Cold Introduction

The Next Night…

The door on the end of the wall surrounding Arendelle opened and Anna emerged from the secret passage. A lantern was in one hand while she used the other to close the passage door. She then made her way up to the edge of the mountain range, just like she had been doing for the past two months. Unaware too her, tonight will be different.

A small while later, Anna had made it to the mountain range edge. Normally, Marshmallow would be here to carry her the rest of the way so that she didn't wear out herself from walking to The North Mountain and to save herself time. However, there wasn't any sign of Marshmallow. Taking out the pocket watch, she noticed that she had arrived much earlier than intended.

"Looks like I'm a little early." Anna thought.

Taking a one more quick look around for any sign of the giant snow creature, Anna sat on a nearby log. Lately, she had been feeling more tired so she didn't mind resting on the log. The lantern she had with her was growing dim. Fortunately, Anna had carried a small box of matches that her father uses for his cigars.

After setting the lantern on her lap, Anna got a match stick out and flick it against the box. Several attempts flick later, the top got a small fire. Anna lights up the lantern and blew out the small flame on the stick before flicking it on the ground.

"Aren't those your dad's matches?"

The sudden voice caused Anna to jump to her feet and went into a defensive stance. Once she saw the origin of the voice, she was relieved, but shocked to see who it was. And it came in the form of a blonde man leaning against a tree, with a reindeer behind him.

"Kristoff?!... What are you doing here?" Despite freaking out on the inside, Anna tried her best to play it cool.

Since his discovery yesterday, Kristoff had contemplated a plan to figure out what Anna was doing. The best solution he & Sven could think of was to camp out near the wall since they figure that's where Anna was sneaking out and have been doing it at night. They had no such luck the previous night, but Kristoff was one that doesn't like to give up so easily.

This night they once again camped out not far from the wall. It was proven successful as they saw Anna opening a secret door on the wall and went into the woods. They had followed her all the way to their current spot.

"I could ask you the same thing." Kristoff moved away from the tree and walked over to her. "Y'know, people who sneak up here only do it because they're hiding something."

"It's not what you think...I have a perfectly good explanation." As much as Anna tried to hide it, the nervousness in her voice can be clearly heard. It had grown higher once Kristoff had walked until he was several inches away from her.

"Look, Anna, Whatever you're doing, I just want the truth." Kristoff crossed his arms.

"The...truth?" In all honesty, Anna didn't what to do or what to say to him. She always knew that sooner or later, someone might start to catch on what she was doing. Kristoff was always on the top of the list of who to tell about Elsa first, but she didn't picturing it to be this way. "Uhh..."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

Followed by the voice, small shards landed on the log near them, causing the pair to stumble backward. Quickly, they both looked in the direction of where the shards came from. There, Anna saw Elsa herself.

Typically, Marshmallow would often go alone to pick up Anna to take her to the ice palace. There were some occasions where Elsa would accompany him and tonight she had done so. When they got closer to the meetup, she heard Anna supposedly talking to someone, with an unfamiliar voice being followed up as well. Splitting ways from Marshmallow, Elsa went to investigate to see Anna next to a big built man. Seeing the girl's nervous & uneasy expression, Elsa fear that the man had come to bring harm.

"Anna run!"

Kristoff got his pickaxe out that was strapped on him and quickly dashed towards Elsa. Right now, the only thing on Kristoff's mind was to protect Anna from this woman. Unaware to him, Elsa had also the same intentions, but that was protecting Anna from him. Neither of each knew of their opponent's true relationship with the princess.

"No, wait!"

Kristoff ignored Anna's shouts as he ran over to Elsa. An ice spike as big as a small sword grew in Elsa's hand. Their own weapons clash against one another several times. Anna watched as everything played out and tried to figure out what to do.

"Oh, this is going so well." Anna thought sarcastically.

Elsa manages to knock Kristoff down on the ground. He barely had any time to get up and re-positioned himself as Elsa charged at him again.

"Nononono!"

Anna quickly ran and jumped between the pair with her arms sticking out, just before they could clash again. Back facing Kristoff and her full attention was on Elsa. From behind, Kristoff watch as Anna talked to the woman.

"He's just protecting me. He's a friend." Were the words Anna spoke to her, which seemed to work as the ice spike then dissipated from Elsa's hand and she seemed to relax a bit, but her full attention was still on Kristoff. "You just scared her." Anna faced Kristoff.

"I scared her?!" Kristoff got to his feet before his face paused as realization struck him "Wait, you two know each other?"

"Yes, we do…"

"Wha-How? Kristoff walked back a bit, still clutching his pickaxe. He had kept walking until his felt his back against something cold. Turning around, a huge white creature towering over him with a scowl on its face was what had greeted him. "What the fu-" was the last thing Kristoff muttered before the creature grabbed him and lifted Kristoff to his eye level. Getting a closer look, Kristoff can see that this creature was made of ice & snow.

"Anna! What is going on here?!" Kristoff shouted as he struggled to get free.

"It's a very long story," Anna answered.

"What is this thing?"

"That 'thing' is named Marshmallow," Elsa deadpanned as she walked closer to him. "Who are you?"

"My name's Kristoff. I'm a friend of Anna's."

Elsa seemed to soften up after he mentioned his relationship with Anna. However, she still kept her guard up as she asked him several more questions.

"Why are you here? Are you alone?"

"I just came here to see what Anna was doing. It's just me & Sven." Kristoff gestured to the reindeer, who was hiding behind some bushes. "I haven't told anyone about this."

"You haven't?"

"I swear!"

"I think that's enough questions, Elsa," Anna said.

"I'm just making sure he's not going to hurt us."

"Me, hurt you? You're the one who threw shards at us!" Kristoff retorted.

"If I really wanted to hurt you, I would've thrown them at your head. I just gave a warning shot. You're the one who made things worse."

"I made it worse?!"

"OK, enough you two!" Anna shouted loud enough for the two to stop their bickering. "Could you give us a moment, Kristoff?"

"Not like I'm going anywhere..." Kristoff sarcastically said.

"Okay. Just stay put, and don't make Marshmallow angry."

"Yeah, sure. Wait, what?"

Anna gently grabbed Elsa's arm and they walked several feet away until they were out of an earshot.

"Is that man really your friend?" Elsa asked.

"Yes, Kristoff is my friend. I told you about him several times," Anna had answered. "I promise you he is not a threat."

"He charged towards me with a pickax in his hand!"

"To be fair, you did kinda started it. Throwing ice shards at him is not exactly what I call making a good first impression." Elsa looked down at the ground, not saying a word to Anna. "But I know you were just trying to protect me. Kristoff was only doing the same. It's just all a big misunderstanding. He's a really sweet guy and he'll be the same to you once he sees you're not a threat."

Elsa only gave a huff in response as she crossed her arms. She glanced over to Kristoff, still in Marshmallow's grasp. As Anna took a quick glance at both of them, she got an idea.

"Why don't we take him to the palace?"

"To my home?!"

"You trust me, don't you?"

A small period a silence was around for a small time before Elsa answered. "Yes."

"I've known him for many years now and I swear he won't react badly or try anything. Trust me on this."

"...Fine. But Marshmallow keeps a hold on him until we get there."

"I promise that you won't regret this." Anna had a smile on her face before she ran back towards Kristoff. "How are you doing, Kristoff?"

"Aside from finding out that you're friends with a girl I've never seen before who can control this monster made of snow that has me in his grip, I'm doing s'well," Kristoff spoke it in a way that was trying to hide his uneasiness. "You ever gonna tell me what's your deal with them?"

"First of all, her name is Elsa and the snow monster is named Marshmallow. Second of all, I promise you that I will. But before I can, me and Elsa want to show you something."

"Okay, what do you want to show me?"

"We...have to go there."

"Go there?" Anna nodded. "Oh great. So you're kidnapping me now."

"I'm not kidnapping you! Don't be so dramatic!"

"Can you tell your friend here to let go of me please?"

"I can't do that. Only Elsa can."

"Then can you please tell her that then?"

"I can't do that either."

"Why?"

"She...doesn't exactly fully trust you so she's making Marshmallow hold you the whole way there."

"Wonderful...Can I at least have my arms free? I can feel my circulation being cut off."

"Can he?" Anna looked over at Elsa.

"Sure," Elsa replied after a moment.

Kristoff felt Marshmallow's grip around loosen a bit and pulled both of his arms out, but still tight enough for him to not escape.

"Better now?" Anna asked.

"A little. What about Sven?"

"Elsa and I will ride him."

"I'm not sure if I should be relieved or afraid. Remember the last time you rode Sven without me?"

"That was one time. Sven was still fine and I only got several bruises. I've gotten better since. Have some faith in me, would ya." Anna turned her attention to the reindeer. "Come over here, Sven." The reindeer was hesitant to move from his spot. Anna looked over to Kristoff, indicating she needed some help.

"It's fine, Sven," Kristoff assured his companion. "At least I hope it'll be fine…"

With that. Sven moved from his spot and headed towards Anna. She immediately greeted him with several pats on his neck

"Sven, meet Elsa. Elsa, meet Sven."

"...Hello." Elsa gave a small wave as Sven smiled at her. Despite that, Elsa was keeping her distance.

"What? You've never seen a reindeer before?" Anna asked, noticing her wariness.

"I've hunted some before." Sven gave a small grunt of shock at Elsa's response.

"She doesn't mean it, Sven. She was only joking." Anna petted his neck until he was calm. "Right, Elsa?"

"I wasn't jok-"

"Uh, let's get on Sven's back!"

The reindeer lowered himself to make it easier for both girls to climb on him. Anna was the first to get on his back with ease. Elsa, on the other hand, had a bit of trouble, but Anna managed to help her on.

"Comfy?" Anna asked.

"Uh, yeah," Elsa answered.

"I'm still unsure about this," Kristoff called out.

"You'll be fine," Anna answered.

Unknown to Anna, Marshmallow has his own ideas forming in his head. Nothing malicious but rather mischievous (his idea of mischievous at least) payback towards Kristoff for almost hurting Elsa. He then gave 'a look' towards Elsa, to which she replied with a simple nod. That's was all he needed.

"I promise you, Marshmallow is a gentle giant," Anna had assured.

At that very moment, Marshmallow had quickly dashed off, with Kristoff shouting like crazy. It took Anna second before she realizes what just occurred. She commanded Sven to follow the giant snow creature while being concerned for his friend.

"Marshmallow! What is wrong with him?" Anna asked Elsa, in which the ice wielder only gave a shrug. The kind of shrug one would give indicating they didn't know, but in reality, they did. An annoyed groan came out of Anna as she rolled her eyes before Sven managed to catch up to Marshmallow, who managed to slow down a bit. Still in his grip was an now uneasy looking Kristoff. Anna had tried her best to keep him calm. "He's normally not like this. I don't know what's gotten into him."

As Anna kept attempting to assure Kristoff, the group had ended up near a slope with trees down below. A mischievous smile grew across Marshmallow's face as he gradually started sliding down the slope.

"Oh no," Was what Anna muttered, as she watched Marshmallow slide down while hearing Kristoff screaming. "Elsa, what is he doing?"

"Marshmallow just having some fun. He's not going to hurt him." Elsa responded.

"The whole idea of this was to get Kristoff to like you! This is not the way to do it!"

The girls continue to watch Marshmallow as they still attempted to catch up. While Anna knew Marshmallow knew he wouldn't hurt him, it still didn't stop her from worrying about Kristoff's wellbeing. Especially when Marshmallow did some daring moves.

"And now he's spinning…" Anna had muttered at some point as placed her hand on her face. "This just keeps getting better and better…"

Soon Marshmallow quit his slide and resumed his rough running. The girls & reindeer soon manage to get all caught up. Sometimes Anna forgets that Marshmallow is a pretty fast runner despite his bulky size.

"Okay! I am sorry! I'm sorry! I'll cooperate!" Kristoff had said loud and clear. Loud enough for the girls to hear as well.

A quick glance was exchanged between Marshmallow and Elsa. The words from Kristoff sounded sincere enough for Elsa. Giving the giant snowman a nod, Marshmallow seized his running and started to walk much more calmly. The girls & Sven soon managed to get caught up to the pair. Anna and Sven managed to relax a bit to see Kristoff unharmed. The same could be said for the ice harvester himself, along with a slight surprise seeing how gentle the giant snowman is.

"See? Total gentle giant," Anna had said to him.

"Yeah…" Kristoff responded as he looked up at Marshmallow, who gave a neutral look. "Where exactly are we going, Anna?"

"You'll see soon. Just try to stay comfortable."


Later…

"How much farther are we?" Kristoff asked.

"Not too far now," Anna answered.

"You said that fifteen minutes ago."

"Yes, and we're almost there."

As the group made their way to their destination, Elsa watch the pair made their exchange, most notably Kristoff. Up until this point, Elsa had only known of him through the several times Anna had mentioned him. He seemed to be friendly and didn't seem to have any ill intention towards them, but Elsa still kept her guard up.

Suddenly, Marshmallow had stopped in his tracks. In front of the group was a huge rock blocking their view.

"What's going on?" Kristoff asked.

"We're here." Anna jumped off Sven, followed by Elsa.

"We are?" Kristoff said unsurely as he looked around. "Does that mean I can be free now?

"Can he?" Anna looked at Elsa.

"Marshmallow, drop him," Elsa commanded.

Kristoff felt Marshmallow releasing his grip on him. This caused Kristoff to land face first in the snow, earning him a mouthful of a snow.

"Are you okay?" Anna ran to his side, along with Sven.

"Yeah, I'm-pff- fine." Kristoff spat out some snow as Anna helped him to his feet. "Where are we?"

"The North Mountain," Anna replied.

"All the way out here? For what?"

"Just let me show you. Please, Kristoff."

Anna stuck out her hand, indicating Kristoff to take it as well. He then took it and Anna started guiding him.

"Do you really want to do this?" Elsa asked.

"Trust me, Elsa. He'll love it." Anna said to her.

"Love what?" Kristoff looked at Anna oddly.

"You're about to find out." Anna gave a smile as she started guiding him.

The pair walked around the rock. On the other side lied Elsa's ice palace. All Kristoff could do at that moment was only look in complete wonder.

"Oh my God. Now that's ice..." Kristoff has softly spoken in awe. Gaze not leaving the palace once.

"Come on," Anna ushered him to move.

"Wait we're actually going in there?" Anna gave a nod to him.

The pair walked up to the ice staircase and started walking on it. Kristoff had lingered back to take his time just admiring the staircase alone. "Flawless…" Kristoff muttered as he gently touched the icy railing as he walked up.

Anna had made it to the doors first, watching Kristoff still admiring the ice structure as he walked up the stairs. A smile grew across her face. She knew exactly what she was doing and this was only the beginning.

Not too long later, Kristoff arrived at the top of the stairs. Anna opened the grand doors and let Kristoff go in first. Slowly, Kristoff walked inside and looked around the foyer. His eyes were glued practically around every inch of the room. The foyer stairs, the frozen fountain, the ceiling, everywhere. Each time he had looked in a different spot, his expression of pure awe had still remained the same.

Anna walked in several moments later and went to the foyer stairs. She called for Kristoff and gestured him to come with her. Kristoff followed Anna up the foyer stairs and up the staircase on the left of the palace. Soon they had arrived in the balcony room. Just like in the foyer, Kristoff looked around the room with the same look. His eyes especially lit up once he saw the chandelier.

His gaze had stopped once he heard more doors opening. Looking to the source, Anna was near to what lead to the balcony. They both walked onto it and Kristoff was astonished by the view of the mountain range. As they stood, the Northern lights then emerge in the sky. In the past, Kristoff had climbed many cliffs with many glorious views. None of which were nothing compared to this.

Anna had looked at Kristoff as she stared at the night sky. A sudden thought in her had told her that if circumstances were different...this would actually be quite romantic. She quickly pushed that thought out of her head.

"Awesome isn't it?" Anna spoke up.

"Yeah. It's pretty cool." Kristoff still had his gaze on the sky covered with the dancing lights. "All of this, its...amazing."

"You like my home?"

A voice behind the pair caused them to turn to see Elsa at the doorway. She had lingered back as Anna showed Kristoff around the palace and watched his reactions. The look on his face was the same one Anna had when she first revealed her magic to her. It was somewhat relieving to see that Kristoff was interested in her magic. Despite all that, Elsa still kept her guard up.

"Uh, Yeah! Ice is my life!" Kristoff exclaimed gladly before he paused for a moment. "Did you say your home?"

"Y-yes. I built it." Elsa answered as she walked a little closer to the pair, though still keeping her distance from Kristoff. "I have ice magic."

Kristoff gave an odd look to her. "Show me."

Elsa was caught off guard for that moment as she clasped both her hands together. She looked over at Anna, mentally asking her if she should. Anna's eyes had looked as if she was telling her, 'Let it go. Show him what you can do.' Lifting her hand in the air, Elsa made a small stream of snow. Then she did the same with her other hand. Kristoff watch the snow fall down, laying out out his hand as some of those snowflakes land on his palm

"Amazing…" Kristoff muttered. "All of this its just...wow. I might cry."

"I won't judge," Anna spoke up.

"What's all the commotion in here?" Olaf waddle onto the balcony. The sight of the snowman startled Kristoff a bit. "Hi, Elsa. Hi Anna! Hi…" Olaf paused as he noticed Kristoff's presence. "Who's the funky looking donkey?"

"Donkey?" Kristoff exclaimed.

"Hi, Olaf. This is Kristoff. He's a friend of mine," Anna said.

Kristoff took noticed on how Anna had talked to the snowman. The way she had casually talked to him indicated that they were familiar with one another. It did make him wonder how long this was going on. Those were answers he'll get later hopefully.

"Hi, Kristoff! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" The snowman exclaimed.

"Uh, hello." Kristoff gave an awkward wave. Just when he thought this night couldn't get any weirder & crazier.

"He's one of Elsa's creations. Like Marshmallow." Anna brought up.

"Is there more of...like him and Marshmallow?"

"Yeah, but they're way smaller. We call them Snowgies. Some of them should be around."

A thud was suddenly heard. It sounded like it had come from the foyer. Everyone headed to the large room to see Sven slipping all over the foyer. Marshmallow had just stood and watch as the reindeer made each attempt to stand up only to slip again. Quickly, Kristoff went over to his companion's side.

"Alright, take it easy boy. I got ya." Kristoff helped Sven to his feet and got him to stand up properly. "There you go, buddy."

"Who's the reindeer?" Olaf asked.

"That's Sven." Anna had answered.

"Hi, Sven!" Olaf waddled his way towards Sven. "I'm Olaf and it's nice to meet you." When Olaf got a little closer, Sven tried to take a bite out of Olaf's carrot nose. "Aw! Look at him trying to kiss my nose. I like you too!" The snowman had spoken in a baby voice, not knowing the reindeer's true intentions, before hugging Sven's neck.

"They like each other," Anna mentioned to her two friends as they watch.

"Yeah..." Kristoff had replied. Elsa, on the other hand, had remained silent.

Before anyone could say more, squeaking noises were heard. Coming down the stairs behind the three people were all of The Snowgies. The little snow creatures all stop to gaze upon Kristoff.

"Anna, what are those?" Kristoff asked.

"These are the Snowgies I told you about," Anna said,

"Little brothers!" Olaf exclaimed. "This is Kristoff!"

Without any warning, the Snowgies all started to crowd around Kristoff. They were ganging up on him so much, Kristoff fell on his butt. This meant more opportunity for the small snow beings to jump all over him.

"What are they doing?" Kristoff asked.

"That's how they say they like you," Anna answered.

"I think I'll like them more if they're not jumping all over me!"

"Uh Elsa, could you-?

Knowing what Anna wanted. Elsa signaled over to Marshmallow. With a roar, the snowgies knew that meant they had to get off. Once they were cleared, Kristoff managed to get on his feet.

"Sorry about that. They get a little too excited sometimes," Anna said.

"I can see that," Kristoff stated, before taking a glance at every individual in the room. "So all these guys are your friends?"

"Yes."

"For how long?"

"We've been friends for months now," Olaf suddenly blurted out.

"Months?" Kristoff exclaimed.

"Yep!" Olaf replied with a bright smile. "Are you and Elsa friends now?"

"I uh…" Kristoff stuttered, not sure what to say. While he knew that Elsa wasn't any sort of threat, he still didn't know what to make of her. Elsa, meanwhile, had also the same thoughts about him as well.

"They haven't decided yet. Right guys?" Anna spoke up, likely wanting to avoid any awkwardness between the pair.

"Uh yeah. I need to think about it," Kristoff played along.

"Yeah," Elsa also added as well.

"Oh...Well, I sure hope you'll decide soon. I would love to have more friends around!" Olaf exclaimed happily.

A small yawn then came out of Anna's mouth.

"Are you okay, Anna?" Elsa asked. "You've been yawning a lot."

"Yeah. I guess I'm just tired…"

"Maybe you sure go home and rest."

"But I just got here. That would be rude."

"And I don't want you hurting yourself."

Kristoff watches the way the two girls exchange. Just by the way they talked and events beforehand, it was very clear to him that Anna & Elsa were indeed close friends, much like himself & Anna. It did make a lot of sense. This Elsa girl was willing to fight him as a means to protect Anna. These creatures made of snow didn't seem to faze Anna at all and were really friendly to her, including Marshmallow. However long Anna has been visiting this Elsa was long enough for the two girls to care about each other's feelings.

"I swear Elsa, I'm not...tired."

Another yawn came out of Anna's mouth before eyes started closing and started toppling over. It would've had a painful landing on the floor had Kristoff not quickly ran over to her and landed in his arms. "I got her."

"Is she okay?" Elsa asked.

"She's fine. Once she sleeps properly" Kristoff assured her. "I guess lack of sleep must be catching up to her."

"Anna's been feeling more tired a lot recently. The last time she was here she fell asleep here for several hours."

"How often does Anna come here?"

"Several times each week during the night."

That had answered some of the questions Kristoff had. But he hasn't gotten the full story and he knew he wasn't going to get it from Elsa.

"I better take her home." Kristoff stood to his feet with the sleeping Anna in his arms and started to walk out, with Sven following him. Before they could leave, Marshmallow had blocked the exit. "I'm just going to take her home. I'm won't hurt her." The giant snow creature still didn't move though, so Kristoff looks over to Elsa, with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Let him leave, Marshmallow." Elsa had commanded.

Marshmallow looked at Elsa and then towards Kristoff. After several moments, he moved away from the exit.

"Take care of her now," Elsa said before she switches to a more stern look. "Because if anything happened to her..."

"I promise I'll get her home safely," Kristoff said.

Those words seemed to help Elsa relax a bit. With that, she watches Kristoff & Sven head for the doors.

"Wait!" Elsa called out, causing Kristoff to stop. What Elsa said next was something he didn't expect to hear "It was...nice to meet you."

"It was...nice to meet you too." While Elsa sounded somewhat sincere, Kristoff was more awkward.

Once again Elsa found herself watching him & the reindeer leave the palace with Anna. Soon all three of them were gone.

"He seems nice. I like him!" Olaf blurted out. "You think we'll see him again?"

As much Elsa wanted to agree with him, she just wasn't sure. He seemed to be very kind, but she wasn't sure if he was willing to befriend her.

"We'll see, Olaf. We'll see."


The feeling of someone nudging her head was felt as she slowly opened her eyes. Along with a voice that was heard.

"Wake up, Anna."

"Ugh...five more minutes, Gerda…" She mumbled drowsily.

"Wrong person."

"Huh, what?" Once Anna fully opened her eyes, she realized she was snuggled up against Kristoff's chest. A small red blush formed on Anna's face as she pulled away in her embarrassment, not knowing they were both on Sven. This resulted with her falling off the reindeer and onto the ground.

"You alright, sleeping beauty?" Kristoff jumped off Sven and went to Anna.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Anna rubbed the back of her head. "What happened?"

"You apparently had a lack of sleep. My guess is that it finally caught up to you in that ice palace. I took you back afterward."

"Back where?"

Looking up, Anna saw that they were near the wall that had connected to the castle.

"I figure you would've preferred to be here rather than at the front gates," Kristoff added.

"Oh, thanks…"

Instead of heading to the passage, Anna had remained sitting on the ground, with Kristoff next to her. As she went through her thoughts, she could feel Kristoff looking at her. She had a pretty good guess why.

"I guess I owe you that explanation."

"Uh, Yeah," Kristoff responded. "It's not every day you find out your best friend knows a woman who has ice magic. How long have you two known each other? When did you meet? Who exactly is she?"

The was a period of silence before Anna spoke. "Remember back in February when I got lost for a few days?"

"I much rather not…What does that have to do with this?"

"The day I got lost is when I first met her. After I barely manage to get away from those wolves, I tried to walk home but I ended up getting lost. I probably walked for hours and that's when that blizzard struck." Anna paused, for the next part of the story was something she knew would hard for Kristoff to hear. "I tried to find shelter but the blizzard made so hard to see and walk through. I tripped on something at one point. I tried to fight to keep going, but I was so cold and tired. I just gave up and lied in the snow ready to accept my fate before passing out."

There were many things Kristoff wanted to say at that moment. Yet none could describe the sense of shock he could feel. Anna had never told him that she almost lost her life. Nonetheless, he continued to listen.

"I guess what happened next, which I could only think as a miracle from God, Elsa somehow found me and took me back to her home where she helped me recover."

Anna stated before continuing on. "Those three days I was gone, I spend with Elsa. She showed me her ice magic, showed me around her home, and I befriended & played with her creations. In that short time, we all become close. I stayed there until the day I went home."

"But if you were staying with Elsa, what were you doing in the woods where I found you?" Kristoff asked.

"Apparently, a few of the Snowgies were away from the palace and spotted the rescue group you were in. They overheard someone say your name that's how I knew it was you. I didn't want you guys to find Elsa and the others so I left to go find you."

"I see."

"Anyway, after that, Elsa was always on my mind. I couldn't just forget about her and move on, not after everything we've been through. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for her. That's something I don't I think could ever repay her for. With papa putting my horse riding ban I had to find another way to see her. Just my luck there was a secret passage in my bedroom. Just almost 2 weeks after I was brought back, I used it to sneak out and went back to see her. Since then, I've been sneaking out of the castle several times a week at night to visit her."

"Is the reason why you visit her is because you do it out of gratitude?" Kristoff asked.

"Partially, but it's much more than that. As I gotten to know her, she became more than just someone who saved my life. I...I never told anyone this before. My whole life I felt like a part of me was missing." As she said this, Anna moved her hand on her chest. Specifically where her heart is. "You remember when I told you about my...sister?"

Kristoff nodded his head. A day after Anna's parents summoned her, she told them what they had told her, that she had a sister that was stolen from her family just months before Anna entered the world. All Kristoff could do was feel pity and offered his sympathies to Anna and her parents, even giving Anna a hug. He knew what it was like to lose someone yet he couldn't fully relate. While Kristoff's parents were gone, he at least knew that they were dead. Anna's sister, on the other hand, was taken from her family, never to be seen again, while her parents spent years afterward not knowing their child's true fate. That is a pain he cannot imagine himself going through and hope he would never experience.

"When mama & papa told me about my sister, I figure she was the reason why I felt this. That didn't mean it went away. The strange thing is that whenever I'm with Elsa that part of me doesn't feel empty. It feels...full. We've become almost like sisters."

"You really care for her that much?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Of course not, it's that...Most people who disappear into the mountains want to be alone."

"Nobody wants to be alone. You of all people should know that."

Kristoff didn't even bother to say a word after that.

"I know you might see her as some ice sorceress, but there's more to her than that." Anna continued and Kristoff perks up to further listen. "Elsa hasn't had an easy life. She's spent ten years living alone on that mountain since she was 8 years old. I don't know much about her life before that. From what I can gather, she doesn't have any family and the only people in her life had abused her. Elsa is one of the nicest people I know and she didn't deserve to go through all that."

Kristoff did not utter a word for several moments until he asked a question. "Why didn't tell me about her? Why did you keep this? Do you not trust me?"

"What?! Of course, I trust you! I wanted to tell you, but I wasn't sure how you would react. It's not I could say 'Hey I'm friends with a woman who can make snow magic' without any context."

"Oh, right…" Kristoff rubbed his arm. "Sorry. I didn't mean come as harsh. Learning all of this...I just feel kinda hurt that you didn't tell me. For a moment I thought you hid this was because I told your dad that you go beyond the hills when you got lost."

"If it makes you feel better, you were always the first person I plan to tell about Elsa. I had and always will trust you."

"That does make me feel better." Kristoff gave a small smile. "So no one else knows about this?"

"Aside from you, I haven't told anyone. Not Kai, not Gerda, and not even my parents."

"I figure you didn't tell your parents. Otherwise, you wouldn't be sneak out here in the middle of the night."

"You are right about that." Anna had replied with a chuckle. "By the way, how did you know I was sneaking out?"

"I uh…" Kristoff started to get a bit nervous as he rubbed his neck.

"Wait...Did you snoop through my bedroom?!"

"No!" Kristoff lifted his hands up in defense. "You didn't close your secret passage door all the way. And your winter gear was sticking out from underneath your bed."

"Oh...shit." Anna slightly face-palmed herself as she muttered those words.

"You probably should be more careful if you want to keep this a secret, feisty pants."

"Right...Wait, you're not going to tell anyone?"

"I may not fully understand your relationship with Elsa..." Kristoff paused. "But I can see how much she means to you. I give you an ice harvester's promise that I won't say a word to anyone."

Before Kristoff could react, he felt being pushed to the ground as he felt arms wrap around him. On top of him was Anna, who repeatedly said. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! This means so much to me!"

"That's what friends are for," Kristoff said before he remembered their predicament. "Uh, you can get off of me now."

"Huh?" Anna lifted herself and realized that both she and Kristoff were laying on the ground. Her face flushed red once she realized she was on top of him. "Oh sorry." Anna quickly got off of him.

"It's cool. No hard feelings," Kristoff assured her as he sat up, while also tried to hide his flustered self as well.

"I guess I should call it a night." Anna stood on her feet and head over to the wall. She then opened the secret passage door. "Kristoff?"

"Yeah?".

"Thank you again. You're really a good friend."

A smile grew across his face, unsure what to say. "Night Anna."

"Goodnight Kristoff."

Walking into the passage, Anna gave another look towards and waved at him. He gave a wave back as Anna closed the passage. She made her way through the tunnels and was back in her room. After changing into her nightgown, she got on her bed and reflected on tonight's events over and over. At one point Anna wondered that now Kristoff knows about Elsa, maybe one day they could all properly hang out together. Though that may never happen. Still, just having at least Kristoff knowing her secret and not telling anyone about Elsa was enough to comfort Anna and took some pressure off. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

That night, Anna had dreamed that she, Elsa, and Kristoff were hanging out together. The three of them were having some sort of picnic, while Sven was playing with Olaf, Marshmallow, and The Snowgies. Everyone in the dream looks so happy and having fun. It was the best dream Anna had ever had. One she hopes would come true.


First thing firsts, this story had recently turned a year old. When I first started this I didn't expect to get this many. I just want to say to those who's still sticking around, thank you so much. Your favs, follow, or reviews mean a lot to me and help keep me motivated. I hope you all will still stick around to the end. Once again, thank you!

Now about this chapter, Kristoff and Elsa finally meet! I'm not sure if I like how this chapter ended up. I had made it longer than I thought and I think some of the characters may feel OOC. But like I said before, characters in AU's aren't typically 100% the same as their canon counterparts. Still, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter and are satisfied with the result.

And I think we can all agree that Kristoff is such an awesome friend. And we'll get more Kristoff & Elsa interactions. And look, more *notsosublte* How To Train Your Dragon references!

I did say romance (Specifically KristAnna) won't be the focus in the story...but I did say I'll leave hints.

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