"And that's it."
"Well, you were right: there wasn't much to memorize."
"Yup."
"And where are we going to put my bed?"
"Your bed? Your bed is my bed."
"Excuse me?"
My surprised expression and the heat in my ears must have been very obvious even in the candlelight, because it didn't take long for him to laugh.
"Calm down, I'll sleep in the stable with Sven."
"Oh. But... I don't want to kick you out."
"Don't worry about me, I'm used to sleeping with Sven. I'll be fine."
"That's not fair. I'll sleep with Sven."
"Hey, you are a guest in the house and you will sleep inside the house. Feel free to let us know if you need anything, okay?"
He chastely rested his hand on my shoulder and his sweet voice caressed my ears once more before closing the door behind him.
"Good night, Anna."
"Good night, Kristoff."
I collapsed exhausted by the excitement of the day in that bed that didn't belong to me and I found myself surrounded by an aroma that wasn't at all the stench that I had been perceiving all day. However, it wasn't an entirely foreign smell to me either. It was his smell. The one I had detected under that pungent odor of reindeer and sweat. It was his real scent.
A thousand butterflies fluttered through my guts at that thought and I was left to pleasure. I wallowed in those rough sheets while the wood of the walls creaked in the cold of the night that already claimed its place. The wind blew outside and dozens of unknown sounds invaded my senses, but the invisible presence of that warm man on the other side of the wall, made me feel safe. In no time, a placid dream had led me to that world where I could still see.
The next morning, a sweet melody pulled me out of my sleep. I got up wanting to know what that music was. Taking advantage of the simplicity of the small cabin, I moved to the door and opened it slowly. What came to me as soon as I peeked out, was an almost extrasensory experience. There was a stringed instrument playing, no doubt. It wasn't a chamber music instrument, but I couldn't quite recognize what it was. I could hear short, low growls from Sven appreciating the music. I could hear the gentle mountain breeze through the leaves of the trees, and I could hear the birds chirping with energy too. But, what made me travel to another world, was his voice. I could hear Kristoff, a few feet from me, singing a soft song about reindeer and mountain trolls in that voice that took my breath away. Suddenly, a grotesque voice replaced the one that blanked my mind and began to sing another part of the lyrics. Yes, he was playing Sven. I had to laugh. I knew I was invading his privacy, that it was rude, and that I owed this man, who was giving me the world back, all the respect I could find in me, but I couldn't bear it. He had broken all my schemes.
"Anna!"
"Nice duet," I replied regaining my composure.
"So princesses wake up after noon?"
I heard how he approached me and I could feel a pleasant change in his body hygiene.
"Just the good ones. Have you bathed?"
"And laundry, and hung up the clothes, and made breakfast. I've had plenty of time, you know?"
"So, there is where to bathe?!"
"Only if you don't mind the stones, the moss, and the sound of the waterfall."
His last words were accompanied by a tantalizing tone and a couple of notes from his instrument. He knew what was about to come.
"Waterfall you said?! Take me there!"
"Eat and I'll take you. Is not far."
"A waterfall!"
I jumped into his arms excited by the idea and sent his poor instrument in the back of beyond.
"The lute!"
"Oops…" I let go of his neck as common sense came back to me and I turned in the direction of the noise of the instrument hitting the ground. "So it was a lute…"
Kristoff calmly went to get his lute and spoke to me from a distance.
"Don't worry, it isn't broken. And now, go in for breakfast while I get you some clean clothes."
"Clean clothes? Do you have clothes in my size?"
"Ha! Maybe if I kept the ones from when I was eleven. No, you will have to settle for large clothes. Perhaps a shirt, rolled-up pants, and a sash or string can do the trick for you."
"So dirty are my clothes?"
"Oh, no. I thought you would want clean clothes for after the bath."
"What bath?"
"Didn't you want to take a bath?"
"In the place where the waterfall is?"
"Yeah."
"I would love it, but… how?
Clearly, he hadn't even thought about it. I had felt the excessive consideration and pity of others for most of my life, and suddenly I had fallen (literally) into the hands of a person capable of blindly leaving me alone in some kind of river (or lagoon, or something like that) unknown to me. Because he… he was thinking of leaving me alone, right?
"Oh, I get it now…"
He was definitely planning on leaving me alone.
"And… what if I help you out?"
"What?!"
"Bathing with clothes, that is. Thus, in addition, your clothes would also come out cleaner."
"Oh… I understand. I guess we can try. Although I don't think it's the best long-term solution. I would appreciate being able to bathe… in depth."
"Got it. In the spare time that I find I will mount a bathtub, is that okay with you?"
"Would you take that trouble for me?"
"It's spare time. Not trouble at all."
That man was kinder than he himself realized. There was something about him that made me want to know more, have more, and feel more. I remembered the touch of his face under my hands, smooth and rough at the same time; younger than I thought; warmer than one could imagine; and I wondered where I had gotten the courage to approach him like that. I wanted to know what he was like. I wanted to know what his skin would feel like on me.
I ate breakfast in silence while he stirred things here and there and I was delighted to enjoy those flavors and textures that were new to me. Nothing to do with the palace cooking. Simpler and, at the same time, more appetizing. Afterward, he confidently took me by the hand, and we set off through the forest.
It didn't take long for the waterfall's boisterous churning sound to arrive. Excitement tensed my muscles and brought out a grin that was impossible to hide.
His steps stopped and he left me for a moment at the mercy of the pleasant and somewhat more humid breeze, loaded with tiny droplets that refreshed my skin.
"Have we arrived?"
"You are about four steps from the shore. It is a smooth entrance, so you can enter whenever you want. I am leaving the clean clothes on a rock."
I gulped. The idea of going inside thrilled me and at the same time made me feel terribly insecure.
"Erhm… are you wearing something under that dress?"
"Loooots of layers. You have no idea."
"You should take some off if you don't want to weigh so much that you can't take a step in the water. Do you know how to swim?"
"Swim? I've never tried. Am I going to need it? I can't swim with this, can I?"
"I don't think you can do much more than sink with that."
"Alright. Could you help me?"
"With what?"
"With taking my clothes off. There are usually two people tying and untying ribbons for me."
"Uh… I don't think that's the most appropriate thing for me to do."
"Come on, you won't see anything! Under the dress, I wear clothes like for five other women. Please?"
I heard him rub his hair in a bit of desperation and I had to hold back a giggle.
"But I only untie knots. You remove layers."
"Agree."
I heard how he approached me, stepping cautiously with his heavy boots and standing behind me.
"Start with the bow on the bodice. It's on my back and I can't arrive. It should be easy to undo."
Without a word, he took the ribbon from the bodice and pulled it undoing the bow without further ado. I was used to going through that process day after day, but that time, there was an indescribable tension in the atmosphere that made it an intimate, awkward, and exciting moment. I heard how the fabric slid off as the knot was undone and how he was the one gulping this time. The tension was mutual.
"Could you loosen the lattice too?"
Kristoff leaned over me slightly and I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I took a deep breath and focused my attention on feeling his huge fingers brush my back through the fabric to loosen the ties that held me inside that rigid garment.
"Done," he said with a sigh.
"Thank you."
I pulled the bodice over my head without bothering to undo it all the way and focused on the clasp of the shirt.
"You plan to take off your shirt too?"
"Yeah, but don't worry, I can handle this alone."
"That's not what makes me worry."
"I'm wearing an undershirt. I've already told you: you're not going to see aaaanything at all."