Hey. I just wanted to let you know my life is about to get busy again real soon, so my updates will definitely not be as prompt as they have been. I will get as much done as possible before I get busy, but I can't make any promises. Alright, this chapter is sad, and I don't mean pathetic sad. :(
I own nothing.
Chapter 10
The queen had insisted that Kristoff stay in the castle and warm up, so he sat by the fireplace in the library with a blanket; waiting for someone to tell him what was going on. He closed his eyes, and tried to sleep, but every time he did he saw Anna lying unconscious on the ice. He saw her falling. He heard her screaming his name. His guilt overwhelmed him. He knew it was his fault. There were so many things he could have done to change the outcome of the situation, and he unknowingly tortured himself by going through the all of it over and over in his head. Maybe he finally understood how guilty Elsa felt.
Kristoff shook his head. He couldn't let himself think that way. Every moment he spent with Anna had become precious and unique to him, and he had to spend as many moments as he could with her before he left. She was the most important person in the world to him, and he would never let that change.
The water was freezing. She was screaming for someone she couldn't see. She didn't recognize the name that left her lips before the icy water pulled her down, but it still felt familiar to her. She sank further under the water, and as her lungs began to burn from holding her breath something grabbed her arm and pulled her above the water.
Anna gasped, and sat up; realizing that she wasn't in an icy lake, but in her bed. She glanced around her empty room; somehow terrified of it, and wondered how she got there. Anna took a deep breath, and thought hard. It made her head hurt, but she had to remember. There was something she was forgetting and she knew it. She remembered walking alone. She remembered running for some reason, and then falling; tumbling down into the water. Someone... That was it. She couldn't remember who had pulled her to safety, and brought her home. No one had been around though. She was always alone ever since Elsa shut herself in her room many years before. Anna felt like that was wrong though. She couldn't have been alone for so long... Or was she?
"Anna?" her mother said as she opened her bedroom door. Relief clearly showed on the queen's face as she rushed to her daughter's side. "We were so worried." She carefully touched Anna's bandaged head; making sure she wasn't hurting her. Then the king and a doctor joined them in the room. Anna looked right at her father. He would know.
"Papa," she murmured gravely. "Who brought me home?" Her father gave her a strange look, and he and his wife exchanged slightly worried glances.
"Kristoff brought you. Don't you remember?" he said. Anna looked back and forth between her parents.
"Who is Kristoff? Am I supposed to know him?"
Kristoff was just starting to doze off when he heard the soft creak of the door being opened. He didn't move. If it was a servant he could probably continue to sleep, so he waited to see who it was. "Kristoff?" He opened his eyes. The queen had spoken so timidly he hadn't known it was her at first. She stood before him though; gazing at him with a sad expression on her face.
"I'm sorry your Majesty. I fell asleep," he stammered as he started to rise from his seat.
"Please," she said; holding up her hand. "Don't get up on my account. It's perfectly alright to fall asleep if you're tired." The queen gave him a warm and reassuring smile, but it disappeared again as she sat down in the chair across from him. They sat silently for a moment. Then Kristoff couldn't take it anymore. He sat up straighter as he spoke.
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your hospitality, but you should know I don't deserve it." He stood up. "This is all my fault. I told Anna something that upset her enough to make her run and fall, and-"
"What did you tell her?" the king's voice boomed as he entered the room. He looked angry at him, and the queen moved to her husband's side.
"I told her I had to leave sir," Kristoff replied. "I am going away in about a week to become an ice harvester's apprentice."
"It was Anna's decision to run," the queen stated; looking firmly at her husband. The king sighed. He knew she was right. There was no reason to punish someone for actions he had no control over.
"Maybe it's for the best that you're leaving then," the king said quietly. He paused, and studied Kristoff for a second. Anna talked about him constantly. There were days when she stayed alone in the castle, but she always lacked the happiness she displayed on the days she spent with Kristoff. As much as it hurt, the king knew that the two would probably never meet again. "She hit her head really hard," he murmured; pulling his wife close. "She doesn't remember you at all. ... I'm sorry."
Kristoff was speechless. How could one event erase a lifetime of memories? He remembered asking himself a similar question when his family had died. "How could one event take away everything you loved?" He stared at the floor, and swallowed the lump in his throat. He wouldn't let them see how much the news hurt him. "Can... Is there any way I could tell her goodbye?" The queen nodded, and gestured for him to follow her out the door. Kristoff left behind the blanket, and the warmth of the fire to follow the queen through the familiar path of halls that suddenly seemed so cold and harsh.
Neither of them spoke until they were outside of Anna's door. "She should be asleep now," the queen whispered. We didn't come down to see you until the doctor left." She opened the door quietly, and closed it behind him as he entered the room. Just as the queen had told him, Anna was sound asleep. He cautiously sat down on the edge of her bed; not wanting to wake her. At the same time he wished to see her eyes again. He felt the need to memorize everything he could about her so that even though she forgot him, he would never forget her.
"I hope you don't get lonely," he whispered. He rested his hand on the side of her face, and knelt on the floor so his face would be even with hers. "Maybe someday you'll remember me," he added; letting his thumb wander over her cheekbone. Tears welled up in his eyes. He promised himself that he would attend every event where the public would get to see the royal family. She meant to much to him for him to never see her again. "Goodbye Anna," Kristoff whispered. Then he leaned over and gently kissed her on her lips; not really caring that he was taking the risk of waking her up. To him, she was worth any risk, and she always would be.
Please review, and thanks! I feel horrible about this chapter. Please tell me what you think.
