Kristoff was exhausted. He couldn't even remember the last time he got a full night's rest because he lost count of how long he'd been running. At first, he kept track of the months by following the phases of the moon, and he measured the seasons by the amount of light and dark in the sky, but eventually he stopped counting because it wasn't important. Instead, he focused on the difference between running, hiding, and fighting in the dark of night versus the light of day, because the only thing that mattered was staying alive.

His mother told them to go south towards Corona, the nearest state that was safe from King Runeard's rule, if they ever ran away, so that's where he went. It should have only taken him a month or two to reach the city by foot from the Northern Mountains, but there were a lot of factors working against a straight-forward plan. He was in parts of the forest he didn't recognize and sometimes he had to double back to avoid the soldiers' camps or attacks on other villages. Sometimes he spent some time in Arendellian cities, where he stayed long enough to steal a few loaves of bread and clothes from clotheslines, but not long enough to get caught. At least his belly would be filled for a few days and he could blend in more easily.

Finally the forest ended, though, and he saw rolling hills, wheat fields, cows, and a large walled city guarded by a large stone castle. The castle was beautiful, Kristoff thought fleetingly, but he didn't really have time for that. He found a dip in the wall around the castle and climbed over. Then he found a darkened corner and he sat, and he slept, but not long enough. He was awakened by a man that appeared to be a castle guard. Kristoff couldn't understand a word the man was saying, but he hoped he was speaking Coronan.

He thought the man was going to kick him out or arrest him, but instead he led him to an open area where a flurry of Arendellian was being spoken by a large crowd. He didn't exactly feel safe, but he gathered from snippets of conversation that he was actually in Corona, which was a comfort. Fortunately no one seemed to notice him anyway, though they would have if they looked at him for more than a couple of seconds or talked to him. But they were all so concerned with themselves that he moved through the crowd unnoticed.

Kristoff didn't trust anyone because no one outside of his village had given him a reason to be trusted. Anyone he had crossed paths with on his journey had stolen from him or given him up to save their own skin. No, it was best to stay away from people. And once they noticed his blond hair and his accent, most of the Arendellians were cold to him or turned their backs away. He could see that knowing about the Northuldran genocide hadn't lessened their prejudice at all. Even most of the volunteers looked down on him.

He did his best to stay clean in the forest, bathing in a creek when he could, rinsing his mouth out and using a stick to clean his teeth, eating mint leaves whenever he came across them. Even so, he had to pull two teeth because they were hurting so badly. Fortunately, they were in the back, but his mother would have been disappointed. She used to tell him that she could see Ahtohallan's love in his smile. He hadn't had occasion to smile in a while, though, and he doubted there would be anytime soon.

He was given a tent, a pillow, and a blanket as well as a bag of food, and was directed to a table with toiletries. A girl with long blonde hair gave him a razor and some shaving cream. He felt for his beard and it was sparse and wispy, but quite long, as was his hair. The girl's hair was way too long, and Kristoff thought it was interesting that she was telling him to cut his hair when her last haircut was probably five years ago. She didn't give him any scissors, so there was nothing that could be done about his hair anyway. He couldn't wait to be rid of his facial hair, though. It was always a source of pride when Northuldran men grew their beards, but Kristoff's felt dirty, and he wanted to start fresh.

Kristoff knew he smelled awful, and he didn't think he'd ever get the dirt out from the whorls on his fingertips and around his nails, which were long and jagged because he had no way to cut them. He could only imagine how much dirt was caked into his ears and nose, and all the tiny creases in his face.

He asked for an orange toothbrush several times but the girl handing them out didn't seem to understand him. That didn't make sense to him because he noticed her speaking fluent Arendellian with the other refugees. Maybe his accent was stronger than he thought, or she didn't speak Arendellian well enough and his accent was throwing her off. Then a look of understanding washed over her and not only did she apologize, but she smiled as she handed him the orange toothbrush. He hardly noticed how pretty she was.

He tried to set his tent up in several different locations in the encampment, but he got such a cold welcome from the other refugees, who had at that point discovered that he wasn't one of them, that he decided to set it up far away from everyone else. He didn't see any other Northuldrans, and for all he knew, he was the only one to make it out alive. He'd seen his whole village be slaughtered or taken prisoner, even his own family, and he still didn't know if any of them survived. At least it'd be quiet away from everyone and he could sleep peacefully. That was the best thing about Corona. Peace and quiet.

It was a short-lived peace, though, because one of the volunteers, a man named Agnarr told him that he needed to go to school the next day, since he was only 16. He was taking a group of refugees in the morning to get them signed up and instructed Kristoff to meet him in the center of the square at 7:00 am. Then he handed him a small alarm clock, which he told him was already set for 6:30 am. It struck Kristoff that this man looked a lot like the girl with the toothbrushes. They had the same color of red hair and faint dusting of tiny freckles concentrated on their cheeks, and he assumed he was her father.

He laid back down, trying to sleep, but he found himself pondering the odd interaction with the toothbrush girl. Suddenly it occurred to him that it was his error. He forgot that the Northuldran word for orange was the same as the word for carrots, but they were different words in Arendellian. Could her look of understanding be because she knew that? Did she speak Northuldran, maybe a little? This perplexed him more than anything. She was clearly Arendellian, so where would she have learned Northuldran? Or perhaps he was wrong and she didn't speak it at all, she just understood from context. And she either didn't know he was Northuldran, which he doubted, or she didn't bear any prejudice, which also puzzled Kristoff. As tired as he was, he had trouble sleeping more than a few hours, and he found himself dwelling on the possibilities.

School was much more difficult than he imagined it would be. He could only barely get by in Arendellian, and he was completely lost with Coronan. He mostly sat in the back and tried not to fall asleep. Even his Coronan as a Second Language class was excruciating. The teacher was Arendellian and there were a few Arendellians in the class that would have nothing to do with him, and the students from other countries could speak Coronan much better than he even spoke Arendellian.

He was so frustrated, and the exhaustion that he felt over the last couple of years hadn't ceased as he hoped it would. Neither had his instinct that he was always in mortal danger. He immediately curled into a ball on the floor after running into another student. He was back in the forest with his eyes shut tightly, panicking that he'd finally been caught.

"It's ok. You're safe. You're in Corona," said a female voice in Northuldran. She spoke to him gently, and the feel of her soft hand on his shoulder brought him out of the hell he found himself in. He opened his eyes to see the toothbrush girl. Her hair was bright red, but it shone golden under the light, as though she had been kissed by Ahtohallan just at the top of her head. He searched her eyes for understanding, but he found none, only kindness. It was kindness he hadn't known since he left his village, and it made him uncomfortable. It felt like he was supposed to trust her, but that also made him distrust her more than anyone he'd ever met.

The guy that knocked him over offered his hand to help him up, but Kristoff could see in his eyes that he was only offering to make the toothbrush girl, who was probably his girlfriend, happy, so Kristoff pushed himself off the ground and walked away as quickly as he could. He realized he was right not to trust her and he wouldn't let his guard down like that again.

That Saturday Kristoff was happy to be able to finally sleep as much as he wanted to. But that didn't happen. He was awakened by something on his leg and he assumed it was some kind of creature attacking him for the jerked meat in his pocket or something. He kicked his leg and sat up quickly. He nearly knocked her over, but the toothbrush girl smiled at him anyway. Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

She asked if he needed help with anything, but, despite his pleas for peace and quiet, she kept talking. He spoke to her in Northuldran, hoping she would respond in kind, but she only spoke Arendellian. Reluctantly, he told her about his uncle, Oaken Bjorgman, who probably didn't even know he existed, so she would leave him alone. She promised to find Oaken, but he didn't expect anything to come of it.

He meant to tell her his name was Christopher Bjorgman, which it was, as far as everyone else was concerned. That's what he told anyone who asked, including her father, and it's how he registered at school. But that's not what came out of his mouth.

"Kristoff," he said, and he flashed his eyes at her just briefly in a panic. She caught him off guard, again, and it slipped out so easily, even though he hadn't been 'Kristoff' since he left his village. He closed his eyes and laid back down. He hardly noticed how melodic it sounded in her accent.

If she had a Northuldran name, as he hoped she would, she would have made sense and maybe then he could have trusted her. Anna was a beautiful name, especially the way she said it, but it was Arendellian. Maybe he had only imagined her speaking to him in Northuldran. He was back to being confused by her, and it was exhausting.

"Peace and quiet," he requested again in Northuldran as he covered his face with his hat. He had a feeling there wouldn't be any peace and quiet as long as she was around.

Sure enough, Anna had found Oaken, who greeted him with a hug. Apparently his aunt had spoken to him years ago to let him know that her niece and nephew knew to come to Corona if anything bad happened and they were able to escape. So in a way, he was expecting Kristoff. He had a second bedroom in his apartment set up with bunk beds for such an occasion, and it looked like they'd been there for years. Oaken didn't have to keep a two bedroom apartment just for himself, especially since his wife had passed away, but he kept his promise to her. It was clear to Kristoff that he was a welcome guest.

Oaken was excited to have a reason to speak his wife's language after so long, and Krirstoff was relieved to actually have someone he could easily communicate with. But he wasn't ready to talk about his mom or his sister yet, or what he'd been through. And having just met, neither of them really knew what to say. Oaken began by talking about his wife, and when that topic got too painful, he started talking about Anna, and how impressed he was with her.

"She and her father Agnarr do so much for the refugees," Oaken began. "And she just called me up, out of the blue, and she was so polite! She must have done a lot of internet research to find me. She must have put so much effort into it!" Oaken couldn't say enough nice things about her.

"She's so pretty and sweet, isn't she? And so fluent in Arendellian. I would have thought for sure she was from Arendelle by how well she speaks, but I got the sense she's from Corona and she just speaks Arendellian at home with her dad." Then he went on about her dad before circling back to Anna again.

Kristoff couldn't get peace from her when she wasn't even there! He wanted to tell Oaken to fuck off because he already knew how pretty and nice and smart she was. He could even add that she spoke Northuldran, though he wasn't about to give Oaken anything else to add to his list. He finally decided he really couldn't trust her. Out of principle this time.

On Sunday, Kristoff went for a walk to get some fresh air. A guy who looked to be around his age was sitting at one of the picnic benches along the side of the building, reading a magazine, and surprised Kristoff with a friendly greeting.

"Oh, wait, you must be Christopher. Oaken's nephew?" Kristoff didn't respond so Sven continued, "Hi, I'm Sven. I ran into him this morning and he wanted me to come by and meet you. But here you are!"

Kristoff couldn't understand anything he said other than his uncle's name, his fake name, and 'hi'. He was beyond frustrated that he'd been in Corona for a whole week and could barely manage the basics of the language.

"What is 'sven'?" he asked.

Sven pointed at Kristoff and said "Christopher," then he pointed his thumb at himself and said, "Sven". Then he said "Hello" and waved his hand. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and, even though Kristoff understood that part, searched for the Arendellian word for it since he couldn't find a Northuldran translator. He found the word and butchered it, which made Kristoff laugh a little. He hadn't laughed since he left his village, and it felt good. Then he said it correctly and Sven repeated it. Then Kristoff gave him the Northuldran word, which Sven butchered even worse. Kristoff repeated the word and Sven tried unsuccessfully to get it right, but it came out just as wrong each time. Kristoff laughed so hard he bent over forward. Sven laughed just as hard, and Kristoff felt at ease.

Sven was extremely patient as they spoke and went word for word as he needed to. In that half hour interaction Kristoff learned more Coronan than he had in an entire week. Then Sven told him they could walk to school together the next day. He said his friend Eugene usually walked with him, but he lived in another building and waited for him there.

"He's cool, you'll like him."

"What is 'cool'?" asked Kristoff.

"Yeah…" he looked it up and found the Arendellian translation, but Kristoff didn't understand.

"That's ok," he said, "you'll like him."

Kristoff noticed Anna sitting with the guy that knocked him over on his second day at school. There was something about that guy that Kristoff just didn't like. The girl with the really long blonde hair twisted along her backside, who might have been Anna's sister, sat on her other side. Kristoff was perplexed by her hair and wondered if it was natural or if she could be Northuldran, too. There weren't many Arendellians with blonde hair, and he assumed there would be even fewer Coronans.

"Yeah, he's been in love with Rapunzel since forever." He didn't whisper, but Eugene seemed too lost in thought to hear him. "But she doesn't even know he exists."

"Just you wait, Sven. Just. You. Wait," he said, never taking his eyes off Rapunzel.

Kristoff's gaze shifted back to Anna. She looked Arendellian. Her nose was small and cute, and her skin was so pink, especially on her round face. Kristoff had never met a Northuldran with blue eyes like hers. They were bright blue like a deep, icy lake. Intriguing, but not Northuldran. Her cheeks were soft pillows, raised high enough for her eyes to rest comfortably. That's where Kristoff's thoughts rested as well.

"Oh, that's Anna. Rapunzel's cousin. And that's her boyfriend, Hans."

Hans? He must be from the Southern Islands, thought Kristoff. He knew there was something off about him.

"What is 'boyfriend'"?

"Oh, um, like they're in love…" He looked up the translation and Kristoff was unphased. It's what he already suspected.

"Anna's really nice, like actually nice, and we can't really figure out why she's with Hans. But he's like a totally different person around her."

Kristoff didn't understand everything, but he knew it was more along the lines of how wonderful Anna was, and he really didn't care anymore. He couldn't trust her after all. It was all he needed to know so he could stop thinking about her.

Except he couldn't. She kept doing nice things that made him feel like he could trust her. There were enough nice things that might have tipped the scales if it weren't for her boyfriend.

Kristoff was debating in his head when he heard a familiar voice trill his name behind him, like a songbird. Then he remembered that there was only one person that would use the name Ahtohallan knew him by. He wanted to be annoyed as he turned to face her, but he just couldn't manage it with her standing in front of him like that.

"Hi," he said back to her in Northuldran, hoping again that she'd continue in his language.

"How's everything going? Are you happy with Oaken? How's school?" she asked in Arendellian.

He wasn't sure how to answer her. Better than running for his life, not being able to sleep, not knowing when he'd be able to eat or bathe next. She wouldn't want to hear about how awful his life was before Corona. Besides, he didn't want her to feel sorry for him.

"It's ok. Oaken is good. School is fine." He answered in Arendellian because she made it clear she didn't want to speak Northuldran with him.

"I'm glad to hear it," she said with a smile. "I know it's hard moving to a new place where you don't know anyone and you don't speak the language. But it gets easier with time." She touched his arm just above the wrist as she said it.

Does she really know? He wondered. It was obvious her father was from Arendelle, but he assumed, like Oaken, that she had been born in Corona. Maybe she was a refugee, too.

"What did Anna have to say?" Sven asked on their way home that day. "I saw you talking to her."

"Nothing. She's just being nice."

"Ok, if that's all it was…" Sven raised his eyebrow as his voice trailed off.

"Is she from here? Or Arendelle?"

"She moved here from Arendelle when she was about seven or so, with her dad and her little brother."

"Just three of them? No mom?"

"Yeah, just them."

No mom… There could be a number of reasons for that. Families were often separated, but most likely she had been killed if they moved without her. Kristoff felt a little pang in his side for her suffering. He never would have known something so sad had happened to her since she was always so friendly and upbeat.

"They came here before the war really broke out. But as soon as it did and refugees started showing up, Agnarr set up the Golden Crocus Relief Campaign and the refugee camp. Anna and her brother are there helping out pretty much all the time. At least that's what I've heard," Sven said, pausing to look up translations whenever Kristoff needed him to. Kristoff wanted to understand every word Sven said about Anna this time.

"Are they Northuldran?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"No reason," Kristoff shrugged.

Kristoff brushed his teeth with his orange toothbrush that night, remembering his first interaction with Anna. There was something off about her, and it gnawed at Kristoff that he still couldn't really make sense of her. It was like she only showed half of herself to the rest of the world.

Later, as Kristoff shut his eyes, he heard a gentle voice speaking Northuldran. "It's ok. You're safe. You're in Corona." He wanted to cling to those words like he clung to the hand on his shoulder, but his brain told him not to trust a person that kept so much hidden. Then he turned to the other side, where Anna's red hair was bathed in gold. "Kristoff," she said over and over, as she inched towards him. His name spilled so easily from her lips, as though he was meant to be there. Then she laid down next to him and he nuzzled his cheek against hers, where he slept quietly and peacefully until Ahtohallan's love woke him the next morning.