Chapter 2

Isabelle

In the afternoon, Kai went into Kristoff's study to inform him that he had a visitor. Kristoff assumed it was Grand Pabbie, Bulba, or one of the other trolls, but when he arrived in the entrance hall, he was surprised to see who it was.

"Hi, Kristoff," the woman said.

She was a woman with long brown hair, and green eyes. For her clothes, she wore a plain looking dress, along with shoes that had seen their better days. The woman gazed at Kristoff happily as if his presence was a sight for sore eyes.

"Isabelle?" Kristoff exclaimed. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in years."

"Fifteen years to be exact," Isabelle added. "You look great in your suit."

Kristoff blushed for a minute, forgetting about the surprising visit from a woman he knew so long ago. Upon being jolted by into reality by Isabelle's presence, Kristoff again repeated his question.

"What are you doing here, Isabelle?" he asked.

"Well, the ship that I was on was heading to France, but it stopped in Arendelle to pick up some supplies. They'll be leaving tomorrow morning. I thought I'd come see you since it's been so long."

"Right, but you do remember why we broke up, right?" Kristoff asked, questioningly.

"That's in the past, Kristoff. I can see that you are a happily married man," Isabelle said. "Speaking of which, where is this beloved Queen Anna of yours?"

"Well, she's….

"Kristoff!" came a voice from behind.

Kristoff turned around and saw Anna walking down the stairs. He glanced at Isabelle who politely bowed to Anna.

"Queen Anna, it's an honor to meet you," she said.

Anna smiled. "Thank you. And you are?"

"My name is Isabelle. I'm an old friend of Kristoff's," Isabelle said, introducing herself.

"Oh! Kristoff never mentioned you before," Anna said, looking at Kristoff.

"It was a long time ago. We haven't seen each other in many years."

Isabelle then explained to Anna what she was doing in Arendelle, and before too long, the two were having an enjoyable conversation.

"Isabelle, would you like to join us for dinner this evening?" Anna offered.

"Anna, I think Isabelle already has plans," Kristoff interjected.

"No! I'd love to join you guys for dinner!" Isabelle said, happily.

Kristoff groaned.

"Great! Well, I'll have Kai set a plate for you at dinner.

When 5:00 rolled around, Anna, Kristoff, Jon, and Isabelle had dinner together. During the evening, Anna and Isabelle hit it off, telling stories to each other. It was clear that they enjoyed each other's company. Most of the time, Kristoff didn't say much. He kept stirring the pasta on his fork, while watching Anna and Isabelle. What was she really doing here? Certainly, it couldn't just be for a visit. When he last saw her, Isabelle had left for France, and he never heard from her again. In all honesty, their time together was not something Kristoff chose to remember. Isabelle was the person that drove Kristoff into the wilderness. The way everything ended with her was not pleasant. It wasn't something he wanted to dwell on. As he continued to watch Isabelle and Anna interact with each other, Kristoff couldn't help but question her sudden reappearance.

"That's a lovely fragrance you're wearing, Anna," Isabelle said. "What is it?"

"Oh, it's this new perfume that Kristoff bought for me. It's called "Desert Flower."

"That's great! Kristoff always was good with giving presents," Isabelle said, looking at Kristoff.

Kristoff averted his eyes, knowing instantly what Isabelle was talking about, and he didn't want to think about it.

"So how do you know, Kristoff," Anna asked.

At this question, Kristoff glared at Anna. Why did she have to ask that?

"Kristoff and I were old friends back in the day. We met when he was starting off as an ice harvester. He delivered ice to my house, so much, that we struck up a friendship. Eventually, I left Arendelle to go to France to take care of my sick mother. She passed away recently, so I no longer had any need to stay there. I took a trip to England for a while, and now I was on my way back to France to get my things. I'm planning on moving back to Arendelle.

Kristoff almost choked on his wine. He thought she was just here for a visit!

"That's wonderful! Well, I'm sure Kristoff is happy to see you again," Anna said.

When Anna looked at him, all Kristoff could do was give a fake smile. There was so much he wanted to say, but something inside him told him that it was best if he kept quiet.

"Do you want to play with me, Isabelle?" Jon asked.

Please say no, Kristoff thought.

"Remember, Jon, after dinner you have to go to bed," Anna reminded her son.

"But I want to play with Isabelle," Jon whined.

Isabelle smiled, patting him on the back.

"Maybe some other time, sweetie," Isabelle said. "Well, it's best that I get going. I need to finish setting up my cabin in the woods."

"Why don't you stay with us during your visit? We'd love to have you?" Anna suggested.

"Anna," Kristoff said in a frustrated tone of voice.

"What? She's your friend and our guest, why shouldn't she stay?"

Not wanting to cause a scene in front of his wife and son, Kristoff acquiesced to Anna's offer.

"That's very kind of you," Isabelle said.

"Great! I'll have Kai show you to your room. Maybe this weekend we can go shopping together. There's a new store that opened in the village that I'd love to see," Anna said.

"That sounds like fun!" Isabelle said, but she wasn't looking at Anna, she was looking at Kristoff.

"Well, I think I'll get this little guy tucked in," Kristoff said, picking up Jon. "I'll see you a bit, honey," Kristoff said.

"Good night, Kristoff. It's a real pleasure seeing you again," Isabelle said.

Kristoff ignored the comment, focusing on leaving the room and putting Jon to bed.

When Anna came up later that evening, she was curious about Kristoff's attitude toward her newfound friend.

"I must say, Kristoff, you acted really strangely around Isabelle tonight," Anna pointed out.

Kristoff sighed. He really didn't want to have this conversation.

"I wasn't acting strange," Kristoff argued.

"Yes, you were. You treated her like she had a cold that you didn't want to catch. Did you guys used to date."

"No," Kristoff lied. "She's just an old friend, that's all."

"Well, she seems to be very fond of you," Anna pointed out.

"I know. I guess I'm just shocked to see her again. It's been fifteen years."

Anna got into bed, snuggling close to Kristoff. "I know that feeling. It was thirteen years before Elsa, and I were reunited. As happy as I was, I have to admit that I was shocked to finally see her again."

"Yeah, it's kind of like that," Kristoff agreed.

"She seems lonely. I think she could use some friends," Anna said.

"Maybe," Kristoff replied.

"You should come with us this weekend! It'll be fun," Anna said.

"Yeah, sure."

"Well, I'm heading to bed. I love you, honey."

"I love you too."

As Anna slept peacefully, Kristoff tossed and turned. He couldn't get it out of his head that Isabelle had returned. She was actually sleeping in their home! He didn't know what kind of hidden agenda she had stuffed up her sleeve, but he decided that he'd play along for Anna's sake until it was time to go back home. Even with this decision in mind, Kristoff still couldn't sleep that night. Isabelle had returned.