Echoes of the Past
Chapter 1
The Life of a King
In the three years since marrying Anna, Kristoff had settled into a routine that he loved. Every morning, he woke up to have breakfast with Anna, and their three-year-old son, Jon. It was a great time for the family to get together before they went their separate ways for the rest of the day. As King Consort, Kristoff had his duties that he had to perform on a regular basis. He often worked alongside Anna on some projects, including meetings with the council. The regular day in the castle was much different than his life with the trolls, but Kristoff didn't mind it all. He loved being a husband and a father. That evening, Kristoff, Anna, Jon, and Olaf and Sven were in the dining room talking about their days. Jon was excited to tell everyone about what he learned from his schoolteacher.
"I can count to ten!" he cried.
Anna gasped in amazement. "You can? That's wonderful! We're so proud of you, sweetie."
"Great job, little man," Kristoff said, ruffling his son's hair.
"Before you know it, Jon, you'll be able to count to one hundred," Olaf added.
"What about you, honey? What did you do today?" Anna asked her husband.
"Wrote and answered letters. A lot of letters," Kristoff emphasized.
"Uh. Sounds awful. I'll be happy to write half of them for you," Anna offered.
"I appreciate the offer, but you've got enough on your plate as it is," Kristoff said.
"It's no trouble, really. I love writing letters!" Anna insisted.
"Well, alright, but it's some pretty tedious stuff. A lot of talk about trading, imports, exports, invitations to parties in other kingdoms," Kristoff said.
"Invitations to parties in other kingdoms?" You know how much I love parties," Anna pointed out.
Kristoff laughed. "Oh, I'm well aware of that. I've been to at least fifty in the past year alone!"
Anna giggled. "Oh, you had a great time at every one of them, admit it."
"I did, but I have to say that it wouldn't be half as great without you there," Kristoff admitted.
"Aw! Aren't you sweet," Anna said, blowing Kristoff a kiss from the far end of the table.
"Ew!" Jon cried.
"It's not "ew" Jon. Your mom and dad really love each other. Love is special," Olaf said.
"You're right about that, Olaf. Love is special," Kristoff said, admiring Anna.
In the past three years, his marriage to Anna had been everything and more. Whenever he was with Anna, Kristoff felt an eternal glow of happiness. His Grand Pabbie once told him that you don't meet a woman like Anna every day. He had to admit, he was right.
"Oh! I almost forgot! Elsa is coming to visit next week. She'll be staying with us for a few days," Anna revealed.
"Yay! Auntie Elsa," Jon cried. Jon loved seeing his aunt. He especially enjoyed when she brought the Nokk, Gale, and Bruni. Even though he was young, Jon had a close relationship with the spirits. Something that Anna and Elsa wanted for him.
"It's always fun when Elsa visit," Olaf said.
"Of course, it is! Hey, we should take her to the Arendelle theater! There's a play production there that I really want to see," Anna said.
"That sounds great," Kristoff agreed.
"Yay!" Jon shouted again.
"Ok, sweetie. Now it's time for you to go to bed," Anna said, standing up and picking Jon up.
"Mommy, I want to stay up with you and daddy," Jon protested.
"Little princes need their rest, especially if their going to run a kingdom, someday," Anna said.
"Ok, mommy."
"I'm going to go tuck Jon into bed. I'll be back in a few minutes," Anna said to Kristoff.
"I'll come with you. We can tuck him in together," Kristoff said.
Anna carried Jon upstairs to his bedroom, placing him gently on the bed. She pulled the covers over him, giving him a kiss on the cheeks before blowing out the candle.
"Good night, sweetie. I love you," Anna said.
"I love you too, mommy," Jon said.
Kristoff gave his son a kiss as well, smiling all the while. "Good night, little man. I love you."
"I love you too, daddy," Jon said.
With that, Anna and Kristoff left the room for Jon to go to sleep. As they walked back down the steps, Anna spoke of Jon.
"He takes after you," Anna said.
"Really? I always thought he took after you! He's got a lot of energy like you," Kristoff said.
Anna laughed. "Yes, but he can be stubborn like his father at times."
Kristoff feigned surprise. "Oh, and you're not stubborn? Remember when we first met, you just had to upset Marshmallow when he threw us out of Elsa's palace."
"It wasn't a nice thing to do!" Anna retorted.
"Yeah, but you almost got us thrown off a cliff," Kristoff pointed out.
"Uh. We did fall off a cliff," Anna reminded him.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," Kristoff admitted.
Anna rolled her eyes. "You're something else, but I love you nonetheless."
Kristoff kissed Anna on the lips, smiling. "The feeling is mutual."
Meanwhile, outside on the Arendelle docks, a young woman stepped off a ship. She was wearing a grey cloak, which covered her head. She looked up at the castle and smiled.
"I'm back, Kristoff. I'm here for us," she said.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the fluffiness of the first chapter, because it's going to get suspenseful from here.