The Search Goes On

"What makes you think she could be out there? How could she have managed to get that far too begin with?"

In the deep woods outside of Arendelle, a search party for Anna was its inhabitants. It had consist of Kristoff, Captain Storstrand of the Royal Guard, and several others. They were currently resting. Earlier, Kristoff had gotten the idea to expand their search even farther. Most had agreed, while some had different opinions. At the moment, Kristoff was having a small spat with one of the soldiers.

"The blizzard was a complete whiteout. It's possible that she could have wandered out here," Kristoff pointed out. "There was no trace of her near the kingdom. It makes more sense to look further out."

"Assuming she was still alive at that point to do so," the soldier spoke up.

"Bjorgman does make a good point, Johnson," Another guard spoke up. "That blizzard was hard to see through. It could be possible that the princess couldn't see where she was going and ended up out here."

"Unless those wolves dragged her bo-"

"Enough!" Storstrand commanded, having enough with the petty squabble. "I don't want to hear any more of that kind talk, Johnson. Understood?"

"...Yes sir."

"Then you go and rest up. We'll be moving again soon."

The soldier walked away from the captain and sat near a tree. The other soldiers that watched the squabble quickly resume to their own business. Storstrand looked over to Kristoff.

"I'm sorry about that," Kristoff apologize.

"It's alright. I think all the searching has made some of us a little tired," Storstrand said. "Resting here was probably a good decision. Speaking of which, I would recommend you do the same."

The ice harvester nodded and went to his reindeer. Storstrand went back to his horse and tended to it. As he did, he observed the other soldiers in his group. Some of them had looked pretty tired from searching. If the captain was being honest to himself, some of these soldiers were treating this more like Search & Recovery rather than Search & Rescue, even though it felt like the former as much as the captain hated to admit. The trail had seemed to gone cold, and the tracker dog was starting to lose the scent. But the captain was not going to give up on the princess yet.

Storstrand had been in the service of the royal guard for about 2 decades, half of which as the captain of the guard. He had joined the same year Princess Elsa was born. Just 3 years later, she vanished. It was a no-brainer to most everyone that she was kidnapped. He couldn't fathom the pain the king & queen went through. While Storstrand didn't have children of his own nor was married, his brother that has two sons of his own. His nephews meant the world to the captain. If anything were to happen to them...that was something Storstrand rather not think about.

The kidnapping of Princess Elsa had broken the hearts of everyone in the kingdom, including the guards. Storstrand could remember how several guards, including his predecessor, felt afterward. The looks of guilt on their faces had never left the captain's memory. Some of those guards even had quit in the months afterward because they believed they had failed. Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Several years later, the previous captain had unexpectedly resigned. No one knew why but Storstrand had a good guess. There was also 'The Incident', which is something he rather not remember at the moment.

And now history is seemingly repeating itself with Princess Anna seemingly vanished, albeit different circumstances. While odds of the princess being alive are getting lower and lower as the days went on, the captain won't give up quite easily. Storstrand wasn't like the soldiers that had left those years ago. He had already failed to protect one princess, he won't fail another.

On the other end, Kristoff was with Sven. Kristoff look to see Sven happily munching on his carrots. Normally, the ice harvester would share them with the reindeer, but he didn't have the appetite. Sven took notice of this and he nudged his friend in an attempt to get his attention

"What?" Kristoff said annoyedly. Seeing the hurt look on his friend's face made him realize what he did. "Sorry, Sven. I didn't mean to lash out at you. It's been a rough few days."

That was a statement the reindeer understood.

"We'll find her. Everything will be fine. You'll see," Sven said.

"I hope so too bud."

If the King was the most eager to look for Anna, then Kristoff would probably come into a tie, or second at least. Aside from Sven and his family, Anna was the important thing in his life. Ever since that day they met in the town they had been the bestest friends around. They both got into all kinds of mischief as kids. While there were some who might disapprove of such friendship, Anna, nor her family, didn't care.

Before he met Anna, Kristoff had lived a very lonely life. At a young age, he had lost both of his parents. He remembered some things about them. His father was an ice harvester and his mother would often like to help him out. One day, his parents went out to do their usual ice harvesting and they never came back home. That night several ice harvesters came by to his home and had told the boy that there was an accident and it had taken both of his parents.

From there on, the group had taken the boy in. They weren't close, but they at least fed him, clothed him, and gave him shelter. But Kristoff couldn't have the same bond as he shared with his family.

When he was eight years old, months before his current family found him, Sven came into his life. It was a day Kristoff will never forget. While the group of ice harvesters was resting from a tiring day, Kristoff had gotten bored and wanted to explore the forest. It was then he heard cries from an animal. He followed the noise and it had led him something he'll never forget. A reindeer calf was nudging what was presumingly his mother. The bigger reindeer had wounds all over her body. It had appeared that she had been attacked by wolves and succumbed to her wounds. While he knew it was weird, Kristoff knows the feeling the calf was going through. Losing your parent so unexpectedly. Using some carrots, Kristoff befriended the reindeer and they've been inseparable since. Years later, they both would make friends in the form of a 9-year-old princess.

"I know she will. If I know Anna, she isn't one to give up without a fight." Sven tried to further his point. "I'm willing to bet that right now she's in a cave safe and sound, waiting for you to find her."

"Y'know sometimes I wonder what would I do without you," Kristoff petted Sven's snout.

"You be hopelessly lost."

"Oh knock it off," Kristoff playfully nudged the reindeer. "We both know you go crazy without me."

Meanwhile, several soldiers were sitting near a small fire made to warm themselves up. They were talking to pass the time.

"Hey guys, you know that night guard Peterson?" a soldier asked.

"Yeah," a second soldier spoke up. "What about him?"

"Well, when I left to give our update back at the castle, I managed to bump into him before I left. He said he saw the king wandering down the halls close to 3 A.M. The king had this blank look on his face, almost like a zombie according to him."

"You're bullshitting us, Falk?"

"That's what Petterson told me, Adams," Falk said. "I don't know about you, but I think the king is losing it."

"Poor guy." Spoke up a third soldier. "It must be hard not knowing whether your daughter is alive or not."

"You're right about that, Daniels," Falk agreed. "I wouldn't blame him for pulling all the resources he has into finding Princess Anna, considering what happened years ago."

"What happened?" another soldier asked, curious to what they meant.

The three soldiers, Falk, Adams, and Daniels looked at the soldier confusedly.

"You...you don't know, Hall?" Adams asked.

"No, I really don't."

"Oh, that's right!" Falk said as he snapped his fingers. "You've only been in Arendelle for a few months."

"I'm surprised you haven't heard about it by now," Daniels said. "Everyone and their mother pretty much know the story."

"Would either of you please tell me what you're talking about?" Hall said.

"Well, how do I start this?" Falk started. "Princess Anna isn't the only princess. Years ago, there was another."

"There was another princess?" Hall spoke up after a while after a small period of silence.

"Yes. Princess Anna's older sister, Princess Elsa. Nicknamed 'The Gift of Arendelle', since she was born several days before Christmas."

"What happened to her?"

It was then the three soldiers faces grew grim. Like they were reminiscing something awful from the past. Soon, Falk recomposed himself and continued with the story.

"About fifteen years ago, some creeps manage to break into the castle and snuck into the princess's room. They kidnapped and took her away from here. No matter where we looked, there was no trace of her. She hasn't been seen since."

"The poor lass was only three," Daniels added. "Lord knows what happened to her."

"My God. I...I honestly had no idea something like that had happened before." Hall was obviously stunned by the revelation. "Why would someone do that?"

"No one knows why. There was never ransom of some sort. Though there have been some speculations," Falk said.

"I hear it was done by the same person who had stolen Corona's princess," Daniels said. "That's what many believed for the longest time up until it was disproven when Princess Rapunzel was found."

"I heard a curse of some sort was placed on both families since both since our king and Corona's queen are cousins." Adams spoke.

"That's just some superstitious bullshit. There's no such thing as curses!"

"The point is!" Falk spoke of, ceasing the small argument. "...That we don't know what happened nor why it happened. And we may never get those answers." A grim silence fell upon the soldiers soon after.

"How did the kingdom handle this? I can only imagine it was hard on everyone," Hall spoke up.

"It was," Adams added, sadness was clear in his voice. "Princess Elsa's disappearance broke the king's & queen's heart. Mostly the former from what I heard."

"How bad?

"He became somewhat of a recluse for a brief time. He would hardly step outside, even out of his room. Some say he grew somewhat of a cold personality, which was quite surprising considering he was said to be a very kind man. Rumor has it, he almost went insane and nearly killed someone."

"D-did he?" Hall asked, slightly shocked at that last statement.

"It has never been proven, but I highly doubt that's true. People who have nothing better to do like to stir up all sorts of crap," Daniels brought up.

"You never know," Falk said. "They say the greatest tragedy is a father losing his child. A tragedy such as that can do all sort of things to a person's head."

"Goodness ...Judging from what you guys told me, I can see why everyone wants to find Princess Anna so badly," Hall said.

"Wish Johnson shares that attitude. That guy is such a pessimist sometimes," Daniels said, to which the others nodded & muttered in agreement.

Several moments afterward, there was silence. Not one guard had spoken a word to each other. The only sounds that were given were the crackling sounds of the small fire.

"Do...do you think Princess Anna is still alive?" Hall asked.

"I don't know, Hall. We can only hope at this point," Falk paused for a moment. "If she isn't...the least we could do is find her remains and give her a proper funeral."

"Let's just hope it's doesn't come to that."


20 minutes later...

The group had resumed their search. They were going deeper into the woods. Their only source of light was their lanterns to help guide them through the dark forest. Each person had called out for Anna's name.

"Anna!"

"Princess!"

Each call they gave out, the sound silence was their only response. As this went on, the guards were starting to feel more and more discouraged.

"So far, we haven't found any sign of her," a soldier spoke up.

"Don't lose hope yet, soldier," Storstrand said.

"I still think this is pointless," Johnson, the soldier that had argued with Kristoff earlier. "Unless there was some miracle, I don't see how the princess could still be alive."

"I told earlier Johnson, I don't want to hear more of that kind of talk,"

"Yeah Johnson. Stop being so damn negative," Adams said.

"I'm not being negative. I'm being realistic," Johnson defended. "And it seems I'm the only one being realistic."

"How could believe that the princess is dead?"

"Well let's see...She's been gone for two days, almost three, we're in the middle of winter, and recently went through a harsh blizzard. So yeah, excuse me for considering the circumstances and not be set up for disappointment."

"You don't know if she's even dead!"

"And you don't know if she's even alive!"

"Knock it off you two!" Storstrand shouted.

As the captain was trying to settle down the argument, Kristoff noticed Sven acting odd. The reindeer's head suddenly jerked up and his nose started to twitch. He suddenly started to sniff the ground.

"Hey, what's the matter, Sven?" Kristoff asked.

However, Sven ignored his friend and started to walk fast as he sniffed the ground. The soldiers took notice of the reindeer's odd behavior.

"What's up with your reindeer, Bjorgman?" A soldier asked.

"I think he's looking for something," Kristoff suggest, though a bit unsure himself.

The ice harvester & royal guards watch Sven as he looked around, nose still on the ground. They watched as he moved side to side. Suddenly he stopped and start grunting loudly.

"And I think he just found it."

Kristoff ran over to his friend, followed by several of the soldiers. Sven was simoustanly digging and pointing at the ground, indicating that there was something of importance. Kristoff helped his companion dug as the soldiers watch. Some waited in anticipation, unsure if they found a clue or Anna's dead corpse. Finally, the pair stopped digging. Kristoff reached for something in the ground and slowly stood up.

"Did you find something, Bjorgman?"

"Yes," Kristoff stuck out his hand. It was a mitten. "This is Anna's."

"Are you sure?" Storstrand asked.

"Positive. I gave her this glove. Plus not a lot of people come around these parts of the woods. It's the only explanation."

"Then there's only one way to find out."

Storstrand went to a guard and got one of the dogs used in order to help track Anna. The captain gesture Kristoff to let the dog sniff. Kristoff knelt down in front of the dog and watch it sniff the mitten. As sniffing for a few minutes, the dog suddenly lets out several barks and started to run.

"Get on your steeds, men and follow that dog!" Storstrand commanded.

Everyone complied and got on their horse, or reindeer in Kristoff's case. They commanded their steeds to run fast. Inside of the men, newfound hope and determination to find the princess had been restored.

"Don't worry Anna. We'll have you back home soon enough," Kristoff thought.

The men keep on riding in the deep in the woods. In the line of direction was The North Mountain in the distance.


Yeah, I know its filler, but its been a while since we seen Kristoff & Sven.

Along in this chapter, we see the perspectives from the soldiers on Elsa's kidnapping. They have some interesting ideas on what happened afterwards. Who knows?

I know it may seem odd, but I do think soldiers do refer to others by their last name. I feel like that's something they would do, I may be wrong though.

I heard that reindeer can sniff objects several feet below the snow (don't remember where I heard that so I could be wrong).

Thanks for the favs, follows, and reviews. Happy Reading.