Prologue
The people of Arendelle mourned when their beloved King Erik XII passed away 10 years ago and his daughter, Queen Rita of Arendelle, and her husband, King Runeard of the Southern Islands, acceded to the throne, uniting their kingdoms to become the United Kingdom of Arendelle and the Southern Islands. King Runeard and Queen Rita reigned terror on the citizens of Arendelle and deployed the vast military forces of the Southern Islands against the Arendellians to comply with the sudden political changes that had been in place in the Southern Islands long before King Runeard was even born.
Arendellian citizens were routinely arrested for things like acts of protest, no matter how peaceful, being poor or homeless, being outside after curfew, and because a soldier just felt like it. People were frightened enough to uproot their lives to start over somewhere completely foreign, but safe. Thousands of refugees had flocked to the Republic of Corona to escape imprisonment and death, or to have a better life since the shift in rule, but things had gotten a lot worse over the last couple of years, and there was now an enormous influx of Arendellian refugees arriving daily.
There weren't many Northuldran refugees because there weren't many Northuldrans left. Most of the men had been killed and shoved into mass graves. The rest were imprisoned or in hiding, which is where most of the women were, too. It had always been bad for the Northuldrans, though. There was always a lot of prejudice against them, partly because of their isolation and semi-nomadic way of life, but also because the Northuldrans didn't take well to giving up their trees to house the booming Arendellian population. King Erik's response to this issue was to increase the military presence in the woods, force Arendellian education initiatives to rid Northuldran children of their culture, and imprison anyone that put up a fight. The Northuldrans were sovereign under the crown by law, but that political distinction, which was once a source of pride for the Northuldra people, became a loophole for the Kingdom of Arendelle, and later, the United Kingdom, to mete out punishments outside of Arendellian codes. On top of the already brutal treatment King Erik had instituted abainst the Northuldra, King Runeard and Queen Rita added concentration camps, mass executions, crimes against humanity, and genocide to the list.
Anna looked down at the unending line of Arendellian refugees. Her father, Agnarr, organizes the volunteers to make sure the refugees have everything they need in order to start their new lives in Corona. Agnarr started the refugee camp a couple of years after they moved to Corona, and the refugees kept coming.
"Purple," said one little girl, and Anna handed her a purple toothbrush.
"Green," said the girl's brother.
"Welcome to Corona," Anna replied in Arendellian as she handed them the toothbrushes and little tubes of toothpaste.
"Carrots," said the boy - man - standing behind them. Anna didn't understand.
"Carrots," he said again, in Arendellian. He couldn't be more than a couple years older than Anna, who was 16, but he looked 30. She didn't know how to respond to his request since she didn't have any food to hand out, only toiletries. The man looked like he had walked all 500 miles from Arendelle to get there, and he probably had. She couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors he must have encountered just so he could stand in front of her to ask for carrots.
"I want carrots," he said again in broken Arendellian as he pointed to the toothbrush. It suddenly occurred to Anna that the word for the color orange in Northuldran is the same as the word for carrot. He had a Northuldran accent, but it was hard to pick it up in just two syllables, and he was wearing Arendellian clothing. "I said carrots."
"Oh. Sorry." She handed him the orange toothbrush and he practically ripped it out of her hand. He offered her a haughty look as he moved on to the next station.
Anna felt horrible about the scenario. She hadn't meant to make him feel bad about how he spoke. It was clear to Anna that he couldn't speak Coronan at all, which wasn't unusual because most of the Arendellians couldn't. What was more unusual was that he spoke Arendellian only slightly better. However harrowing Anna thought the journey to get to Corona from Arendelle was, she now had to quadruple for that boy - man - knowing he came all the way from the Northern Mountains. Anna guessed that out of the 2,000 or so refugees in the encampment, this man was the only Northuldran. She could easily forgive his rudeness considering the circumstances.
"Ok, let's get everything shut down for the evening and load up the trucks. Good work today." Agnarr rested his arm on his daughter's shoulders just briefly and Anna noticed the Northuldran turn his head when she looked in his direction. She couldn't be sure if he was looking at her or if it was a coincidence.
After packing up all the boxes and folding the tables so they could be loaded onto the trucks to return the next weekend, Anna glanced once more at the Northuldran guy before climbing into her dad's car. He was laying down with his legs outside of the tent, humming an interesting tune that seemed familiar but Anna didn't think she had heard it before.
He must be exhausted.
"Anna?"
"Coming, Papa."
Anna could hardly concentrate in school the next day, thinking about the life she narrowly avoided having. The guilt of having been whisked away to the safety of Corona when she was seven, before the real violence began, young and lucky enough to speak Coronan without an Arendellian accent weighed on her. She had lost her mom and her sister, but she still had her dad and her brother, and they were relatively well off. Anna, her dad, and her brother Alex spent hours working for the refugees, trying to make their transition easier. It was something that consumed Anna's thoughts and it eased her conscience just barely to be able to do something to help.
The nagging "what if?" was a constant reminder of just how lucky she was.
"Helllloooo! Earth to Aaaannnnaaa!"
"Oh, Rapunzel. Oh!"
"Oh dear, I'm afraid that's your face in the creamed spinach." Rapunzel clasped her hands to her mouth and giggled. Her friends were used to her daydreaming, but even she could admit how amusing this was.
"Here," she said and handed her a napkin. "Hans is coming."
Anna's eyes widened and she sat up a little straighter.
"Hey, Babe, lookin' dreamy again. Did you have trouble sleeping last night?" He touched her cheek so tenderly.
"Yeah, just didn't sleep enough, I guess."
"Did you try putting that sachet my mom gave you under your pillow? It's an old Southern Islands sleep aide. I don't know if it really works, but my mom swears by it."
"You know, I keep forgetting. I'll try to remember for tonight. It couldn't hurt anyway, could it?"
"Can I walk you to class?"
Along with feeling lucky in life, Anna also felt lucky in love. Hans, who was probably the most handsome guy in school, loved her. They'd been together for almost a year, and he was nice, and her father liked him, at least a little. And most importantly, Anna loved him, too. They were that couple that everyone wished they could be a part of. Not because everyone wanted to be with either Anna or Hans, but because they wanted a connection or partnership like they had with each other. They were so in sync in every way. In most ways, anyway.
Hans walked Anna to her math class, his arm draped around her shoulders. They were talking about details for the upcoming football game that weekend.
"I can't on Saturday, Hans. I'm helping my dad again."
"Come on, Babe. You're like Mother Theresa. I'm sure he can go one day without you."
"That's not what this is about, Hans. It's important to me, and I'm not going to miss it for a stupid football game. You know, you're always welcome to help us. There's plenty of stuff to do."
Hans groaned, knowing that now he'd have to help instead of going to the football game. Neither of them was paying attention to where they were going and Hans actually ran into the Northuldran. It was clear that he'd had to be in survivor mode for a long time because he instinctively rolled into a ball on the floor.
Anna leaned down to hold the guy's shoulder, and whispered to him that it was ok, that he was safe, and that it was just an accident. The student finally opened his eyes and they stared at each other for an intense beat.
Realizing where he was, the Northuldran fled as quickly as he could.
"Well, he stunk a little, didn't he?"
"Hans! Ugggghhh." Anna rushed ahead to her class. Maybe they weren't the perfect couple, exactly.
That Saturday, Hans came with Anna and Agnarr to volunteer at the refugee camp. They handed out toiletries most of the day, and then Anna had the job of going around the camp and asking people if they needed anything, or if they could help them find someone for them.
Anna came across the Northuldran. His tent was set up away from all the others, and he seemed to be completely by himself. This might have been a personal preference, but it could have just as likely been that the rest of the Arendellians didn't want to be near him. Anna had noticed the way some of the Arendellians turned when he was near or walked away quickly or held on to their children more tightly. Anna was amazed that they would have this attitude after everything, after being targeted by the Southern Islander King and his soldiers, but more importantly, knowing about the Northuldran genocide. It had been going on for years, but the Arendellian reporters finally uncovered it a couple of years ago. Anti-Northuldran sentiment hasn't changed since then, unfortunately. Perhaps they turned away out of guilt. Anna was ashamed of the Arendellians when she saw these displays. And she had never felt that way before about Arendellians.
Anna tapped on his shoe and he shot up.
"I'm sorry to bother you," she said in Arendellian. "I'm one of the volunteers here. I wanted to see if there's anyone here in Corona you know that we can connect you with or if there's anything you need."
"I need some peace and quiet," he said in Northuldran.
"Do you have any family here?" Anna tried again in Arendellian.
"Don't know, don't care," again in Northuldran. It was clear he knew enough Arendellian to understand what she was saying, but he refused to speak it. Anna couldn't blame him for that, of course.
"You can't just keep living in this tent. There'll be other refugees who'll need to use it. Are you sure there isn't anyone we can contact for you?"
He groaned a little. "On my own..." He finally switched to Arendellian to express his annoyance.
He fell back to the ground and moved his hat to cover his eyes. At first Anna thought it was just a hat, but now she realized that it was actually religious headwear. The Northuldra worship Ahtohallan, the sun god, and they always kept their heads covered when the sun was up.
"Ok, I'll see if we can find someone that will let you stay with them temporarily so you don't have to camp anymore."
"I like camping. I'm used to it," he said in Arendellian.
Anna did not doubt that. She did not doubt that he spent the last six months in a forest. But this was Corona, not the Northern Mountains.
Anna pursued the topic further, and the guy hemmed and hawed and finally gave her a name. "Oaken Bjorgman. He's my mother's brother-in-law and he probably doesn't even know who I am. But you're welcome to try."
"What's your name?"
"Kristoff." He barely caught her eye when he said it, then closed his own in annoyance and laid back down.
"Hi, Kristoff. It's nice to meet you. I'm Anna. Just let me know if there's anything else you need, ok?"
"Peace and quiet," he said as he moved his hat to cover his face.
Anna felt a small sense of accomplishment. She'd start looking for Oaken right away.
"Anna, what are you doing up so early?" asked Alex as he curled up on the couch beside her.
"Just trying to help one of the refugees find a place to stay."
"Oh, ok. You want coffee?"
"Yes, please!"
Anna continued her search. There were 17 people with the last name Bjorgman. That probably wasn't actually Kristoff's last name. Of those 17, two were named Oaken.
"Better start at the top."
It was only 8:00 am, but Anna couldn't wait to call.
"Hello? Mr. Oaken Bjorgman? I'm so sorry to bother you so early…"
"Oh no, dear, it's no trouble at all. How can I help you?"
"My name is Anna and I work with the Gold Crocus Relief Campaign. I'm looking for a relative of one of the refugees that's just come from Arendelle. His name is Kristoff, and he said he has an uncle named Oaken Bjorgman."
"Oh, yes, dear! I've been waiting for them! Is it just Kristoff, though? No one else?"
"No, I'm sorry. Just Kristoff."
Anna felt terrible for Oaken. He was expecting more of his family to come with Kristoff. That meant that Kristoff probably really was on his own.
"Maybe they'll come later."
Anna didn't know what to say, but they probably weren't coming later.
"So can I come by the camp today to pick him up?"
"Yeah, of course. Have you ever met him before?"
"Once, but he was only three. My wife visited the Northern Mountains more often, so she'd know him, but she's passed away, unfortunately."
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Bjorgman.
"Well, how 'bout if I just look for you."
"I'm easy to find. I have long red hair. And I'll probably be behind a table."
Anna was getting worried that Oaken wasn't going to show up. It seemed like he was eager to have a new guest, but it was almost the end of the day, and they were starting to load up the truck.
"Excuse me? Hellooo! Are you Anna?"
"I am!"
"Oh, you're just as sweet as I imagined you." Anna was a little embarrassed by his praise.
"Are you Oaken?"
"I sure am."
Anna chatted with Oaken as she led him to Kristoff's tent. She quickly introduced them and left Oaken to his greeting. Kristoff really didn't seem to want her around anyway.
Behind her, Oaken shouted to her, "Thank you, dear Anna!"
Anna waved at him in thanks, embarrassed to be acknowledged for doing the bare minimum to help Kristoff. She was sure he wasn't the sort of person that liked to be helped at all. And he probably thought she was just helping him so she'd feel better about herself.
In a way, she was, but not because she was proud for doing something good. It was a way to relieve the guilt that was her constant companion. It helped for a second, but that was a second of reprieve that she wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
