"Elsa? ELSA!" Hans groaned as the cold caused his leg to ache, as his horse pushed through the snow.
They'd been travelling for hours now.
"Elsa, it's me! Your brother! Your brother who didn't mean to make you freeze summer." He shivered, "I'm sorry!"
The forest was deadly silent.
"Of course…" he then muttered to himself, "… none of this would have happened if she'd just told me her little secret. She's such a- WOAH!"
As a snow-covered branch suddenly fell in front of them, his horse reared up and sent him flying, landing heavily in a nearby snow-bank. And then the horse raced away, leaving Hans shivering in the snow.
"It just had to be snow…" he growled, stumbling to his feet and pushing himself up the hill, "… I'm in pain, I can't walk, and I'm going to freeze to death because this suit is not designed for winter! She couldn't have had magical tropical powers that covered the land in white sand?" And then in the distance, he spotted steam rising into the air, "Fire!"
It should have been a dignified descent down the hill.
Instead, his leg gave out form underneath him, and he went rolling down the hill, landing in the freezing river.
"Cold!" Hans crawled out, frowning when he realised that his leg was now so numb, that he couldn't feel the pain. Slowly, he headed towards the wooden cabin, "Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold!"
Stepping onto the porch, he knocked the snow off the sign. "Wandering Oaken's Trading Post… and Sauna!" Making his way inside, he spotted a large man sitting behind the counter, a beaming grin on his face.
"Yo-hoo, big summer blow-out. Half off a swimming costumes, clogs and sunscreen of my own invention, yah?"
Hans forced a small onto his face. "Great… how much for some proper boots? And warm winter clothes?"
"That would be in our winter department." The man gestured over at a small corner, where only a few items sat.
"… Right." Hans slowly made his way over, picking up the few clothes that there were, "I don't suppose you've seen… the queen nearby?"
"The only one crazy enough to be out in this storm is you." The man then seemed to notice Hans limp, "I'll throw in a sturdy cane for free?"
Before Hans could thank the man, the door was thrown open and a familiar figure shuffled in through the door.
"Well, you and this lady. Yo-Hoo, big summer blow-out!"
"Anna?!" Hans walked over, "What are you doing here, I left you- "
"- in charge, I know, I know!" Anna was wearing a medium-length, dark blue skirt with lavender around the hem, roses and periwinkles were sewn onto it. The bodice was black, with gold trim and green, red, yellow, and purple rose prints on it. Underneath was a light blue, long-sleeved blouse, with black heeled leather boots with gold lining and magenta soles, "But my brothers have a lot more experience, and I trust them."
"Where did you- "
"- One of your servants lent it to me." Anna explained, "I think it belonged to… your sister."
"I- "
"- I also borrowed a sledge." Anna gestured outside, where a large sledge sat, "Some ice delivery guy who was ranting about the weather lent it to me. He also pointed out that the storm seems to be coming from the…. North Mountains?"
Hans straightened up and clapped his hands together in excitement, "Great! All we need is something to pull the sledge. The North Mountains has to be where my sister is."
"Your horse?"
"… Not a fan of snow apparently."
"Ummm, excuse me?" The friendly shop owner piped up again, "I have some moose in my stable? Special discount for insanity?"
"Insanity?"
"We'll take it." Hans interrupted, handing the shopkeeper some extra gold coins, before limping back outside., "The sooner we get to the North Mountains, the sooner this will all be over." As he attached the moose to the sledge, he had a sudden realisation.
"Ummm…" he turned to Anna, "… Do you know how to work one of these?"
…
It turns out, she did.
Hans clung desperately onto the side of the sledge as they raced over the snowbanks.
"We have a lot of snow in the Southern Isles!" Anna whooped in glee, "I was kinda hoping to see some sun for a change, you know?"
"Y-Yeah!"
They slowed down slightly as they approached a wooded area, with Anna sighing wearily. "I can't believe your sister freaked out at the mere idea of us courting. It's not like we were getting engaged, we barely know anything about each other! Last names, favourite food, foot size- "
"- foot size isn't important is it?"
When she smirked and glanced over at him, Hans felt like his face could cook an egg.
"Sorry…" She seemed actually apologetic about embarrassing him, "… But, she still had no right to act like that. We wanted to get to know each other first, what if I hated the way you ate, what of you hated the way I picked my nose, which I don't do…. Because I'm a princess."
"O-Of course."
Then, a piercing howl echoed through the wooded area.
"Ummm…" Hans frowned, "… did the man you borrowed this sledge off mention anything about wolves."
"… Maybe."
"And what, exactly, did he say?"
"That we should be fast. Try not to fall off and get eaten."
"Helpful!"
As the wolves got closer and closer, Anna suddenly grabbed Hans's walking stick, spinning around and striking on the beasts in the face, knocking it out instantly.
"Woah…" Hans whispered, before the sledge wobbled uncertainly, almost sending him flying into the snow, "… WOAH!"
"Hang on!" Anna leaned over the back of the sledge, setting fire to a blanket, before throwing it at the pursuing wolves.
"We might have needed them!"
"Sorry!"
When they both turned back around, Anna yelped at the sight of the cliff-edge.
"We have to jump!" she grabbed a hold of the reigns, only for Hans to snatch them off her.
"Get on the moose!" He ordered, almost throwing her onto the creature in question, climbing on slowly himself and slicing through the reigns, removing the weight of the sledge from the moose. Thankfully, the moose made it to the other side…. The sledge was not so lucky.
"I'll get Christoper… Kristoff, a new one." Anna winced, hearing something explode down below, "A really nice new one… and everything in it."
Hans dismounted from the moose, shaking his head wearily. "This is dangerous…" he whispered, "… and we haven't even reached my sister yet." He turned to Anna, "I understand if you don't want to come any further."
She rolled her eyes and punched him lightly in the arm, "You won't get rid of me that easily."
….…
They walked for what seemed like days, but, was probably only a few hours, up treacherous hills and empty forests. As the sun started to rise over the horizon, Hans turned, eyes widening at what he saw.
"Arendelle." He whispered in shock, "It's completely frozen!" Glancing over, he spotted the worried look on Anna's face, "But don't worry… Elsa will just thaw it out."
"Will she?"
"I'm reasonably convinced. Come on, we need to keep going."
The North mountains could be seen high above the trees in the distance.
After another few hours of walking, they came across a clearing where waterfalls had frozen solid and ice covered the willow buds, hanging like diamonds. When brushed against one another, they sound like chimes in the wind.
"I've never seen a winter this beautiful." Anna whispered.
"yeah… I feel like there should be a snowman or something. A magical talking- "He cut himself off as Anna glanced at him, "- Never mind. Let's hurry up, I want to get there before nightfall."
"Magic snowman?"
"It's stupid."
….
Back down in Arendelle, the citizens were starting to get tense, with fights breaking out over the amount of wood each person was getting for their fires… or even the right way to store it.
"Cloaks!" The three brothers of the Southern Isles called out as they walked through the streets, "Does anyone need a cloak?"
"Arendelle is indebted to you Your Highnesses." One old lady cooed, taking a cloak and wrapping it around her shoulders.
Caleb bowed, "The castle is open and there is hot soup in the great hall. Here- " he handed the cloaks over to the guards, "Pass these out."
The Duke of Weselton and his daughter were still being thawed out in another part of the castle, and it wasn't a comforting sight.
Once everyone was out of earshot, Rudi and Runo huddled closer to their brother, "Do we really have to stay here and freeze while you give out all the tradeable goods?" Rudi hissed
"Rudi- "
"- And how do we know that the Prince and Sorceress aren't in it together? That they're not going to just leave us here to die slowly?! Anna is probably already dead!"
"He loves her." Caleb waved away the concerns, "And you saw the way the Queen treated her brother. There's no way they are in it together. She kills him, and then we can have her banished or executed for murder. And then Arendelle is ours for the taking. Stick. To. The. Plan."
And then Hans's horse came charging into the courtyard, sending people running away in a blind panic.
And then the whispering stared.
"That's Prince Hans's horse!"
"Where is the Prince?!"
"What if he's hurt?"
The opportunity was seized.
"Prince Hans and my sister are in trouble!" Caleb called out, "We need volunteers to help us go and find them!"
As multiple people called out that they volunteered, Caleb turned to his brothers. "Be prepared for anything." He whispered, "And should you encounter the Queen, you are to put an end to this winter."