While Elsa attended to the daily conversations about the status of both nature and spirit in the forest, Kristoff wandered toward the reindeer herd to check on Sven and catch up with Ryder.

Sven was in his element with the other reindeer, and seemed particularly interested in a certain female. If Kristoffwasn't mistaken-and he usually wasn't-it even seemed that Sven was trying to impress her with his superior knowledge of romance.

Ryder followed his gaze, saying, "Those two seem to be getting along well. It's good to see. I've always thought of that female as kind of a loner. The other reindeer don't spend much time with her. Don't get her jokes, I guess."

"Sven would be a good reindeer to help with that, considering he's spent his whole life putting up with me and my jokes. You must have your work cut out for you with this large of a herd. Have you been able to explore much outside of the forest?"

Not yet. Hopefully soon. It's strange to think about meeting new people after a whole life of...no new people. At least until your group came along. You know?"

"That makes sense. I'm not exactly a people person, but I'd be happy to show you around Arendelle some time. Maybe you could come with Elsa for one of our game nights.

"Elsa does game nights?"

"It's a fairly new tradition. Mandated by Anna, of course. Elsa...will hopefully improve at charades over time."

"Ooh, I bet I'd be good at charades. I play it with the reindeer sometimes when I get bored. They're better at guessing my words than I am at guessing theirs, but it's fun."

The two of them talked for a while, comparing stories of reindeer care and childhoods in different forests, before returning to the camp to meet other Northuldrans.

As dusk approached, a sudden gust of wind brought a small piece of paper. Elsa started to hold her hand out instinctively, but the breeze took a sudden turn and circled around Kristoff, who finally plucked the small slip of paper from the air.

Elsa chuckled. "Looks like someone misses you already!"

But instead of blushing, as she had likely expected, Kristoff suddenly went white. Elsa rushed to his side.

"What is it?"

"I need to leave. Where's Sven?"

"Don't worry about Sven. I can get us there."

Before asking how, Kristoff reread the paper Elsa had handed back to him.

Lord Kristoff,

In spite of Her Majesty's protests, I thought I should inform you that Queen Anna has fallen ill with a slight fever and has had to cancel her meetings for today and tomorrow. Though we expect a full and speedy recovery, some of the townsfolk requested your presence instead, and I thought I should inform you.

With regards,

Gerda

Of course it didn't sound awful, but Kristoff hated the fact that Anna was sick, alone, and didn't want him to be informed. If they rushed back, how would she react? Would she at least be happy to see him?

Kristoff shook his head. He was being ridiculous. Anna was just trying to be strong and prove herself-in spite of her frequent complaints about the same sort of behavior from Elsa. That is, back when Elsa was queen and handling the stress that Anna now faced…

I

Elsa was now interacting with the Nøkk, who turned more solid and icy as they pressed their heads together. Elsa, seeming to ask permission, flicked her hands to gracefully form a small sled behind the water horse.

It was only large enough for one person, so Elsa climbed on the Nøkk's back.

"Get in. It might be difficult to hold onto since it's made of pure ice, but I figure you have enough experience."

Kristoff climbed in. It was indeed cold and slippery, but she had produced multiple foot and handholds; and after he was seated, she flicked her hands to seal the edges.

"Ryder, could you look after Sven if I leave him here?"

"I don't think that will be a problem for either of us."

"Good. Thank you."

After hasty and apologetic goodbyes from both, Elsa motioned to the Nøkk, and they were off.

As soon as they reached the fjord, Elsa turned to the side. As the Nøkk rode, smoothing the water's surface, Elsa froze the water under the small sled to prevent Kristoff from drowning. He couldn't help but think, as he sat there feeling useless, that the whole operation was very impressive. Still, he was more worried about Anna.

He should have checked on her before he left. He knew how much she liked to sleep in, and after a late night hosting guests, he wanted to leave her to it. Still, if he had known she was ill, he wouldn't have left.

Since their engagement-and really, for a while before then-life had been so hectic. Anna had been consumed with her worries about Elsa, and then with her worries about the changes in the kingdom, and Kristoff had felt so helpless to support her. It was the least he could do to be with her now, when she was sick, which (he knew from experience) always made her cranky.

They reached Arendelle in a short time, but it had still seemed far too long. The Nøkk brought them all the way to the castle, attracting looks from the illuminated windows of the dark town. Kristoff was mildly embarrassed, but not enough to stop him from getting to Anna as quickly as possible.

Finally, they were throwing open the doors of the castle and running to Anna's chamber.

Kristoff allowed Elsa to enter first, then followed her in.

Anna was sitting up on her bed, hair messy, surrounded by papers. When she looked up and saw them, she barely reacted, but sniffed and said in a deadpan voice, "Have you come to save Arendelle from its useless queen?"

Kristoff started to speak, but Elsa spoke first, her definitive tone causing him to stop.

"Anna of Arendelle, do you hear yourself? And this from the sister who taught me to ask for help when I needed it! Why didn't you send for us?"

Crossing her arms in a motherly way, she strutted across the room and plopped down on the bed, placing her hand on Anna's forehead.

Kristoff sat down in a chair next to the bed and took Anna's hand.

"She's right. Asking for help isn't a sign of failure. Anna, when you keep me in the dark, I feel useless. And I seem to remember someone else I know complaining about feeling the same way just a short while ago...

He glanced at Elsa, hoping his insinuation wouldn't offend her, but she was nodding in agreement.

Anna groaned. "Fine. I know you're right. But why is it so hard? Why don't I feel like anyone trusts me to be able to do this on my own?"

"It comes with the crown. Besides, you don't need to do this on your own, remember?"

As Elsa finished speaking, Kristoff studied the ring on Anna's finger. He never got tired of seeing her wear it, or feeling it as he brushed his fingers over hers. She noticed him and smiled.

Elsa started gathering up the papers. "I'll start getting these in order. Kristoff will take your meetings tomorrow around town. Oh, and get a warm beverage from the kitchens."

In a few minutes, in spite of Anna's feeble protests, she was lying on a paper-free bed, wrapped in her mother's shawl, with a cup of hot cocoa. After catching up for a while, Elsa left to handle the paperwork.

" Elsa, you really don't have to-"

"Anna!"

"Fine. Sorry. I mean-thank you. It's so nice to have both of you here."

"Any time," Elsa smiled.

Anna turned to Kristoff, grabbing his hand in both of hers.

"I am really glad you came back. I just wanted you to have some time for yourself. I feel like Elsa and I just made these big choices and changes, but your path was just chosen for you."

"But Anna, you are my path."

"But what else do you want out of life? I don't want you to feel like you're chasing my dreams instead of your own. What do you dream about?"

"Honestly?"

She nodded, shifting in anticipation. Kristoff sighed.

"It's hard to say. Before I met you, I never really bothered to have dreams. I liked ice harvesting, but it was just...something to do. A way to survive. I never really thought there would be more to life than that. "

She looked at him with sad but understanding eyes.

"What about when you were a kid? I used to dream about true love and fancy balls and big weddings. What did you like to think about?"

Kristoff sniffed uncomfortably. "I guess...a family. I loved being with my huge troll family, but I always wanted a human family, too. And now I have one. And you and I can...make that family even larger. If you want."

Anna smiled, her face softening. "Of course! I've already told you that a big family sounds lovely. Plus, I don't know if we could have a small family even if we wanted to. You are very handsome, you know," she said, winking dramatically as Kristoff sputtered on his hot chocolate and felt his face flush.

"Ah...do I need to read you the 'impropriety' section of Elsa's book?" He asked weakly.

She pretended to think about it. "It might help me fall asleep."

They laughed.

"We should get married," Anna said suddenly.

"I thought we had already agreed on that."

"Right, but we should get married, like, right away. "

"Anna, as much as I would love that, everyone is still exhausted from planning a sudden coronation, and a sudden wedding might be the last straw that leads to a complete rebellion. Doesn't it take time to plan a wedding?"

"Yes, but I've got most of the details worked out. "

"What are we going to eat?"

"Soup, roast, and ice cream."

"And chocolate?"

"Lots of chocolate."

"And a huge chocolate cake?"

" No, " Anna corrected, "Carrot cake."

Kristoff smiled, then continued. "What are we going to wear?"

"I'll wear a white dress. You'll have to wear something fancy, probably."

"I can live with that. You do seem to have this planned out. We just need to decide when. And we should probably give everyone some time to plan."

Anna thought for a minute. "I have always liked the idea of a summer wedding. Because then we can have bouquets of -"

"Sunflowers! Your favorite! " Kristoff finished, and Anna smiled.

"Maybe not in June, because that's already my birthday."

"So, July?"

Anna smiled. "July sounds great."

"The month we first met... " Kristoff mused.

Anna tentatively interrupted their thoughts.

"Where will we live?"

Kristoff blinked. "I was thinking here, unless you're the queen of some other kingdom I don't know about."

Anna wrinkled her nose. "I just mean...We keep offering to move you into the castle, but you feel more comfortable in the stables. I could always visit you there, or-"

"Anna, don't be silly. Of course I'll move in. It will be different then."

"Different how?"

"I think you know what I mean."

"I think so too, but I want to hear you say it."

Kristoff drew a deep breath. "Anna, it will be different because we'll be together. Always, and forever. The trolls always said that marriage is a special kind of magic. I can't wait to share that with you."

Now Kristoff was blushing again, and Anna was beaming. Suddenly she sat up, her expression changed.

"The trolls...magic...Kristoff, how are we going to involve them in the wedding?! I know they don't like to be seen, but they have to see us get married! They tried to marry us themselves once!"

"Yeah, but I don't think troll marriages are officially recognized among royalty. Hm...maybe they would come if we split them into groups, had them stand on each other's shoulders, and got big fluffy clothes to-"

"Kristoff, I'm being serious! They're family. We need to make this work."

"I'll talk with them. Don't worry. You've got enough on your mind already."

"Yes, but I want my mind to be on the right things. The important things. Like you."

She leaned toward him, and he leaned back, until their lips touched and his mind was on nothing else.

They were interrupted by a small burst of snowflakes that opened the door with an obvious creak. They sprung apart as Elsa walked in, clearing her throat and teasing, "Just making sure you don't need me to read you the book pages on impropriety."

"I said the same thing!" Kristoff blurted, before realizing the implication and clamming up as Elsa raised an eyebrow and Anna laughed hysterically, triggering a coughing fit.

Elsa handed her a glass of water.

"We were actually planning our wedding. We were thinking July. Do you think you can make it? I mean, if you're too busy...what are you doing?"

Elsa had placed her hand on Anna's forehead. "Making sure you're not delirious with fever. You must be if you think I would miss your wedding even if you tried to keep me away. July sounds lovely."

"Good. And the cold feels nice anyway. I have a headache."

Elsa gently sprinkled snowflakes over her sister's forehead as Kristoff spoke.

"I'll show up at the wedding if I'm not too busy. I'll have to check with Sven, and-Ow!"

He rubbed his shoulder where Anna had punched him while the sisters laughed. Anna yawned.

"I should let you get some sleep," Kristoff offered reluctantly. He wished both sisters a good night, and made his way toward the stables, dreaming of a time when the walk would no longer be necessary.