? Or how about Frost? Blue! What do you think of the name Blue? No, too simple… Hmm… Sapphire…no. No, no…Sapphire doesn't sound fitting."
Ice Dragon rolled its eyes as it watched the princess slide across the ice, deep in thought about names. The reason of being given a name still eluded the dragon, and for some reason, the princess was not even going to stop thinking of names.

Anna had been so distracted with her list of names that she barely even noticed the dragon placing a paw down on the ice. When she did, she felt the ice was melting under her feet. With a gasp, the redhead pointed a finger at the dragon. "No! Don't you dare! Don't you dare melt the ice!"

Ice Dragon only smirked and the ice continued to slowly return to its liquid state.

"No! No, no, no! Don't even…! Ice Dragon!" Anna yelled as she fell into the shallows of the lake once it lost its frozen form. She spattered and spat out water from her mouth and glared at the large ice dragon as it let out a deep booming laugh. "That is quite entertaining."
Anna's expression softened when she realized the dragon was actually laughing. It was a rather lovely sight to behold; dragons were always said and thought to be deadly and even tyrannical creatures. But this dragon was anything but tyrannical. In fact, that booming laugh sounded rather nice. Like a large but gentle giant finally learning how to crack a smile.

"See? Now you're actually having fun! That was not so bad, was it?" She said as she got out of the water and sat next to the dragon on the grass.

Ice Dragon glanced at Anna and tilted its head slightly. Nothing ever made Ice Dragon laugh like that before, and committing such a childish trick just to be able to laugh at Anna becoming soaked was something the dragon believed was below it. But somehow, it did not feel wrong at all. It was…fun.

Anna on the other hand felt rather accomplished that she managed to reach new grounds with this gigantic beast of ice. Hearing a dragon laugh was something out of a dream especially since she was certain nobody has ever heard a dragon laugh before, and in such a happy way.
She looked up at Ice Dragon, searching those cold blue eyes and seeing nothing malicious or anything even close to harmful. She already aware that this dragon could easily destroy her if it wished, Anna just knew that Ice Dragon must have a warm heart underneath those cold scales.

The redhead did not even notice she was staring now, her teal eyes so focused in the dragon even as she let out a light sigh. "You're gorgeous…"
Ice Dragon blinked and let out a very light puzzled growl. Anna's eyes widened when she realized what she had just said. "Oh no. Did I say that out loud?"

She stood up and stepped back slightly. The dragon said nothing as Anna placed a hand over her mouth and wandered off a few paces away, just mumbling to herself.
"Oh no…! Why did I say that? I mean that dragon is gorgeous! I mean those are some pretty eyes and those scales and spikes are so amazing…! No, no, no! Anna you can't think like that! It's…not normal!" She berated herself.

"Ice Dragon's just…interesting! That's all! Very interesting and mysterious!" She continued to ramble until she was certain that if anyone had walked by her, they would think she was crazy. Anna just sighed in defeated and decided it was for the best to just stop thinking about these odd thoughts and get back to Ice Dragon before the beast comes to the conclusion that Anna was indeed insane.

When she returned, she gasped when she saw her bag had been emptied, with its contents spilled on the ground, and her chocolates and other snacks she had brought along were gone.
Anna looked up accusingly at the dragon that happened to be licking its lips with its forked tongue. "Very funny!" Anna huffed as she returned her things to the bag. "I hope you liked those chocolates because those were my favorite kinds. Still, it's nice to see that you're actually coming to like it."

The dragon said nothing and instead looked at the sky. "I assume you need to head back now…"

Anna paused for a moment, and then nodded. She did manage to lose track of time whenever she visited the dragon. But there was always tomorrow, unless she was to be kept back for something for some reason. Usually she was always able to let the dragon know beforehand.
Anna slung her back over her shoulder and sighed. "I'm not really looking forward to my lessons; I know they're important but it's just so hard to stay interested when all I do is sit in the room and listen to the tutor rambling on and on, and on…"

Ice Dragon decided walked with her as Anna this time made her way down to Arendelle. However, the dragon stopped at the very edge of the woods. "I cannot go any further, or I will be seen."

Anna stopped walking and looked back at Ice Dragon. She nodded in understanding. "Don't worry; just go now, before someone notices you."
The beast did not need to be told again as it turned and walked back to the safety of familiar territory, leaving Anna to trek the rest of the way on her own.

Anna just wanted to doze off.

The tutor continued to drone on, and on, and nothing was coming into Anna's head about whatever the lesson was. History was one of the lessons she managed to stay awake for, especially if it was about Joan of Arc, her favorite historical figure.
But when it came to politics and numbers, Anna was always certain to fall asleep. She tried to keep her eyes open but her eyelids felt so heavy it was as if her own body wanted to sleep on its own whether she liked it or not.

The redhead looked at the clock and jumped up when the hour signaled the end of her lessons. She ran out of the room before the tutor could say anymore.

She ran to her room and jumped onto her bed, grabbing a book she hid under the pillow, and began reading. Again, it was all about dragons.
So far there was nothing about the language of dragons at all and it struck her as odd. Did nobody hear a dragon speak? Perhaps that might be a reason why people thought dragons were mere beasts. At least, this was Anna's theory. The redhead continued to read; so far the things she had learned from reading had helped her learn a bit more about dragons. But at the same time, these books did not seem to show anything deeper than the usual dragon facts.

Anna knew there was more than meets the eye when it came to dragons, especially when it came to Ice Dragon. That dragon was no dumb beast, and was indeed an intelligent, albeit introverted being. But today proved to Anna that Ice Dragon just needed some understanding and encouragement, as well as motivation to know more about the world than to see it as the enemy.

The redhead smiled as she thought of the dragon; it was hard not to smile, especially when she managed to learn something new about Ice Dragon's personality. Suddenly, she froze and sat up. What was she thinking? She was becoming dreamy over a dragon!

Anna got out of bed and walked over to her window. Why would she be thinking such odd thoughts about an ice dragon that lived in solitude up in a cave on top of a mountain? It just did not make any sense. But the only explanation she could think of was she was just very curious about the dragon and wanted to know more. There was no other reason why she would suddenly see Ice Dragon as the most beautiful creature in the world.

With a sigh of relief, Anna chuckled to herself and returned to bed. Tomorrow was going to be another great day.

"What do you mean I can't leave today?" Anna stared at Adgar and Idun in disbelief.

Adgar sighed. "Anna I understand how much you enjoying going out so often, but this time you really need to stay here. You're gone so often nowadays and we would like it if you also spent time at home." He placed a hand on Anna's shoulder and the redhead frowned worriedly. She had not told Ice Dragon the other day that she might not be able to visit the next day! Worse still, she had not expected this sort of situation to happen.

"Can't I just…go out for an hour two? For just a while?" She gave her parents the best puppy-like expression she could muster, but Adgar looked at her sternly.

Idun shook her head. "We're sorry, Anna. Not this time… Just spend a few days here at home, please. We hardly see you much anymore and even though we know you are capable, you cannot just keep running off out into the wilderness like this."
Anna frowned and crossed her arms. She had to at least let the dragon know that she may not be able to visit for a few days or so. Even if dragons did not need someone telling them of such things, it felt wrong to just leave Ice Dragon in the dark about this.

"But there is something important I need to do first! It won't take long, I promise!" Anna pleaded, but her parents had their feet down. Anna hung her head in defeat and groaned.

Adgar sighed. "It's only for a few days, Anna. You're not restricted behind the castle walls; you are still free to roam outside. Just not out into the woods this time. Please…?" He gently lifted his daughter's chin and made her look at him in the eyes.
Anna felt guilty now; she must admit that she had been seeing Ice Dragon more than her parents, and even if they were busy with ruling the kingdom, they never neglected her in the slightest. She supposed that it was only fair that she do this for them.

She just hoped that Ice Dragon would not take this as some sort of conspiracy… "Alright… I won't go out there for a while." Anna nodded. "But can I at least just go see Kristoff?" She looked at her parents and they nodded. Anna smiled and hugged them both before rushing outside into town to find her friend.

Once she was outside, she took a deep breath and stared longingly at the mountain. She hoped Ice Dragon would just continue to enjoy…whatever it was the dragon planned to do today. Perhaps the beast would be happy that Anna was not around. The redhead sighed and continued on her way until she found Kristoff.

As usual, he was polishing his new sled. Sven stood nearby as always until he noticed Anna and moved over to her, sniffing at her dress pockets for any sort of treat. Kristoff laughed when he saw this. "Knock it off, Sven. The world's not all about you and carrots." He pulled the reindeer back and Anna pet Sven's muzzle affectionately.

"My parents have me temporarily banned from heading out of Arendelle," Anna said with a sigh.

Kristoff chuckled. "Well it was bound to happen; you have been heading off so often. I sometimes wonder what's so interesting out there that you would walk out there almost every day." The blonde grabbed a carrot and Sven bit off one half of it and Kristoff ate the other half. Anna rolled her eyes, still amazed that Kristoff can share the same carrot like that. But then again, this was Kristoff.

"Well at least I can still wander around town and not be stuck in the castle. There's a whole world out there though, even beyond Arendelle; I sometimes wish I can see it all." Anna sighed dreamily at the thought of adventure out there. She was aware of dangers but at the same time she felt drawn to the idea of one day wandering the world to see what it was like away from Arendelle.
Anna's mind seemed to wander off somewhere far away and Kristoff had to gently knock on Anna's head to bring her back to reality.

"Easy there, feisty pants. I know how much you dream of adventure. But don't forget; you're a princess. I mean you got an entire kingdom to look after, especially when you become queen." He said, resting an elbow on Sven's back.

Anna frowned. "I know that! It's just… Oh I don't know! I guess I just wish for something new, something fresh and not just the same old thing."
She suddenly thought about Ice Dragon again, and this seemed to confirm what she had thought. Ice Dragon provided something new and exciting in her life and that was why she felt so…attracted to the beast. Like a moth to a flame; it was a whole new thing that nobody else had ever got to experience in life. At least, that was what Anna believed.

"Since you're here, how about we see what we can do to curb that itch of adventure." Kristoff offered and Sven looked more than happy to spend the day with Anna.
The redhead could not resist; it was one of the things she loved about her friends. They always knew how to make her feel better, and she deeply appreciated them for that. Anna nodded and the trio was off to explore the town.

Ice Dragon stared down at Arendelle from its mountain lair. Usually by this time, Anna would have arrived and made herself at home. But today she never arrived; and even if she had been late, it was never longer than thirty minutes. It had already been an hour since then.

"Odd…" Ice Dragon murmured. Though the beast had no idea why it was even expecting Anna to arrive, the icy dragon came to the conclusion that it was merely because Anna had become a usual event that went on almost every day now. But it seems that on this day, the feisty redhead would be unable to make it. Not that it mattered…

Deciding not to waste the day away, the dragon spread its wings and took to the air, and flew above the clouds to avoid detection.

The beast made its way to lake it had been at with Anna the previous day, and landed. Folding its wings, Ice Dragon settled down onto the grass and then lay on its side. The dragon glanced at the lake and snorted; a human shouldn't be able to have such an impact and yet…Anna did. It was ridiculous, really. But in a way, the dragon had grown just slightly fond of her. Perhaps it was due to her rather unique persona that Ice Dragon had never observed in humans before. Or maybe it was how friendly she was despite facing a deadly beast known as a dragon.

Unique? Or simply reckless? Either way, Anna was not like any other human and it was surprisingly making the usually cautious dragon curious, against its better judgment. How did it even come to this? A dragon interacting with a human peacefully was quite unheard of.
Lifting a paw, the dragon created a large snowflake and stared at it before turning it into a shape that resembled Anna. Ice Dragon growled lightly and closed its paw into a fist, gently.

"Zu'u kent bo vorohah…"

I'm glad I managed to finish this one. I had loads of fun writing it as well; it's been a long time since I actually grinned while writing a chapter, and without feeling tired. The same goes for other stories I happened to be working on at the same time.

Hope you all enjoyed this new chapter because there is more to come soon. Although things are still going a bit slow since college is becoming increasingly hectic and since it is coming close to the time I might have to start working on my thesis. The stress levels would be off the charts. However I am glad I managed to relax and write again while I can.

Now I realize I keep forgetting to mention the size of the dragon. Well, Ice Dragon is the same size as a Skyrim dragon basically, except this dragon has four legs instead of only two. Just wanted to put that out there. See you guys soon in the next chapter!

And thanks again for reading and looking forward to more!

Until then…