Fire and Ice - Chapter 9
Kristoff keeps the horse at a light gallop, not wanting to overtax it, or jar Anna too much. He's anxious - heart pounding, sweat matting his hair - not knowing how much time Anna has left. She feels so cold in his arms, and so still. From the little time he's known her, he can already see this is an unnatural state for her. He remembers the herbs, and taking his free hand off the reins he scoops out a pinch, and slips it under her tongue. He's holding his breath, not daring to hope, when her eyes start to flutter open. Kristoff lets out the breath he had been holding.
"K- Kristoff? What h- happened?" Her voice is hoarse, and she coughs violently. Kristoff reflexively clutches her tighter.
"Don't try to talk. You were hurt." He finds that he can't meet her gaze, emotions that he's never felt before in his life bubbling to the surface. She looks up at him with wide eyes, full of fear and confusion, the corners of her mouth turned down, lips trembling, and he feels his chest heave.
"Where's Elsa?" She whispers, but in her tone and the resigned look in her eye Kristoff realizes she knows the answer. He doesn't speak, just stares stoically ahead, consciously feeling her under his touch. He can feel her skin warming a little, but she's still too cold, even under the blanket wrapped around her. She shivers, and again Kristoff's arm tightens.
"Don't worry Anna, we'll get you help. I promise." He's so confident his plan will work. It has to work. He can't afford to think about failure, not now, not with Anna.
She's quiet now, her eyelids fluttering, and for a heart-stopping moment Kristoff is afraid she's slipped away, but she coughs again, and groans.
"Kristoff, I feel like hell. What happened to me? I remember finding Elsa, and trying to talk to her, and then a tree fell and I was terrified. But then everything went black and… I don't remember much after that." She pauses to take a breath, her lungs aching.
Kristoff is silent for a long time, his face inscrutable. Anna opens her mouth to say more when he finally breaks the silence.
"Did you know?" He says quietly, dropping his gaze.
Anna's mouth falls open, her jaws moving up and down as she tries to form words to say.
"I- I don't know what you mean-"
Kristoff finally looks at her, his brown eyes dark and serious.
"I saw it, Anna. I saw what she did."
Anna closes her eyes, lays her head back, surrendering to the inevitable. All she had wanted was to protect her sister, protect her secret, but she's ultimately failed.
"What are you going to do?" Her voice is small, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
"What do you mean? I'm not gonna do anything. Hell, if it were up to me, I'd get her up here to help put out these fires. I'm sure she'd be pretty damn effective." He's shaking his head, lips forming into a low whistle.
Anna allows herself a weak smile, but only for a moment. Her ordeal is far from over.
"Where are you taking me?" She closes her eyes again, afraid of the answer but still anxious to hear it.
Kristoff is pensive for a moment, his gaze far away, as he measures his words. He's thankful her eyes are closed, because he still can't look her in the eye, especially with what he's about to say.
"I took you to a- friend, a healer of sorts, and he said that you need to be cared for. You need love, Anna. So I'm taking you to Hans." He tries to say it quickly, hoping she can comprehend right away, because the knot in his chest would seriously hinder him having to repeat himself.
"Hans." She nods, almost absent-mindedly, and Kristoff tells himself it's only because she's not quite herself yet, perhaps still suffering from the after-effects of her traumatic ordeal. Her eyes are fluttering again, and Kristoff spurs the horse faster.
A few beats of silence between them has Kristoff frantically checking for a pulse, until Anna's eyes flutter open, bright blue orbs staring up at him.
"Kristoff?" She looks confused now, and Kristoff's heart falls into the pit of his stomach.
"Yes, Anna. It's me." He rubs her arm gently to comfort her, at the same time trying to fight the rising panic inside of him.
"Tell me more about him." She says softly, her eyelids falling heavy.
"Who?" Kristoff fights to maintain a steady tone, but his voice is already faltering. He's recognizing signs of delirium in her, and he knows it's a rapid decline after that.
"The healer. Your friend. He helped me… he sounds nice." She's fighting to stay conscious, he can see it, and he admires her all the more for her strength and resolve. He gives her arm another squeeze, and starts talking, grateful for a way he can help her.
"Well, Grand Pabbie is a pretty well-known healer in these parts. I've known him since I was pretty young, my memories are kinda hazy but him and Bulda filled me in on how we met - or rather how they found me, wandering in the woods," Kristoff chuckles at this memory, although at the time the experience was nowhere near as light-hearted as he makes it.
"After that they sorta took me in, although I 'officially' went through the foster system, I really considered Grand Pabbie and Bulda my family. They're not perfect, by any means, and they can be a little inappropriate, but they're still my family."
"Mmmm, Kristoff, they sound nice. I wish I could've met them." Her words are slurring now, and Kristoff feels the buzz of panic thrum through his spine. Not much time left, he thinks. I need to keep her awake.
"Well, you could still meet them, you know. When you're all better, and you can find the time, they'd love to meet you. You have a standing invitation from Bulda. In fact, I think she means to kill me if I don't bring you back to meet her."
Anna smiles faintly, eyelids drooping. Kristoff pulls her closer to him, wrapping the blanket even tighter around her.
Hang in there, Anna.
Hang in there, please.
Elsa stumbles through the brush, the heat and smoke in this part of the forest unrelenting. She is desperately throwing up her hands, willing snow and ice up into air to combat the flames. She's exhausted, breath coming in ragged gasps, but she needs to get out, needs to get far away, and never hurt anyone again. Her eyes are stinging, and she feels hot tears running down her face. Soon enough, she is unable to stop the racking sobs escaping from her throat.
Oh Anna. I love you. Please know that.
She briefly considers giving in, letting the fire take her, when she hears her name being called.
"Elsa!"
She looks around, wondering who it could be, when she sees a dark form emerge through the smoky haze.
"Elsa! Over here!" Hans is jogging up to her, his features assembled into a mask of intense concern.
"H- Hans…" Elsa looks around nervously, clearly not expecting Hans of all people to find her. Behind him, two men appear whom Elsa has never seen before. They hang back, their eyes never leaving the queen.
Hans places his hands on Elsa's shoulders and his piercing gaze makes her look away.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asks, his voice sincere enough to be believable. But Elsa knows his game, she's known it the entire time.
"You can drop the act, Hans. My sister's not around." She's seething with disgust, spitting the words out as she stares him down.
Hans' posture visibly relaxes, but he never removes his hands from her shoulders. His expression doesn't change either, green eyes fixed on her.
"That's smart of you, snow queen. Makes things easier for me." Before Elsa can react, he nods imperceptibly and steps aside, as one of his henchmen steps forward and tasers her, her body slumping listlessly to the forest ground.