Chapter 8: Crazy

It wasn't too long before Mari was yawning, and they decided that she should bathe before going to sleep. Anna had excitedly gone to the attic to find her and Elsa's nightdresses from when they were kids, and Mari chose one of Elsa's to wear to bed.

The three from Norhuldra had decided to stay the night-Elsa could return in a matter of minutes thanks to the Nokk, but Ryder and Honeymaren would need to take their reindeer back, meaning that it made more sense for all of them to leave in the morning.

After some deliberation, Kristoff decided to spend the night in the castle's spare room again as well.

When he woke up-earlier than the previous day-Elsa was the only other person awake. She emerged from her room seconds after he did, making Kristoff wonder if she had been listening for him. The thought filled him with a mix of discomfort and annoyance.

"Kristoff?" she asked softly, "I was wondering if I could have a word with you."

"Sure. What about?"

Elsa looked around the hallway, seeming slightly uncomfortable herself.

"Maybe we should go downstairs. Avoid waking the others."

"Right."

The two of them walked silently down the stairs; Kristoff followed Elsa into the sitting room, where she paced instead of taking a seat. Kristoff also remained standing, but in place, following his future sister's steps. She seemed to be deep in thought; after a moment that seemed like an eternity, she stopped pacing and finally spoke.

"Anna mentioned that Mari might stay with you at the castle."

It didn't surprise Kristoff; Anna told her sister everything. Or almost everything. He hoped he still had that almost to fall back on.

"Ah...yes. Just if there's no other place for her to go. There haven't been any final decisions or anything yet."

Elsa nodded,

There was another uncomfortable silence before she responded.

"My sister-you know her, of course, about as well as I do-but she has a tendency to leap into things."

Kristoff felt his jaw clenching unintentionally.

"Of course, her big heart is one of our favorite things about her. I just worry, with everything going on. She just became queen-"

"Right."

"And I'm not always around-"

"You're still around pretty often."

"And you two are getting married-"

"Really? I'd forgotten about tha-"

Elsa gave him a look that was a combination of hurt and surprise at his tone, before she deflated.

"Look. You two are adults who make your own decisions. I just know how fast everything has been changing, and I don't want you taking on more than you can handle because you feel obligated. That's all I'm saying. No offense meant."

Kristoff also deflated at her apologetic tone. "I'm sorry I was sarcastic."

"I'm sorry I was patronizing. I just know that you have the ability to keep Anna grounded without stifling her."

"The thing is-it was actually my idea. And I don't want Anna to feel obligated to take on anything else, I really don't. If you could talk to her again, try to see what she really feels, if I'm forcing her into this or-what?"

Elsa had broken out into a smile, and shook her head slowly.

"You two are perfect for each other. She was saying the exact same thing about suddenly changing your circumstances for her new role."

Kristoff chuckled. Elsa continued.

"I have to say, she seemed pretty determined about this one. But like you said, there are still other variables. Obviously, it would be better if they can find some relative or friend or someone to care for her."

"Right. I'm not in the habit of stealing children. It's just, if she's all alone out there…" Like I was, he added internally.

"...You and Anna would be the perfect people to help," Elsa finished for him.

They stood for a second in silence.

"So you don't think we're crazy?" Kristoff joked.

Elsa considered, tilting her head in a way that was reminiscent of Bruni.

"I think we're all far past crazy by now. But in a good way. Just make sure you don't call Anna crazy again...that didn't go so well last time…"

"You were awake?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Elsa turned from the door, smiling slyly as she walked into the entrance hall.

Kristoff sighed and followed. These sisters were going to be the death of him.

The others slowly woke up-Anna last, of course, but Mari almost had her beat-and said goodbye before Ryder, Honeymaren, and Elsa set off. Mari hugged each of them, having charmed them all, and promised to see them again soon.

Once they had left, she turned to Kristoff, eyes suddenly intense.

"I have a question. And tell the truth."

He exchanged a glance with Anna, also confused and slightly intimidated, before responding.

"Um. I'll do my best. What's your question?"

"Is my mom coming to get me?"

They once again exchanged nervous glances. Kristoff bent a knee until he was (almost) at her eye level.

"Honestly? I don't know. She...wasn't able to come when the guards found her. But that doesn't mean she won't. We will have people in touch, I promise."

The girl searched his face a moment longer, making him feel like a prisoner of war under interrogation, before suddenly moving on.

"Ok," she said simply.

"Ok?" he asked.

She nodded. The moment had suddenly passed, and she was on to other topics.

Anna had some work to complete, so she suggested that Kristoff give Mari a tour of Arendelle.

It took a while for them to convince Mari to let them tame her unruly hair, and she only agreed in exchange for permission to do Anna's hair. Anna, whose morning schedule was free from important meetings, happily consented to lopsided braids.

Anna waved them off from the castle entrance after straightening Kristoff's collar and Mari's hair, and Anna's and Mark's excitement gave him a sense of purpose for the day.

It wasn't until they got to the marketplace-where Mari flitted around, taking in the beauty and chaos of it all, and Kristoff struggled to keep up with her-that he noticed the odd looks people were giving to their queen's fiance and a previously unknown child.

Even if they had seen Mari before she had entered the castle, she looked very different after a bath, a comb, and a frock Anna had worn as a young princess.

Kristoff figured that his panic in trying not to lose his energetic charge was equally worthy of attention. He had accompanied Anna in visits with the children of Arendelle before, but those children were usually on their best behavior in front of the queen, following a teacher or another adult (or sometimes Olaf) as a group.

Mari seemed to have no awareness of the fact that Kristoff was trying to keep her in his line of sight. It was extremely frustrating, until he reminded himself that this child had been on her own for so long that having a guardian was unusual.

He finally calmed down when Mari found a group of children around her age and joined them in a game while their parents shopped. As Kristoff stood awkwardly to the side, trying not to intimidate them but also trying not to lose Mari, a woman approached him and regarded him warily.

"Who is that child? And what are you doing with her?"

Somehow, Kristoff hadn't considered how he would explain this situation to anyone who asked. He figured that the only thing he could do was tell the truth.

"We found her in the stables. She had been wandering around…she has a mother, but...we're not sure if she'll be able to care for her. She's staying in the castle while we come up with a plan."

The woman's face changed at the explanation.

"Oh, how sad. It's lovely that the queen has taken her in, though."

Kristoff nodded. The woman then laughed.

"Someone was wondering if she was your child. After all, we don't know much about your past…"

Kristoff had no idea how to respond to this, so he simply flushed and shook his head.

"Uh...I guess I see how they could think that...but I definitely don't have any children."

It was an awkward conversation to have with a near stranger, but he didn't want to read a newspaper article spreading rumors about secret offspring.

It was true that life in the mountains was sometimes different. Some of the ice harvesters had alluded to children that they had left behind, or children who may or may not be theirs.

Kristoff had always kept to himself. His mother-adoptive mother-had raised him to be compassionate toward others. He would never leave a child without a father, as his father had done.

He didn't have much time to dwell on the thought before Mari suddenly took off toward something that had caught her eye. The other children followed, and suddenly they all had their faces pressed against the bakery window, where the baker was arranging an assortment of freshly made pastries.

The children immediately began begging their parents for sweets, and many of them agreed; Kristoff, remembering what Anna would have done, bought enough for the whole group.

"We should get something for Queen Anna!" Mari said with excitement.

Kristoff chuckled. "If you want something for her, we should go look at the chocolate shop?"

Mari's eyes widened. "There's a whole shop? Just for chocolate?"

"Yes. And they need one, with how much goes to the castle alone…"

The two of them stayed together-mostly-for the rest of the afternoon. They went from shop to shop, buying chocolate for Anna and checking in with the shopkeepers, Kristoff occasionally losing Mari and frantically chasing after her. Gossip traveled fast around the town, so Kristoff only had to offer a few more explanations of Mari's situation before most had heard and the questions were replaced by curious but knowing looks.

They met up with Olaf and Sven, who drew even more attention from the village children. Most of them still laughed whenever Kristoff spoke for Sven; it had taken him a while to get over his insecurity about people's reactions to his quirk, but the children's laughter was worth it.

Mari was finally somewhat tired by the time they headed for the castle, so she and Olaf rode back on top of Sven while Kristoff walked beside them, wary of either one becoming too animated and falling off. When they reached the castle, Olaf was regaling Mari with a tale about how Elsa had created him, and the convoluted history around the event. Mari watched attentively, reacting at all of the important parts, until they entered the castle and Anna interrupted.

"Fun day?" she asked, and Mari jumped off of Sven's back, excited to give Anna the chocolates and recount all of the wonderful things she had seen in town. Anna, of course, was familiar with all of it, but Kristoff could see her eyes light up at the girl's appreciation of the kingdom she herself loved so much. She asked Mari about specific sites and people, most of which she had come across throughout the day.

"...And then Olaf was telling me about your life story! It was really interesting. Where did that Hans guy go, and how did you end up with Kristoff?"

"Oh! That's one of the best parts! Don't ruin the big reveal, Anna. Sven, I need your help. On we go!" Olaf interrupted.

Anna rolled her eyes and turned to Kristoff.

"Everything go all right?"

"Yes?" Kristoff offered hesitantly. "She has a lot of energy. I kept having to chase her around, and sometimes she would hide in different shops...and people kept asking questions. I wasn't sure what to say, so I just told the truth. Is that all right? Or should I have said something else, so that she wouldn't get so much attention?"

He realized that he was babbling, and Anna put a hand on his shoulder.

"I think you're fine. Honestly, I don't think there is a right answer in this case. But it seems like she had fun...and like she's really getting used to you."

The last part was in response to Mari waving Kristoff over, insisting that he needed to hear about what that evil Hans guy did to Anna. He laughed, smiled at his fiancee, and feigned surprise when Olaf reenacted the scene for him. It was usually difficult to avoid feeling some sort of anger whenever someone mentioned Hans's name, but now, it all seemed so far in the past, as if it had happened to some other group of individuals.

"I wanted to run something by you," Anna offered when Olaf had finally finished his theatrics, "You know how you were going to ask Gerda to help you with fitting into this crazy life of royalty and everything?"

"Yes…" Kristoff continued hesitantly. It seemed like forever ago, but he still thought it would be a good idea.

"Maybe Mari could learn, too. And you could help teach her as well, with reading and everything. She probably hasn't had much schooling, and I wouldn't want to embarrass her by sending her with the other kids before she's had a few basic lessons."

Kristoff considered it. "I like that idea. It might be more fun to have someone else around who knows almost as little as I do."

Anna laughed. "You know enough. Now go ask if the food is ready! You can start learning tomorrow. It's been a long day, we're all hungry, and I don't want to set a bad example by eating this chocolate before I eat any vegetables."