I really should be updating more often. Oh well. BTW, Kristoff was adopted by the trolls in this AU like in the canon Frozen movie.
After what happened with Anna and the kitchen staff, Kristoff had nearly forgotten about the existence of Prince Hans. Unfortunately, he was reminded when the charming prince visited Arendelle to celebrate Anna's birthday a week early. Her celebration was to come later, but Hans had done so well in his visits to other kingdoms that he was being sent to Corona during that time. So, he came to surprise Anna one day when she was making ice delivery rounds in the surrounding area with Kristoff and Sven. Upon their return to the castle, Kristoff sagged while Anna gasped with delight at the sight of Hans. The smiling prince had a bouquet of daisies in hand (he must have brought them from somewhere warmer, because Arendelle was still too cold for blooming flowers). Anna ran towards Hans, with Kristoff close behind, and wrapped him up in a tight hug.
"These are for you," informed Hans grandly as he offered the bouquet to Anna.
"She's allergic to those," deadpanned Kristoff.
Han's eyes bulged and he looked at Anna, who shrugged apologetically.
"It's true," confirmed Anna, who sneezed when she caught a whiff of the flowers.
Hans hastily withdrew the bouquet. "I'm sorry."
"It's all right, I don't think I ever told you," reassured Anna. "I guess it just didn't come up until now."
"What's all the commotion?" inquired Elsa, coming out to the gate to see why she had heard excited sounds from Anna.
"Hans is here!" squealed Anna, clasping Hans' hand - the one that wasn't holding the daisies.
"Oh, she's allergic to those," informed Elsa, who took the bouquet from Hans (Anna was secretly grateful for the greater distance between her and the flowers).
"Yeah, I already told him," informed Kristoff.
"Els, can Hans stay for dinner?" asked Anna. "Please!"
"Oh, uh, all right," agreed Elsa, who turned to Kristoff. "Do you want to join us as well?"
"Um, well…" stammered Kristoff.
"I insist you come," asserted Elsa before Kristoff could say anything else.
Kristoff sighed. "Okay."
"Oh yay!" clapped Anna. "I get to eat dinner with my three favorite people in the world. This'll be so much fun!"
Both Elsa and Kristoff smiled weakly.
The smoke salmon tasted heavenly, but nevertheless Kristoff wasn't sure he'd be able to stop himself from vomiting it up at the sight of Hans and Anna. They were one of those annoying couples who couldn't stop talking about how adorable their partner was, or giggling incessantly at each other's unfunny jokes, or clutching each other's hands as if the world would end if they did otherwise. Even Elsa couldn't stand it anymore after a while, and dessert hadn't even arrived yet! Kristoff couldn't get out of his chair fast enough when Elsa suggested they go on a bit of a stroll around the castle.
"What do you think of Hans?" Elsa asked as soon as they were out of earshot of Hans and Anna, who were hardly aware that Kristoff and Elsa had left.
It was a dangerous question if there ever was one.
"What do you think of Hans?" asked Kristoff, choosing the cowardly method and throwing the question back at Elsa.
"Well, he's very nice and polite," began Elsa, "and basically everything our parents would have looked for in a suitor for my sister…"
"But…?"
"I'm just… not sure if he's the one for her."
"Really?" asked Kristoff in a more enthusiastic tone than he would have liked.
"Yes," responded Elsa. "Sure, Hans is handsome, charming and a wonderful dancer, but I don't know if he's really what Anna needs. She needs someone who's kind and genuine, and maybe a little shy. Someone who might be rough around the edges, but on the inside is a total sweetheart. Someone who treasures her for being, well, the perfect Anna."
The emphasis she put on those last three words and the smile on her thin lips caused Kristoff to groan.
"Did she tell you about that?" asked Kristoff.
"Yes, she tells me everything," replied Elsa. "But she didn't need to for me to figure out that you have feelings for her."
"Whoa whoa whoa, no one said anything about feelings," protested Kristoff.
"Oh give it up, Kristoff," said Elsa. "You and I both know it's true. Why don't you tell her?"
Kristoff sighed. "What would be the point? We're just friends, and she already likes Hans."
"Maybe she'd feel differently if you told her."
"It's not happening, Elsa, I'm sorry."
"Don't say sorry to me," retorted Elsa.
Kristoff paused uncomfortably, but he couldn't think of an adequate response.
"Tell Anna that I had to leave early," Kristoff said finally, leaving behind a frustrated Elsa.
For Elsa, the next day was crammed with trading contracts to sign, dignitaries to appease, and arrangements to make for Anna's birthday celebration - all while trying to keep her emotions in check. It was days like these that Elsa especially needed her gloves, otherwise she was bound to blast someone with a flurry of snow or ice. Elsa was in her study filling out the first of an entire stack of papers, wishing she could shut herself in her bedroom and sleep but knowing that she didn't have time. The stress and fatigue were mounting so high, however, Elsa thought she would burst if she didn't make at least one snowflake as a reprieve from the muddle of words before her. Not thinking of the possibility of someone coming in unannounced, Elsa absent-mindedly pulled off a glove and began rippling her fingers, causing a cloud of glittery ice to appear in front of her. The glow of the magic reflected off of Elsa's cerulean eyes, and she sighed with contentment.
Meanwhile, Anna was walking down the corridor with a tray of lunch for Elsa. She had insisted to Gerda to take Elsa's meal that day, since she wanted to talk to Elsa about Hans (by then she had guessed that Kristoff didn't really want to hear her girlishly squealing about her beau). Anna stopped in front of the door to Elsa's study, momentarily wondering if she was going to interrupt anything. To be sure she wasn't, she leaned forward and looked through the crack of the slightly ajar door, only to see the last thing she could have expected. Elsa was in the middle of designing a snowflake, which hung in mid-air as she added piece by piece to the intricate web of ice. Anna stepped back abruptly and began hyperventilating at a thousand breaths per second. Elsa was magical? And she never told Anna! Anna thought they told each other everything, yet on the other side of that door, Elsa was unleashing the biggest secret of her life. Anna began racing down the hall, shoving the tray into a shocked Gerda's hands and trying hard not to let the tears fall from her eyes.
Normally when she was upset she would go to Elsa, but obviously that wasn't going to be an option at the moment. There was Hans, whom Anna had planned on seeing for a late lunch, but she needed someone to talk to now; at any rate, Anna wasn't sure about sharing such a huge secret with him yet. That only left one person, and Anna really really hoped that he was in the stables training the new stable hand like he said he was. She talked to the guards, who told her that Kristoff was indeed last seen with his reindeer and the worker-in-training. Anna then ran into the stables, where Kristoff was feeding a carrot to Sven and was talking amiably with his trainee. Kristoff blinked in surprise when he saw Anna, panting heavily and gesturing for him to come towards her. He excused himself and approached her with a countenance filled with concern.
"What's wrong?" asked Kristoff.
"We need... to talk," panted Anna.
"Okay, well go ahead."
"Not here."
Anna took Kristoff outside the stable and behind a large tree, pausing to catch her breath before she told him what she saw.
After she did so, Kristoff frowned and said, "You mean you didn't know?"
Anger crawled onto Anna's face. "You did?"
Kristoff put up his hands in a self-defensive maneuver. "Yeah, by accident. I was just a kid, and your family visited my family to get you help."
Anna was taken aback. "Why did I need help?"
"Elsa accidentally struck you with her powers," answered Kristoff. "You don't remember?"
"No, I don't," said Anna in a wounded voice.
Kristoff blinked several times, and though his mind tried throwing a hundred different things to say towards his mouth, it was a miss every time. So, he was still staring at Anna in amazement when a surge of determination rose up within her body. It took a few seconds for Kristoff to process the fact that Anna had started running back inside the castle, and when he did he shouted, "Wait, where are you going?"
"To find my sister!" Anna shouted back.
I've always wondered if Kristoff figured out that Anna was the one he saw the trolls first use their healing magic on. This AU assumes that he did, and that he is fully aware of Elsa's powers before anyone else.