If The Cold Can't Stop Her

By: SheAlwaysDies

*this story has content related to self harm and abuse*

Kristoff didn't have to watch Elsa for very long to answer his own question. The moment he saw her he wondered if she knew just how alluring she was. Everyone on the streets lost their train of thought as she passed. Old men craned their necks, women sighed, children outwardly pointed. People lost their balance, they dropped their jaws, they cowered and they fawned. Elsa, however, just walked a straight line, throwing the odd person a wave or a smile but never watching how dumbly the recipient reacted. Did she know she could command people to weakness? Did she care at all? Or was she just so much a recluse that she had no acumen?

There was no way she realized how beautiful she was. Even though she walked with square shoulders, and her nose the perfect degree of upturned, she looked like a portrait taken straight out of an old history book. She was rehearsed more than she was naturally Queenly. Her outward confidence was not from conceit. It was a show. And that's why as the Ice Queen crossed the town square she connected with no one. She wore a mask, the same one Kristoff had tacked to himself most days of his adult life. It seemed like they were both experts in portraying fulfillment within their own reverie and detachment.

Kristoff, however, didn't have people falling over him. He was used to the other side of it. The scoffs and the side glances that were still present here but lurking deeper within the shadows of the market. Not everyone was over their feet to see the Queen out of her castle. And Kristoff sided more with the bottom dwellers, than the fools offering their attention to deaf ears. He was very weary of the Queen of Arendelle.

The Ice Master was the first person to gain the Queen's regard. She greeted him with a formal nod, and a cold "Good Morning, my Lord." Kristoff was glad to have already been seated on the bench of his wagon so that the bow he was forced to present didn't have to fall so deeply.

Sven, who was always such a good judge of character, was bouncing in excitement, which put him on the list of fools. Kristoff wanted to give him a kick on the romp, but Elsa neared him with a soft smile. Her mask cracked as she reached over and scratched the reindeer under the chin. That was Sven's weak spot, and in this early morning light, on this beautiful day, it was easier to give up trust. Kristoff allowed his companion the benefit of the doubt.

Elsa seemed apprehensive. Her lack of confidence worried Kristoff a bit. Sure Sven was intimidating in size but he was like a big dog, most people fell for him. It was the reindeer's worst trait, he attracted people and Kristoff didn't like people.

"He doesn't bite," Kristoff told the Queen. She didn't seem to care to register his comment. Not an animal person, Kristoff added to the con side of his list. He'd been struggling with how to feel about Elsa from the moment Arendelle started to freeze over. The negatives were overwhelming, but the positive side was hard to beat. She was Anna's sister, and Kristoff knew, as it stood, the Ice Queen was Anna's number one priority.

Sven gave the Queen an encouraging bop with his snout. Elsa broke out into that smile again, this time holding her hand out flat and conjuring an ice cube in her palm. The reindeer accepted it happily, his tail wagging as if the thing had been carrot flavoured.

"You ready to go?" Kristoff heard Elsa ask softly to his companion. It caused Sven to bounce in anticipation, the metal clips on his reigns made a jingling sound and Elsa eased up a bit.

"Been ready for a while," Kristoff said as he looked up at the sky, it was fully blue. They were set to depart over an hour ago. Elsa didn't miss his condescension but she didn't react to it. She gave Sven an extra ice cube and rounded the wagon. A guard had followed her into the square and had been standing in alert under the heat with a big wooden lock box.

Elsa walked past him without so much as a side glance and mounted the wagon. The guard handed her the box and she accepted. He saluted but was never dismissed by her. Kristoff instructed Sven to go and they left the growing crowd wanting to see more of the Ice Queen. Elsa opened the lock box, Kristoff watched her from over his shoulder. It was full of paperwork.

"You aren't going to get much work done I'm afraid, this is going to be a bumpy ride," The Ice Master called out, raising his voice much more than needed. He wasn't sure how loud he had to be to penetrate Elsa's fortress. She looked at him through her eyelashes and formed a makeshift desk out of ice, complete with paper weights. She fixed all her things to the ice and started reading through the pile of documents. At least it was going to be a quiet ride. It was a few hours to their destination after all. Kristoff's stomach knotted again. His mind running through the list, that kept telling him not to trust the person at his back. He had been dreading this expedition ever since he had that journal in his hands.

Kristoff had had both the best and worst week of his life. He was starting to learn that elation and devastation could coexist very naturally with one another. Before he'd met the royal family, the Ice Master's melancholy would consume any lightness that crossed his path. The darkness that weighed on Kristoff took all good around him, making it not worth it to even try to come out on the other side.

Kristoff knew now that Anna was at the end of the struggle. He was willing to fight any battle internal or external to make sure he was well enough to stay at her side. He had expected it to be easier. They talked so freely with one another and he felt so comfortable around Anna that he hadn't expected there to be hurdles. Kristoff had actually believed that a frozen Kingdom was the hardest thing they would have to navigate.

Anna, for all her optimism and aloofness, was much more damaged than Kristoff had assumed. It was probably the title of Princess that had thrown him. The Ice Master himself had a different image of her when his mother used to tell him stories of his destiny by her side. That image was what made it feel like such a stretch of troll aparations.

The Princess, Anna actually was, was not a story book Princess like he had believed she would be. Which was probably a pretty good attributor to the rollercoaster Kristoff was riding. As much as it had bothered Kristoff to see the contents of Elsa's journal, he let himself be relieved by the fact that Anna's hot and cold was part of a larger picture. Anna's struggle was to manage Elsa's emotions and not with her feelings for him.

Kristoff hadn't been sleeping. He couldn't relax knowing that Elsa was more of a threat than just her powers. He hadn't had to flip through the journal much to know that the Ice Queen was deeply distrubed. Last night, he'd actually put that down in her advantage. No one comes out of thirteen years of isolation without wounds. Learning that she was going to marry Lord Tarik, made it clear that Elsa was trying. He'd decided that she wanted the same for Anna as Anna wanted for her dear sister. It was against Kristoff's nature to give anyone a chance. Yet he was willingly to fight the vile taste in his mouth when he thought about Elsa's inclination and tried as hard as she was. For Anna's sake.

Kristoff relaxed the reigns, letting Sven choose the pace as they climbed up the mountains. He reminded himself that he was on the job and that he had his boss in tow. He was willing to take this challenge without his mask on. He was going to be the man Anna brought out of him. If the day went well he might even help repair the strain on the sister's relationship. The Ice Master relaxed as the air got thinner. He was proud of the work he was doing for Arendelle, he was proud that he was opening up. He would make Anna proud by finding a way of accepting her sister.

The sound's of nature were comforting, they were laced by the rhythmic sound of Elsa's pen scratching, and her papers rustling. Kristoff's confidence grew and he mindlessly started to whistle, maybe Elsa had been enchanted by the scenery and sounds because she'd chosen the same moment to fall into a hum. Kristoff was relieved that the Queen could not see his face turn bright red.

"Oh sorry, you go. Uh." Elsa's voice had stopped as immediately as his but it didn't offer anything up to feed the awkwardness. "Ok. Silence then," he said and they both let the birds do the singing.

They travelled for another hour. At this altitude, there weren't many song birds left. Only a few predators called up from even higher. Even though they had moved pretty high, it was no were near the trek up the North Mountain he had made with Anna. The location the Ice Master had scouted was absolutely perfect.

It was the first place that came to mind when he was tasked to find a place to build up Arendelle's new Ice Reserve. He was told to find a cavern big enough to hold a supply of Elsa's ice that wasn't too far and was the ideal temperature. Plus, it needed to be massive. This was a cave system that tunneled deep into the mountain. The Ice Master had explored and mapped it for years. Reseeding into these caverns was like a vacation to Kristoff. He would have been sad to give it up for use of the crown, but it meant he would actually be getting paid to go to one of his favourite spots.

"We have to take the rest by foot," Kristoff said as he signaled Sven to stop. It wasn't too much of a climb left. Elsa packed her things up quickly, putting a lock on the box before freezing it in place, as if someone might be this high up wanting to steal whatever she was working on. The Ice Master rolled his eyes as he grabbed his pack, and the food Gerda had prepared for them. Never in his time up here had he ever come across another person. He realized then that he was sharing something that was quite special to him for the first time. He wished it had been Anna instead. They both bid a goodbye to Sven and started on.

Elsa had no problem keeping her footing as she followed Kristoff up. The Ice Master was even more impressed than he had been when Anna had navigated the terrain so easily. Elsa hadn't left her castle since she was a child yet she took to the mountain like a natural. It took them half the time he had estimated to arrive at the caverns.

"Here it is, Arendelle's Royal Ice Reserves!" Kristoff boasted. The mountain opened up here, like the mouth of a monster. The opening was large and only widened as you went deeper. It was already pretty full of ice, but it was also picked over, any ice that was in there now was structural. Trying to mine here was something Ice Harvesters had given up doing before Kristoff was even born.

"We'll need some infrastructure to be able to get the sled's in closer." Elsa noted. Of course she couldn't compliment his perfect find.

"I can give you the grand tour." Kristoff offered. Still hoping to amaze her.

"I read your report. It was detailed enough. I don't think I need to get in too deep to do my work." Elsa said as her eyes wandered with her into the opening. Kristoff thought there might have been an endorsement in there somewhere.

"I have to get this done today," Elsa said. Kristoff didn't think she was really talking to him but he answered anyway.

"You mean to fill this entire thing in ice in one day. Didn't you say you read my work? This thing doesn't end. It's a beast." Kristoff questioned. He didn't doubt that Elsa was capable. The storm she had conjured absent mindlessly was monumental, the thaw itself was remarkable, but from what he understood Elsa planned to line the cave walls with ice blocks already cut and marked with Arendelle's crest. This was meant to be where all ice harvesters came to mine Elsa's ice and transport it back into town ready to trade. It was meant to house a lifetime and thensome of ice.

"Yes," Elsa said. Her voice came out dry, "I read the report."

"Okay, but why can't we just come back later?" He was still dumbfounded. He also was at least hoping to have his evening free to see Anna.

"I need to make sure Arendelle has everything it needs if something were to happen to me." Elsa answered honestly. She hadn't looked at Kristoff this whole time. He really didn't like talking to her back but she seemed to be sizing the place up.

"I can feel the ice in here already," She said to herself more than to Kristoff. "I'm sure if I can make the reserve around the walls, and leave space for whatever openings, holes, nests and sorts that are around. I read up about the wildlife here. We should be able to reduce the damage to their habitat."

Not an animal person, got knocked off of his list. He hadn't even thought of that when he offered this oasis up.

"You'll either want to stand near me or leave," Elsa said. The temperature dropped quickly. Kristoff needed more time than that to make his decision. But the walls started to rumble and he jumped closer to Elsa instead of heading back out. This suddenly felt more dangerous than he had imagined. Anna would never forgive him for leaving Elsa's side as the whole mountain collapsed.

"Aren't we going to cause an avalanche?" Kristoff tried to carry his voice louder than the roar of the walls.

"Yes," Elsa answered. The rumble quieted down for a moment, and she turned to Kristoff. "Don't worry about Sven though."

The Ice Queen, then bent at the knee. Her fingers flared at her sides and Kristoff watched them begin to tremble. The earth below them started to vibrate at the same frequency as her body. She shut her eyes and took a breath. The walls started to close in on them as brick after brick started to manifest.

Kristoff was in awe. His heart was beating in his ears, he felt his bowels twist up. The cavern around them was changing so quickly it felt like he was in a nightmare where he would die in the end pinned up against one of the things he loved most. Ice. The ice just kept coming. Kristoff knew that what he could see here, he could feel and hear building all the way down the tunnel system. What was happening here in the main den of the caves was just the tip of the iceberg Elsa was conjuring.

Kristoff was terrified. He had never been this cold in his entire life. He found himself much closer to Elsa than he had planned to be. It was hard to keep his footing, it was actually making him nauseous. His head was pounding as hard as his heart. The magic kept going. It kept building. More than an hour went by, he didn't think he could physically endure it much longer. But Elsa had remained unmoved. Her eyes shut her body somehow impossibly still. That's why he wasn't expecting her to buckle, and fall on forward on one knee.

The magic stopped.

"Elsa!" Kristoff bound forward, he grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to bear some of her weight.

"I'm okay, I just need a little break," the Queen said in her docile raspy voice.

"Okay, yeah, I'll get you some water." The Ice Master was dizzy when he stood up. He didn't feel right putting any sort of distance between himself and the Queen but he wasn't sure what his role here was. He got his barings and returned to Elsa with a sheepskin that was once full of water but had completely frozen. Elsa just put her palm up at him, refusing. The Queen got back onto her feet, her breathing was laboured, but it seemed like she couldn't stay still.

"Maybe we should sit," The Ice Master himself felt like he'd been dragged down a mountain. He wasn't sure how Elsa was fairing. He wasn't sure if such a display of magic was on his list of good things about her or bad. Elsa didn't protest when Kristoff sat down and padded the space next to him.

"How much more?" Kristoff asked as Elsa sat down next to him.

"A little more than half," She answered without looking at him. He wondered why that was. Was it shame? It probably wasn't hard to connect the dots that Kristoff had been in Tarik's office while they looked for the journal. If Anna had come clean about it, then it wasn't a stretch that he knew why it was imperative Elsa get it back. Had Anna revealed it to her? Had Anna told her sister everything had gone on between Kristoff and her? It was certainly awkward. Kristoff wished her knew how much Elsa knew.

"How's Anna?" he asked.

"Fine," Elsa said.

"Should we eat?" Kristoff tried again.

"I don't think I can," Elsa answered. She was probably right. Kristoff was sure that what had just happened changed the order of his organs.

"So Tarik, huh? Congrats," Krisotff didn't know why he was even talking. He just didn't want to let his mind go. He had decided to try to change his mind about Elsa. But if he thought about her too much it would be that much more impossible.

"Thank you." She responded and there it was. Another crack. Elsa's voice was so sad to accept the compliment.

"Anna seemed pretty upset," Kristoff said, he hadn't meant to sound defensive.

"She'll live," the indifference struck a nerve.

"That was really cruel. Anna deserved a heads up," Kristoff worked up to say. Elsa's hand grabbed at his shoulder. Her fingers felt weak and shaky. He looked over at her, she was so pale he could see the arteries in her neck.

"I don't think I can stop moving," she said and she tried to use him to get up. He took her elbow to prop her, but she still stumbled.

"Slow down, I'll help you." He jumped to his feet and offered her his hands. When she looked up at him, the disdain that was bubbling up in him simmered. The way she was looking at him, he saw so much of Anna in her face.

"Thank you," she said once she was on her feet. "That's better."

"Maybe we should head back." Kristoff said, he looked over to the opening. It was surreal to see how much their landscape had changed.

"I'm going to finish this," Elsa said determinately, but her voice lacked any cadence. She was pretty drained. "I just need like a walk or something but I need to get my mind off it too."

"Hm, okay. Well we can head back out so we aren't so iced up. But the terrain probably isn't so good for how loopy you are." Kristoff looked around the cavern. There weren't very many options, even moving in deeper into the cave was probably not the best idea right now.

"Okay, no walk. Let's try something different." He looked back over at the Queen. Somehow he had given her expectations. The way she was looking at him was as if he was about to come up with the best answer ever. Kristoff was pretty sure it wasn't in his job description but Elsa's face was so withdrawn. The fact that she had drained more colour out of her already pale skin made her freckles pop. The Ice Master was kinda thrown off by it, he might have not memorized Anna's freckles just yet but Elsa's looked like a mirror image of them.

"We'll dance!" He said without even thinking. "Anna's sad about the wedding, but she can't be too sad about a party. Maybe teaching me to dance will get your blood moving again, and take your mind off the task at hand."

He was pretty proud of himself, but Elsa burst out in a weak laughter.

"Kristoff? I just spent thirteen years without touching a single person. What makes you think I know how to dance?" He certainly hadn't thought about that. But Elsa was smiling, and when retelling this story to Anna, he was pretty sure she'd be happy to know he hadn't left it at that.

"You're telling me your wedding is the day after tomorrow and you don't know how to dance?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh," was all she said. Kristoff knew he had to fix this.

"Well, I know all the steps. I have a pretty good idea of the how-to. It's just, I have only ever danced with my mom. It might be good to try with a human woman before taking Anna on the dance floor. It's win-win, mutually beneficial. I'll take you through it." He tried to make it sound exciting. He received a sigh and nod for his efforts. If only convincing Elsa had been the hard part.

"Ok," He said with a clap and he stepped in front of the Ice Queen. He patted his own shoulder and Elsa responded by placing her hand there. He took her other hand in his and placed another on her waist. He shuffled his own feet into his best stance and Elsa reflectively mimicked him. It was cold to be this close to her, but this temperature was so much easier to handle then the extreme he'd been in as she was working her magic.

"I guess follow my lead," Kristoff said. The first thing that happened was that he stepped on her foot. "Oh gods, sorry. My foot goes forward, your right goes back. Then the other foot, then we go to the side."

Kristoff was sure that wasn't eloquent enough to translate to real instruction but Elsa nodded. She was looking down at their feet repeating the words without making a sound. They had only just started and this plan seemed to be working. They had a few starts and stops before sort of getting the first pace down, but were overall still failing miserably.

"Maybe we need a beat," Kristoff offered. They tried with Kristoff taking count, and with Elsa doing it. The Queen was getting better and the Ice Master seemed to be getting worse. Which, Kristoff noticed, was pulling Elsa out of her shell a bit. His flub ups were making her laugh, and his frustration turned into bashfulness.

"How about a song," Elsa offered and they both liked the idea so much that Kristoff started to whistle his usual troll shanty and Elsa began to hum the tune from earlier.

"Oh sorry, you go. Uh. Yours was good. Let's go with yours," he fumbled out. Normally when he embarrassed himself he would pull back but Elsa was still so close to him. Their hands interlocked.

"How about something we both know," She said perchance. Kristoff's heart suddenly started pounding and he wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because he saw so much of Anna in the Queen. She'd relaxed quite a bit now, and from this proximity all he saw was his lover. The Ice Master thought, maybe if Anna never existed, Elsa was close enough. She would be winning his heart right now.

He hated the thought of it. There was no goodness that matched Anna's. As Queen, Elsa was capable and trained to deceive. The fact that she could shine like Anna was an easy exploitation. Kristoff was ready to offer to stop. There was no need for him to expose himself, if Elsa was playing a game. They'd gone far enough without accomplishing anything. But just as he made up his mind she started to sing.

"I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream. I know you, the look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam," Her voice was masterfully powerful and soft, she didn't sing shyly. She filled the cave with her aria. Kristoff did know the song. It was popular when he was a kid. His birth mother used to sing it to him. It used to make him feel like he was destined to her, it soothed him when she was gone for long stretches of time.

Kristoff knew he would have to wait for another opening to put a stop to this. So he accompanied the song with a whistle. He found himself falling in sync with the Ice Queen both in song and in dance. Something clicked, their eyes connected. It felt kinda special. Kristoff had never before put something together that was from both his mother and his birth mom. Bulda had always encouraged Kristoff to dance. Maybe one day she had dreamed of this moment, when her son would find himself softening to his biggest fear. Kristoff didn't forget that he was still terrified of the destruction Elsa could do to the love of his life. But he was accepting that she was more human than he gave her credit for.

"Yet, I know it's true, that visions are seldom what they seem," Elsa was singing as Kristoff caught her eye and wordlessly told her he was going to spin her. Her body moved effortlessly through the circular motion.

"Nice," he said, a smile breaking up the song.

"But if I know you, then I'll know what you do," She continued as she landed back at his chest. He pulled her in too hard. Elsa ended up too close but didn't falter. Their feet recovered concurrently.

"You'll love me at once, the way that you did," Elsa's eyes were shut now. Kristoff didn't have to look down anymore to keep his lead. His eyes had nowhere else to look but at the Queen. He asked himself if he could forgive her. If it was even in his place to do so. He wondered if it was foolish to let his guard down now, when the last time he saw Anna she was devastated.

"Once upon a dream," her voice was such sweetness, his old self was trying to say she was just a siren and that he shouldn't be softening at her call. But the man he was trying to let out of himself started to sing along.

"But if I know you," his voice was low, and he tried to keep it quiet. But Elsa chuckled at him and he spun her again in response.

"I'll know what you do," she came back in, this time landing right on the mark.

"Better," he said excitedly.

"You'll love me at once," she was breathing harder as she moved and danced now. The colour in her face had returned and even blushed. Kristoff wasn't thinking about whether or not she was a devil. He was imaging the moment that he got to pull Anna along the ballroom, announcing to every onlooker that she was his.

"The way that you did," he sang more confidently.

"I'm going for the grand finale," He warned.

"I'm ready," Elsa's growly voice responded. He moved his hand to her hip and twisted it as he pushed his chest forward, she was a second behind and their chests pushed together for a moment before she trustingly arched her back and let her head hang. A victorious dip.

"Once upon a dream," she ended, and he pulled her back up and in towards him.

"We did it," he whispered. He was too in the moment to think of letting her go. Their eyes met and he thought he might have to give up with making a list and trust what his gut told him right now. But the temperature dropped drastically.

"I think I'm ready," Elsa said as she pulled away from him. Her shoulders were square again. The Ice Queen was present and the floor started to shake. She summoned the ice faster now. Kristoff couldn't even stay standing. He had to get on his knees and ride out the cold. He wasn't sure where Elsa's sudden burst came from. But it seemed she was ready to end this.

The melodious voice that had led their dance was screaming now. Her hands were out in front of her and this time Kristoff could actually see the power running through her body and pushing out of her. Her stance was completely different now. She looked contorted and bent in all the wrong places. A racing wind was sucking the air deeper into the tunnels. It was so loud but it was also so bright and it was just growing and growing.

Kristoff's ears were popping as if the altitude was changing. It seemed like he could feel every one of his blood cells run in his veins and all the water in his body begin to freeze. He tried his best to endure but Elsa didn't seem to be letting up. He stayed on the cusp of blacking out for a long while. He might have even been begging Elsa to stop but he wasn't sure if he had enough command of his body to say or do anything.

His only job was to protect Elsa but he failed miserably when she eventually collapsed. It was such a relief for the pressure to stop. He lay still for a good time. Even though the rumbling had stopped and the cold became bearable, he felt like he had vertigo and Elsa's powers were still raging. It took him a while to even turn his head towards Elsa. He could only see her back. She was on her side. Kristoff tried to hold his eyes open for long enough to see if she was breathing. Contented that she was, he let himself go.

The cave had darkened when he came to. It wasn't pitch black. The ice was drawing light and reflecting it endlessly throughout the tunnel system. With the cavern silenced, Kristoff could see the details of Elsa's power. From what he had read, he would be able to just walk up to the ice and pull out any unit without worry of collapse. Elsa's plan kept ice haverters employed and safer. Regular ice still had to be cut. But could be done when conditions were most favourable. This plan was going to save lives.

He rose to his feet. Elsa was gone. He was in no condition to go look for her. Plus he needed to get his strength back to get himself and maybe Elsa back down to town. He grabbed his pack, it had supplies to make a fire. He looked up, Elsa had even left opening to vent out smoke. He started a small fire. It was all he needed to rid himself of a chill and eat some of the food packed.

Kristoff's legs were weak but he couldn't help but go examine what Elsa had built up. When he had read about her plan, he was gobsmacked. He couldn't even picture it happening and had assumed it would be a long process. Yet, the ice block he pulled slid out with no friction. It was perfectly smooth, and the chest of Arendelle was such perfection it looked like it had been marked with a rod of hot iron.

Something was wrong with Elsa. Something bad was going to happen. He would be a fool to not notice, she'd exerted herself to finish this, to make it perfect. If she was doing this to leave Arendelle set, something harrowing was looming. He almost thought she was gone for good. But the Ice Queen emerged from deep within the tunnel system. She could barely keep to her feet.

Kristoff ran to meet her, but she put her hand up to him again, halting him.

"I'm done," she said and forced her back straight. Elsa headed back towards the entrance.

The Ice Master stayed a few steps behind the Queen. He was afraid she would fall at any moment. But she was regaining her position.

"Can you make it back to Sven?" He asked. He was doubtful.

"I want to go home," she said. Her voice frail.

"I'll carry you." Kristoff offered.

"Don't touch me." she lashed as he reached out to her. He was mad now. His old self would never let anyone talk to him like that, royalty or not. But he took a deep breath. His body was killing him. Elsa's mood would easily be a reflection on the pain she was experiencing.

"Let's take it slow," he encouraged softly. "I'm right behind you."

Outside again, Kristoff was shocked to see Elsa had built a retainer made of ice that had held off what seemed like a sizable avalanche. He was even more astonished, when she flicked her wrist and all the snow started moving back upwards to settle as if undisturbed. It had looked effortless, but Kristoff was easily learning Elsa's tells. This, he decided, was the only chance he'd get to ask her his questions and rile her up enough to get an answer.

"When are you leaving Arendelle?" He asked her. She was clearly displeased by the question. But he knew he hit a nerve. She sidestepped a bit and leaned her body up against a rock.

"Maybe soon, after the wedding." She said. He wasn't expecting a direct response.

"You'd leave Anna behind?" He asked, his anger felt like his old self. But his old self didn't really care about anyone. Right now his heart was breaking for the Princess.

"Never," she replied. He didn't believe that for a second.

"Are you leaving or not?"

"It's up to Anna." Elsa said. This time Kristoff could see the vein in her neck, he'd come to know it reared when she was about to fight.

"Am I getting this right? You'd take her out of her home? You'd make her choose?" This certainly wasn't what he had expected. He was sure this had more to do with Tarik. Kristoff's mind was taken back to that journal. This wasn't sitting well with him.

"I am her home, I won't take that from her. If she wants to come with me, good. If she doesn't, we stay, and nothing changes for you. You would win, if that's what you worried about."

"Win, what? Your sister?" He wondered if she would say it. The reason they would sit opposite in a battle for Anna. He would love for her to admit it, so he would laugh at her delusion. Elsa looked him up and down. She didn't take the bait.

"What's the point of your wedding then? Or even coming down off this mountain? Why don't you just run now, Elsa?"

"Arendelle needs someone to rule, Lord Tarik has always been for the good of the people. Whether he is King at my side or not, I trust he won't lead Arendelle astray. And I've already told you I won't leave Anna." Elsa was so serious that the Ice Master couldn't hold his laughter back anymore.

"I know this story really well," Kristoff started to explain. "The trolls have been telling it for years. If you think that when Anna chooses me you're going to sit idly by then maybe you should review your own history. Because you would have never come back from the North Mountain if Hans hadn't taken you down. You run Elsa. That's how this ends for you. You run away. You leave her behind. The trolls have said it exactly like this: Anna will be Queen of Arendelle, and Kristoff will be steadfast at her side. But thank you for the reminder that I don't have to antagonize over you, I forgot you're the coward in this story."

"I'll meet you at the wagon," he said. With that Kristoff took to a stride and moved down the path. He was so angry at himself but even more livid with the Ice Queen. Had she been sugar just so this would burn more? What was she thinking? How could she put Anna in the position where she felt she had to give in to Elsa's desires? Was the Queen that twisted? He knew he wouldn't let his guard down, that he could warn Anna. But he also knew in the end that his family couldn't be wrong. He was destined to Anna, the trolls had seen it.

I put off writing this chapter so much! Now I have no idea why. It was supposed to happen pretty early on but I'm happy where it ended up. It's another long one. I suspect they will get a bit bigger and will try to still kick them out quickly. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

MortVe- I hope it came out like you imagined. I like that you aren't sure where this is going. Mwuahaha