Anna

The fire crackled and popped before me, and I removed my gloves and moved my hands closer. The night was unbelievably cold, but what else could I expect. I looked over and saw the ice salesman shiver, as well and knew that it must be getting worse if someone acclimated to this weather was reacting to it. The night was unnaturally cold. I had pulled up a log and was sitting on it with Baby Tooth on my knee while Kristoff leaned against his reindeer, sharing a carrot. I stuck out my tongue in disgust and proceeded to hand Baby Tooth a few crumbs of the bread that I had packed which she swallowed ravenously, chirping for more. I stroked her feathered little head, and it wasn't long before she drifted to sleep.

I was extremely tired myself, and as much as I wanted to turn in, the thought that I was so close to reaching Elsa had me very on edge. I was excited to see her, confidant that now there were no more secrets between us, and we could finally speak candidly with each other, but I was also scared. There was still the possibility of running into Pitch Black. I wish Dad had told me more about him. Without very much information about the bogeyman, I felt vulnerable. I caught myself jumping at every sound around us and staring into the darkness between the trees. I never saw what made those sounds, but would I even be able to see him? All of this kept messing with my mind.

Then, there was Elsa again. I still hated myself for saying it, but there was that doubt in my mind that I never really knew Elsa and that she may actually be evil or insane. She might not even want to see me.

I held on to the hope that she must miss me and that she was only misguided, her thoughts twisted by the darkness. She was my sister. There was no way that she could be bad.

Baby Tooth gave an annoyed squeak as Kristoff started playing some music that woke her up. Paying no mind to me, he began to sing. His voice actually wasn't that bad, but then he also started singing for his reindeer in such an awful voice that I threw my warmed hands to my ears to block it all out. Baby Tooth whined and hid back in my cloak. Again, Kristoff didn't seem to notice or care what I thought, so I managed to stay like that for the entirety of the song. When it was all over, I plastered on a smile to try and be nice. I still needed to get along with this guy for the rest of the trip. "Sooo...you play?" I laughed nervously.

He held up his guitar. "Yeah."

"That was, um, nice. Nice duet." Baby Tooth started squeaking unhappily underneath my cloak, obviously in disagreement.

"Thanks," he said insincerely.

"Your singing's...nice. I like singing."

"Really?" he asked, deadpan.

"Yeah." I suddenly got an idea. "How about we sing some songs together? It'll be like camp, I think."

"I've never been to camp."

"Neither have I. Mother wouldn't let me go. We would sit out in the courtyard at night sometimes, but that's about it."

"Fun."

"So, how about it?"

"You can sing what you like, but I won't sing along." Without another word, he settled back against Sven and started to play again. I sat and moped for a minute before I realized that I knew the song that he was playing. It was the same as the one from the celebration, and happily, I began to sing the lyrics that I had committed to memory after that time when Elsa had sang with me. I tried to remember every moment I'd had with Elsa, especially the good ones. The bittersweet feel of the song stayed with me even without her harmony, though, only because its absence made the song feel like it was missing something. I really hoped that she was alright. I wanted everything to be alright between us more than anything.

The song came to an end, but as I waited for the next one to start, Kristoff set down his guitar, and to my surprise, gave a short clap. "Brava, Princess," he said, sounding actually halfway-genuine. "You actually do have an okay voice. At least you have one thing going for you."

I laughed, not quite offended by his comment. I was realizing that this was just the way he was. "You're not so bad yourself." Again, thoughts started coming out of my mouth freely, without any control to them, even though I knew beforehand that he probably didn't care. "I sang that song on the last day of the celebration. Elsa came and joined me about halfway through and started singing harmony to it. Her voice is much lovelier than mine. You should have been there." I sighed at the memory. "The song just doesn't feel right without her voice. Isn't that crazy?"

"A little bit, yeah," he answered. I was taken aback by the fact he was actually listening. "I don't get it. Your sister keeps a huge secret from you and then attacks everyone, and you still want to go to her? Why?"

"Because she's my sister."

"That seems a little too simple, doesn't it?"

I bit my lip. He almost seemed to have a point there, but I wasn't about to give up so easily. "Well, think about your loved ones. Your family."

"I don't have any."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm an orphan," he said, a little harshness to his tone.

"Oh."

"And don't say you understand my 'pain,' or try to get me to talk about it. It's not going to work."

I threw up my hands defensively. In fact, I wasn't thinking of saying anything until he said that. Kristoff turned away and started playing again. I tried to think of something else to say, but when I had it, for once, I wasn't sure that I wanted to say it. I didn't want to offend him in any way that would make him turn the sleigh around and take me back. Baby Tooth, as if knowing what I was thinking, patted me in a reassuring way.

"I'm not going to say I completely understand it," I began. He snorted. "But I sort of get it, in a way. When I was younger, Elsa pretty much abandoned me very suddenly. You can figure out why, of course, but at the time, I didn't know. All I knew was that she was gone, and nobody would tell me why. I was lonely, scared, and sometimes I was very angry, but through all of that, I still knew that she was my sister. I remembered how we used to play and get along with each other, and I hoped that one of these days, she would return, but as you can see, I kind of blew it and ended up pushing her farther away, but I still want her back. Even though you never knew your family, even if you were mad or upset at them, wouldn't you trade anything to get them back?"

Kristoff gave a small nod.

"That's why I have to talk to her. I have to put things back the way they should be. It was my fault any of this happened in the first place. If I hadn't pushed her over the edge, she wouldn't have revealed her magic and run away with the bogeyman and - oops!" I clapped a hand over my mouth, having said too much. Baby Tooth face-palmed.

"Now, we're back to crazy-town. The bogeyman? Really? You believe all that?"

"Says the guy who was singing for his reindeer not ten minutes ago!" I countered. "And you'd be surprised what things actually exist out there."

"Well, how come I haven't seen them?"

"Because - and this is going to sound really cheesy - believing is seeing. You can't see something until you believe that it exists." Kristoff scoffed. "It's true! I mean, I've had a fairy on my shoulder this entire time, and you haven't even noticed." Baby Tooth scolded me loudly right in my ear.

"Oh, really?" he laughed. He was laughing at me. I could feel my face turning red with anger.

"Is it really all that hard to believe? I mean, my sister just kind of froze summer! You saw it!" He continued to laugh, and the reindeer almost seemed to laugh with him. I huffed and slumped over, defeated. At least he wasn't in a bad mood anymore.

It took a minute or two for him to calm down, and when he did, he asked, "What about your father, the king? You haven't really mentioned him at all. He's dead, yet you say he's watching."

"Actually, he's not really dead. Well, I think so. It's really complicated, and he hasn't completely explained everything yet. Also, I don't think he's watching us anymore, but he's probably freaking out about where I am. To be perfectly honest, I feel like something else is watching us right now, and I-" I stopped, partly due to the fact that I was getting some pretty weirded out looks from Kristoff and also because Baby Tooth had started pulling on my braids, trying to get me to shut up. I began swatting at her, which probably made me look even crazier in front of someone who couldn't see her.

"So, what you're trying to say is..." He trailed off, waiting for me to finish.

"What I'm trying to say is that I believe in him, so I know that he's there. Everyone else simply doesn't, but I guess I can't really blame them. For the longest time - until yesterday, in fact - I didn't believe in him, either, but the important thing is that I do now."

Kristoff gave a light laugh, but it wasn't mocking. It was more amused than anything. "You know, Princess, you really are insane," he said. I felt my cheeks burn. "But I think you're actually kind of smart underneath all of that." I smiled, feeling how genuine the compliment was.

"And you are really tough on the outside." (And smelly, annoying, and rude.) "But I think you're actually kind of sweet," I returned. "You can call me Anna, by the way."

Kristoff cleared his throat and stood up, and I half-wondered if he might be trying to hide a blush. I didn't think that he was the type of person to get compliments often. I had to hide a small giggle at his reaction. "I'm going to get some more firewood. Then, we should probably turn in for the night." I nodded and watched him go. I noticed that once he was gone, my cheeks still felt a little warm.

Baby Tooth noticed, too, and she flew in front of me to give me a very smug look. "Shut up. It's not like that." Even as I said that, though, I felt this odd, happy feeling rising up inside of me that made my heart beat a little bit faster at the mere suggestion of it. There was no BAM like I had expected, more of a subtle realization that I was falling for him. What horrible timing this was! I had to be focused on Elsa and getting her back, and now this? Just this morning, I had hated the guy! But now, I was thrilled at the thought that he was opening up to me. I liked hearing his laugh, even knowing that I was the cause of it.

I hid my thoughts from Baby Tooth and continued smiling, but she rolled her odd-colored eyes knowingly and snuggled under my hair with a chirp that seemed to say, Wait 'til your father hears about this.

I smiled wider when he came back and threw plenty of wood into the fire. I let out a huge, involuntary yawn and quickly tried - and failed - to cover it up. "I guess I am a little tired," I chuckled, despite how much I wanted to search for Elsa. He laughed with me, and we all piled into the tent - me, him, Baby Tooth, and Sven. It was cramped, but at least it was nice and warm, if not a little bit stifling.

"Goodnight, Anna," he called from one side of the reindeer. I listened on the other side.

"Goodnight, Kristoff."

(I felt like we needed some fluff. I didn't think we got very much in the movie. Big chapter coming up next! Please, review!)