Notes:
There's a fair amount of ice harvesting trivia in this chapter - for those who are history nerds like me, all the details about the trade included in this chapter are, I believe, historically accurate.
Anna was halfway through a mouthful of toast when the letter arrived. Olaf ran over, leapt up into her lap and threw his little stick arms around her. Snowflakes from his personal flurry peppered her hair.
"It's ok, Anna!"
She found it impossible to be irritated when he had such pure intentions. "Thanks, Olaf."
Picking up her tea, she slid the unopened letter under it like a coaster. The cup's dark ring bled carelessly into the envelope and rendered it unimportant.
Elsa noticed – though said nothing – that Anna did not, as she had hoped, tear the letter in two or tell the servant to return to sender.
"It was nice to see Kristoff back from the mountains yesterday. I've started teaching him chess."
Hoping to change the subject, Elsa's eyes grew wide when her sister looked up in alarm.
"Kristoff's back?"
"Sure, he got back yesterday – "
Anna was halfway out of her chair with indignation, depositing Olaf back on the floor, stuffing the remainder of toast in her mouth –
Elsa was confused.
"Did he not – did he not come see you?"
"No!" For a moment, still indignant – then something seemed to settle heavy on her. She sank back into her chair. "No, he – he didn't. Why wouldn't he come see me?"
Elsa had a shrewd idea why that might be.
"Go see him," she smiled, nudging her sister with her foot under the table. "He's probably in the guildhouse. I think he just feels awkward about the whole – Hans thing." She nodded towards the letter-coaster.
Anna nodded slightly vacantly, worrying a strand of hair and clearly ravelled up in thought.
"Anna?"
"Hmm, oh, sure," a brilliant grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Sure, I'll go find him. I think I know where the guildhouse is now," she dropped the strand of hair, took another slice of toast and began chattering at top speed. "I think I've pretty much got the layout of the town down now, I can find the bakers and Frue Anja's and I can always find the waterfront…"
"Anna. Go see him. I think he – he'll want to see you." She smiled.
When her sister left, still chattering, throwing conversation at all and every servant she passed, re-plaiting her hair and checking her reflection in windows, Elsa noticed that the letter-turned-coaster was gone.
"Elsa?"
"Olaf."
"Are you ok?"
She smiled at him, and conjured up a snowball that ran circles around his head before weaving off about the dining room. Olaf gasped, totally consumed by its taunting patterns, and ran after it, arms outstretched.
Anna stuffed the half-forgotten letter into her pocket as she pushed open the door to the Ice Harvesters' Guildhouse.
There was a large, open area immediately inside – its ceiling was the roof's rafters – but about halfway up, running the full perimeter of this entrance hall was a balcony. Burly men wandered up and down, making exchanges, laughing, shouting. There were doors everywhere – but where they went, she had no idea. The entire place had a very 'manly' kind of smell.
Anna hesitated, then walked over to what she thought might be some kind of reception: a squat, scrubbed table before a burly looking man who had a low brow and oddly stiff blonde hair.
"Um, excuse me?"
The man looked up. Recognition flitted across his face and he scrambled to his feet making a strange movement Anna could only assume was meant to be a bow.
"My lady! Wh – can I help you?"
Anna smiled. "Hi. Um, I'm looking for the Guildmaster? Kristoff? Is he around?"
The man couldn't fumble through his papers quick enough. He ran his finger down a list, clicking his tongue slightly.
" – yes, m'lady. He'll be in the icehouse, or upstairs."
"Ok – great, thanks!" She hesitated for a second. "Where is that?"
The man scanned the room.
"Excuse me, m'lady. Oi! Raske!"
The last part was shouted, and Anna leapt about a mile in surprise.
There was another shout in response. "What?"
"Free?"
"Why?"
"Princess. To see Bjorgman!"
The man called Raske raised his eyebrows in surprise and trudged over with huge strides. He dipped into an awkward bow, but his head seemed to get left behind. Anna tried not to giggle.
"Y'majesty."
"M'lady," The first man hissed.
"My lady. This way?"
"Ok, great. Thank you."
Anna couldn't help but be utterly fascinated by the variety of life that passed by as Raske led her – somewhere. Everywhere, men with huge voices and musky aromas walked with purpose – there seemed to be no-one idle. She heard every snatch of conversation with fascination.
" – musta been fifty foot – "
" – a quart of lutefisk?"
" – stronger than a hundred – "
None of it made any sense to her. But her imagination roamed.
Raske eventually thought he should say something. He broke her reverie with a stab at politeness.
"You, er… what do you need with the guildmaster, my lady?"
"Oh, nothing really. He got back from the mountains and didn't tell me, which is unusual, you know? So I thought I'd come find him –" the suggestion of a frown line. "He normally comes to see me straight away, so I – I just want to check everything's ok. I guess."
Raske nodded. He didn't know what to say to that really – and he wasn't sure why, on his return, Kristoff would go find the princess, of all people.
They made their way down a very rough set of stone steps – down into the ground. With each step, the temperature dropped.
Anna had no concept of distance at all, but she counted forty-one steps and goosebumps shivered down her arms – they must have lost about five degrees on the walk down.
At the bottom of the stairs, there was a short, wide corridor with rough stone walls and the rumble of male voices. At the end of the corridor, the ground sunk into a steep slope and what looked like a large, open room. As they approached, Anna saw two men – one of whom was wearing a very familiar little bobble hat – and the glitter of the huge ice blocks they were surveying. Her heart leapt.
"…all these going to England?"
"Yeah – Grimsby."
"Bjor – "
"Kristoff!"
He spun around in surprise, and smiled.
"Hey!"
All she wanted to do was run at him, throw her arms around him in a hug that left her legs kicking in the air and laugh and kiss him and put his little hat onto her own head and grin like an idiot – but she couldn't. He hadn't come to see her. Grumpy Anna.
The thought from that morning – that maybe, actually, he didn't want to see her – rose unbidden to her mind. She pushed it aside as best she could: he looked happy to see her, there was that rare smile that suited him so well – and then almost seemed to check himself, and became impassive.
"I mean, hey. You're how? I mean, how're you?"
He was all muddled again, like the first time they kissed.
Grumpy Anna.
"I'm ok. How're you? How were the mountains?"
"Oh, you know. Cold. I got – ice."
He waved a hand behind him. Cleared his throat. Realised that they still had company.
"Hey, um, Raske – thanks for showing the princess down here. And, Gus – can we finish tallying up the exports in a minute?"
Though both men looked from Anna to Kristoff and Kristoff to Anna in confusion, they took the hint and trudged out of the icehouse.
Kristoff turned back to her. "Sorry. Um – ice. Yeah." A beat. "Do you – "
"I just – "
They spoke at the same time; both stopped; both grinned a little sheepishly. Anna opened her mouth to speak, but at the same time, absent-mindedly rubbed her arms against the underground chill.
"Oh – are you cold?"
"A little."
He went to move towards her, but hesitated, stopped, pulled back, removed his hat and held it out. She went to take it.
"Sorry, what am I doing? This is the icehouse – let's get you out of here."
He put the hat back on his own head and again made a strange motion as if to move towards her – but seemed to think better of it and with a cursory glance over the silent, shimmering ice blocks, led her around the side of the room. Anna tried not to be too disappointed.
She wished he would take her hand.
Up another slope and a set of stairs – Anna forgot to count – and they stood blinking in the late September light on the road outside the guildhall.
Kristoff took his hat off again and twisted it between his hands.
"You should probably – you've probably got stuff to do, and, uh – " he rubbed the back of his head – "I should probably go see Sven, or – "
"Oh – ok," Anna was crestfallen. "I guess – I mean, I'm not too busy today, really, Master Haugen – the architect – he's got the whole children's home thing totally under control, it's going great, I mean, really, wow – you should come see it sometime – if you want to, I mean – um – "
"Sure. If you want. That'd be – yeah."
There was a pause.
Come on, Anna. Just knock.
"Elsa said you got back yesterday?"
Kristoff's eyes briefly met hers. He cleared his throat.
"I – yeah."
There was another pause.
"I, uh – I should probably go. I don't want to keep you, or – um. I'll – I'll see you later?" And he made a funny movement that almost looked like a bow before hurrying away, leaving Anna completely lost.