CHAPTER 23: KRISTOFF'S DAY
Anna sat across from Elsa who worked at her desk. She had a nose in a romance book. She smiled, picturing Kristoff as the great, yet humble demigod hero in the story and her as the royal princess the hero secretly loved. The more she read, the more she found herself thinking of Kristoff and everything that happened since she first met him in Oaken's. All that he had done for her and how close they had grown their first year together. The more she thought, the sooner she realized something about him she still didn't know. Her face became alarmed, which Elsa noticed and put aside her papers and pen. "Anna? What is it?"
Anna looked at Elsa with alarm. "When's Kristoff's birthday?" She couldn't believe she hadn't learned that by now. It was duty as his girlfriend to know things like this. The year was almost over!
Elsa thought deeply, but couldn't remember Kristoff ever mentioning. "I don't know, Anna. He's in the stables. Why don't we go ask him?"
Anna and Elsa got up and went to the stables where Kristoff was quickly working on stuff. He just finished brushing Sven's fur. He loaded his sleigh with things he needed before strapping Sven to it. "Hey, you two," Kristoff smiled as Elsa and Anna appeared in the doorway. The looks on their faces had Kristoff concerned. "You two are starting to worry me."
"Kristoff?" Anna started. Kristoff noticed the timid tone in her voice and held her hand.
"What is it, Anna?" Kristoff asked.
Anna looked at Elsa, then back at Kristoff, "When is your birthday?"
Kristoff laughed at how trivial her question was, "You really had me going there, Anna. I thought it was something serious. When is my birthday? Well…I don't know. I guess I don't have one. I never really saw the big deal with birthdays anyways since that wasn't important to the trolls."
Anna and Elsa looked at one another with surprise. Anna turned back with alarm, "What do you mean you don't know? Ever needs a birthday to celebrate."
Kristoff smiled, "It's okay, Anna. I'm glad we got to celebrate yours, but I'm fine. As long as I have you, that's all that matters." He gave her a kiss on the forehead before climbing onto the sleigh to get to work.
"But-" Anna insisted, but Elsa pulled her aside so Kristoff could leave for work. "Stable Hand, please prepare my horse."
"Anna, where are you going?" Elsa asked.
"The trolls. Grand Pabbie may have a way to learn Kristoff's birthday," Anna replied.
"Anna. Kristoff never knew his birthday and he seemed content and happy with that. Maybe you shouldn't press it," Elsa advised and Anna gave her a look before getting on Kjekk and riding off, making her sigh before going back inside to finish her work.
Anna rode for the Valley of Living Rock and was greeted by Bulda who was the first to see her coming. "Princess Anna!"
"Hi, Bulda. I need to speak with you and Grand Pabbie. It's about Kristoff," Anna explained.
Bulda's smile faded, "I see. Follow me, dear."
Anna dismounted Kjekk and followed Bulda through other trolls to Grand Pabbie in his spot.
"Princess, what brings you to our humble valley?" Grand Pabbie greeted her with a smile, always happy to be visited by Anna or Elsa.
Anna knelt down by him and Bulda, "I don't know Kristoff's birthday. I asked him, but he also doesn't and doesn't seem to mind at all."
"I'm afraid Kristoff's lack of interest is our fault, Princess Anna. Kristoff was such a young boy when we took him in. Our ways. Our customs and traditions differ from those of humans. Celebrating a birthday isn't something trolls practice, rather when the day comes, a troll travels to the mountains to discover their fire crystal which they care for in the years to come. Kristoff made this journey when he was older. It was then that he was ready to rejoin his own kind and live the life he desired, the life of a simple ice harvester, who were the people who took care of him before he found us," Gran Pabbie explained.
"Is there a way your magic can reveal when he was born? I don't know why this is so important to me, but…I have to know," Anna said.
Bulda and Grand Pabbie smiled at one another. "You love him. True love makes us care for the smallest things in others others take for granted. I MAY have a way to help you learn what you need to know, but-" Grand Pabbie shared.
"What is it?" Anna asked urgently.
"Eating a special herb and a little help from me will allow you to search his past for the information you see, but I MUST WARN you Princess-"
"I'll do it, Grand Pabbie," Anna insisted.
"No matter what you see in his past…you mustn't go near Kristoff. Doing so will-" Grand Pabbie tried to explain.
"Got it. Let's do it," Anna replied impatiently and a weary Grand Pabbie gestured her to lay on the ground next to him. He gave her a herb and she closed her eyes and chewed slowly as the troll used magic on her mind to connect her to Kristoff's deepest memories, those long forgotten. "Focus on Kristoff and your love for him. The stronger the bond you share, the deeper you will go."
Anna entered the realm. Bulda looked at Grand Pabbie with worry. "Why didn't you warn her before you sent her?"
"She was determined to go ahead without listening," Grand Pabbie sighed, "I had no choice."
"This spell you cast on her…it was also cast on Kristoff. The deeper she goes…if she goes anywhere near him in the memory realm, Kristoff will sense it. Once she brings the memory of THAT day to light, due to her actions, he'll never be able to forget it again."
Grand Pabbie knew how serious this was and looked down at Princess Anna. "We must have faith she will do the right thing. No matter what she sees, she must not intervene."
Anna found herself in a dark void. Somewhere, she could hear the echoey laughter and singing of a young boy, she couldn't find. Kristoff?
The boy continued to sing. It sounded like Kristoff's reindeer song, but the new words, Anna couldn't quite make out.
Anna ran for where she thought the voice was coming from and suddenly found herself in a endless plain of tall grass. "Wait, what? Where am I?"
"Are you lost, lady?" a boy asked from behind her. She turned to see a young boy, around six to eight years old. He had blonde hair and hazel eyes. Her eyes widened after she knelt when realization struck her hard. "Kristoff?"
The boy's face became shocked and guarded. "Go away," he said before running off. Anna ran after him and called for him, "Kristoff, wait!"
"Leave me alone!" The boy yelled back before all of reality became warped around them and turned into a dark tunnel.
Kristoff was at work, loading a ice block in the back of the wagon. Suddenly, he felt fearful and shaken. Go away. Leave me alone!
Kristoff fell against the wagon, grabbing his head as strong emotions flooded his head. Sven immediately sensed something wrong and came over to him, free from his strap while Kristoff worked.
The concerned reindeer nudged Kristoff's hand. Kristoff looked at Sven, "I don't know what's going on, Sven. What was that? It's probably nothing. I should get back to work." Kristoff rejoined the others. Sven remained by the wagon, watching Kristoff closely.
Anna found herself in a dark void again, after losing the younger Kristoff. She heard someone run behind her and quickly followed. She then found herself at one of the old homes in Arendelle. The poor lived in this area and orphans were often assigned to certain families who were paid by the Crown to care for them. She saw a terrifying middle-aged woman screaming at a young Kristoff. He looked so small and helpless, tearing up as the woman yelled at him. Suddenly, she threw his lute aside and began to whip his back with a leather strip of material, causing him to flinch violently and screaming in pain.
"I'm sorry! I promise I won't sneak out-! Argh!" Each merciless slash from the lady made the younger Kristoff scream in pain, making Anna shake her head in horror before she rushed towards the lady. "Stop…Stop it! Leave Kristoff alone!"
Meanwhile, Kristoff was back to work. With his bigger ice tongs, he lifted a large block of ice onto his back and began following others to a different wagon. He felt afraid and guilty, which confused him. He felt tears swelling in his eyes. He blinked the tears back. What's going on? Why am I crying? His grip on his ice block faltered when he stumbled to the ground and began contorting in searing sharp pain his back. A nearby harvester knocked Kristoff's ice away before it could land on him. "Tor! It's Kristoff! He's hurt!"
The ice harvesters all surrounded Kristoff as he winced loudly. I'm sorry! I promise I won't sneak out-! The pain was so unbelievably painful he couldn't speak and more tears flooded Kristoff's eyes. Tor knelt by him after rushing forward. "Kristoff! What's wrong?!"
"My back-! It hurts-! It- HURTS!" Kristoff managed to get out, barely able to bear the sudden flashes of pain long enough to speak.
Tor smiled and said jokingly to help Kristoff calm down, "What did I tell you? This is what happens when you get cocky and try to impress the princess by lifting that stone the other day." Some of the other harvesters laughed slightly, but Kristoff was in too much pain to laugh at Tor's dry sense of humor. "Lars. Get my herbs and my jug." Lars quickly ran to Tor's wagon and returned. Tor placed some strong medicinal herbs in Kristoff's mouth. "Chew that up good, boy. Wash it down with this." He helped Kristoff by lifting his head to take a good shaky gulp of Tor's jug. Within a minute, Kristoff was out.
"I just checked his back. Nothing appears broken or torn. What do you think is causing his pain?" a harvester asked.
"Load him in a wagon. We're taking the Ice Master to the Queen. Perhaps she or her royal doctor will know how to help him," Tor instructed and several harvesters picked up Kristoff and placed him gently in a wagon.
Elsa was on her throne. Before her was Kai, Olina, Gerda, and other heads of the palace staff. They were making reports to her when Tor suddenly barged in, startling everyone. He bowed, "Forgive me, Queen Elsa, for barging in like this, but it's Kristoff. Something happened and we don't know what. He's in pain."
Elsa and her doctor Jason, who was in the room rushed after Tor as he led them out into the courtyard to the wagon where Kristoff laid. "I gave him some sleeping herbs to calm him, he was in so much pain. He said it was his back."
"Thank you, Tor. You did the right thing. Jason?" Elsa said and Jason hopped in to examine Kristoff's back for any signs of cause for the pain.
"There are no broken bones. No swelling. No knots in his back at all. Remarkable for someone who just lifted the large boulder the other day. However, his muscles are still tensing repeatedly in response to his ghost pain."
"Ghost pain?" Elsa asked.
"This pain he's experiencing. It's all in his head. I never thought I would get to see such a case with my own eyes," Jason nerded out.
"I don't understand," Elsa said.
"Physically, Elsa, he's NOT in any pain. His mind is convinced he's under attack and sending signals to his back muscles, causing them to tense like this," Jason explained to Elsa before turning to one of the harvesters, "When did this happen?"
"Earlier today. I noticed he was acting weird by his wagon. He fell against it and grabbed his head. I just thought he had a migraine or something," a harvester shared.
Elsa thought to herself. Earlier today. She suddenly remembered Anna leaving to talk to the trolls about Kristoff. "Jason, take Kristoff to his room. I'm going to find Anna."
"Yes, Queen Elsa," Jason replied and a few of the harvesters helped him carry Kristoff inside while Elsa got on her prepared horse and rode for Living Rock.
Anna laid before Grand Pabbie. Tears leaked out the corner of her eyes. "You mustn't get near Kristoff, Princess Anna. There is nothing you can do for the things you see."
Anna was in a scary wilderness, Arendelle's forest during the cold dark winter nights. She heard sniffling and walked through some bushes to find Kristoff under a tree at the edge of an opening. Kristoff was younger than before, maybe only three. His eyes were full of tears. "Why did you leave me, Mama and Papa? What did I do wrong? Why did you stop loving me?"
Anna sat close next to him before drying his eyes with her gentle hand, giving him a warm smile. "You didn't do anything wrong, Kristoff. I lost my parents too. They never stopped loving you."
Kristoff's watery eyes finally met Anna's, "Really?"
"Really," Anna smiled.
"Kristoff?!" a younger version of Tor yelled in the distance and Kristoff ran for him. "There you are. If you're going to come with me to work, you need to stay near me, okay?"
Anna watched as Tor picked up the little Kristoff and placed him up on a wagon, "Here. Why don't you hold this and play us something?" Tor placed a lute in Kristoff's little hands which lit up his three-year old face before Tor rode the wagon off.
Elsa arrived at the valley of Living Rock and approached Grand Pabbie and noticed Anna. "What's Anna doing? Something is happening to Kristoff."
"I feared this. Forgive me, Queen Elsa. I shouldn't have mentioned this to her. Knowing her bond with Kristoff, I should've known she wouldn't be able to resist getting near him."
"Explain, now," Elsa demanded firmly with a slight scowl before kneeling by Anna and taking her hand.
"In the place she's in now, she was only meant to observe to get the answers she sought, but she's getting near Kristoff in his memories, making him sensitive to these strong memories," Grand Pabbie explained. "He's slowly becoming aware of her presence."
"Pull her out of it," Elsa ordered.
"I cannot. Once the spell has been cast, I cannot undo it. Only Anna can free herself by finding the answers she seeks or Kristoff could theoretically undo the spell."
"Kristoff? How?" Elsa looked from Anna at Grand Pabbie and Bulda.
Bulda smiled, "True love's kiss."
Elsa smirked at the troll's excited reply. Of course, it is.
Anna was then in a small area in the kingdom where the Ice Harvesting Guild all lived. This area of the town near the Royal Palace was mainly for the members of the guild. There was a warehouse where the harvesters would keep their tools, wagons, sleighs and other things for work. Near the warehouse would be the homes of the many members of the guild. The street was filled with members, all preparing for work.
She was drawn to a young couple. A man dressed and large like Kristoff. By him was a woman with blonde hair. She was beautiful. She too was dressed like a harvester, yet had something draped across her shoulders, a red scarf that greatly resembled their mother's, although she and Elsa still had no idea what the markings meant. The woman was holding a baby that was only a few weeks old. Anna's heart melted and a warm smile took over her face when she recognized the blond patch of hair on the baby's head and its hazel eyes. Kristoff. The couple handed the baby to Tor who was staying behind that day. "Thanks for watching him, Tor. We'll be back this evening," the father spoke.
"Mama's got to go to work, my little angel, but I'll be back home later," the mother spoke to her little boy who grabbed her fingers from Tor's arms. As she pulled away, the baby began to cry, making Anna laugh slightly with tears. Kristoff's parents and Tor also laughed. As Anna turned from Tor and little Kristoff to the parents who were leaving for work, the reality she was witnessing shifted to that evening where a few harvesters came to Tor who waited outside his home in a rocking chair with baby Kristoff. Their demeanor was of deep sadness as they got closer. Anna looked for Kristoff's parents, but didn't see them. Where-? She turned back to Tor and the others. Tor's eyes watered as he shook his head, the other harvesters didn't have to say a thing. "No," Anna covered her face when tears ran down her face, putting the two together.
"The ice wasn't as thick. They drowned before any of us could do anything to save them, Tor," a harvester explained. As if he could understand, baby Kristoff began to cry loudly in Tor's arms, which only made everyone sadder. Tor tried in vain to calm the crying infant, but failed and fell to his knees, succumbing to his own despair. Anna knelt by his side, crying as well. She reached and touched baby Kristoff's hand. Baby Kristoff grabbed her finger, and Kristoff instantly woke up back at his room, surrounded by Jason and the harvesters. Anna? He sat up.
"Whoa there, Kristoff. Take it easy," Tor encouraged but Kristoff still stood and rushed out into the courtyard and mounted Sven who waited.
Back at the Valley of Living Rock, Elsa and Grand Pabbie noticed Anna began to cry strongly. "What's going on?" Elsa asked, alarmed.
"She has discovered another forgotten memory of Kristoff's," the troll king replied.
"You have to pull her out. She's in pain," Elsa said urgently, trying her best to comfort Anna by wiping her tears away and whispering to her. They all jumped when they heard Sven in the distance and sure enough, there Kristoff was riding Sven into the Valley. Everyone was silent as Kristoff slowly approached Anna with the same tears on his face. He knelt down and kissed her on the lips and pulled away as Anna was pulled out of the spell and back into Elsa's happy arms. They looked at Kristoff who looked deeply depressed. "My birthday…is the Winter's Solstice. Same as Elsa. I had no memory of it until you unearthed it. The reason why I couldn't remember my birthday was because it was the same day I lost my parents. If it's all the same to you, Anna, I'd rather do without cake and candles."
Anna pulled away from Elsa and hugged Kristoff who hugged her back gently for several minutes, hoping feeling her would comfort his pain. "I'm sorry, Kristoff."
They headed back; Anna pulled Elsa aside. "I understand why Kristoff doesn't want to celebrate his birthday and I know what we talking about concerning yours, but-"
Elsa smiled and took Anna's hands, "I'm okay, Anna. The party we tried to throw for the people after the Yule Bell. That was us celebrating my birthday. I wanted to celebrate with everyone. It may not have been what we expected, but thanks to Olaf, I had the best birthday ever."
Elsa pulled away to return to her office, leaving Anna behind to ponder on Elsa's words. I know, Elsa, but it doesn't feel right. Her face lit up when an idea came to her and she pulled Kai aside and whispered her idea in his ear, to which he smiled warmly like a father and nodded before heading off to spread the word.
(A/N: Because of the strong hint Frozen is done, according to the creators, I wrote in a fan theory of Kristoff's parents. Who they were and what could've happened to them. It was the best theory I could find. Why we didn't get more info on his past in the movies is beyond me.)