Oh good gods is this late; ok here we go! Happy Reading.

Kai grimaced as he pulled his cloak tighter around him, fighting to keep out as much cold as possible. Snow was beginning to fall around him, light and sparse, yet covering the cobblestoned square in a thin layer of white powder. Parents ushered their children inside, vendors began to close their stalls, and Kai just stood there, shivering and frustrated.

He'd been out in the cold like this for the past four days, observing the townspeople up close; watching to see which of them were honest and kind, not just looking for an in to the castle. Word that the Queen had ordered two new servants be hired had spread quickly throughout the town, and that made it a tad more difficult for Kai to do his job. The candidates he chose had to be perfect considering that the Queen was so uncomfortable with the thought of strangers in the castle. He had to be certain that whoever he chose would blend right in with the current staff, and not cause any disruptions in the flow of things.

He'd sat in pubs and witnessed the bar maidens scamper around tending to their patrons. They were quick; effective. Yet they were loud, crass, and quite frankly more masculine than half the men in the dimly lit room. He'd meandered through the bazaar and observed the different vendors. They were quick at setting and cleaning up their stalls, but they were tricky, (Kai had even witnessed one young lad in particular woo a girl into trading the ring off her finger for some meaningless trinket. It seemed that everyone in this town had a flaw of some sort in the eyes of the stout little man.

He scanned his surroundings and sighed at the scarce amount of people out and about. The weather was particularly harsh today, forcing a majority of the town indoors where it was slightly warmer. He sighed, ready to call it quits for the day and head back to the castle for a nice cup of tea by the fireside, when he stopped at the faint but growing sound of sleigh bells from somewhere of in the distance.

Coming toward the town at an alarming speed was a reindeer pulling a sleigh, a strange sight to see in any season. The speeding vehicle came to a stop a good piece away from him, but Kai could see that two figures sat atop the bench, both covered in heavy furs and caps, ice and snow clinging to the fabrics like a second skin. They were peculiar; two lads, one with shaggy hair a brighter yellow than the sun, and the other with long braids of fiery crimson that stood out against the snowy backdrop. One was large, the other small; one seemed serious, handling the reins, and the other seemed more relaxed, boots propped up on the wood in front of them. No one in the whole town seemed to give them a second look, however, except for Kai, who watched them with a childlike curiosity.

"C'mon Kristoff," the redheaded lad, (was it even a boy?), called as he slid down from the seat of the sleigh, "It's freezing out here. The sooner we get a decent occupation, the sooner we get decent pay. And we both know that the sooner that happens, the sooner we get to eat! Or sleep, whichever seems better at the time." Kai watched from afar as the bigger man stepped down from the sleigh as well and, ignoring his companion's antics, began removing the harness from the lone reindeer at the head of the sled. The animal nuzzled into the man's shoulder affectionately, and he nuzzled it right back.

The butler was silently amazed. Arendelle reindeer weren't exactly known for their domesticated nature, yet here was one practically acting like a lapdog. The blonde reached into a canvas bag from the seat of the sleigh and withdrew a carrot from its depths, feeding it to the reindeer right out of his own hand after saying something that the butler couldn't quite hear above the roaring wind. The elder man made his way closer to the two youths as inconspicuously as possible.

"Anna," the boy by the reindeer turned to his hyperactive companion and Kai made a mental note that it was actually a young woman underneath those boyish clothes, "Calm down, will ya? W e have plenty of time to go job hunting…" the girl in question raised her brow in disbelief, "Ok, so we don't have a lot of time, but just give me a minute. Sven's tuckered out." His voice changed into a silly, exaggerated accent, and he put his face level with the reindeer's snout, "C'mon Anna, I'm tired.

Kai watched them, entertained by the interaction between the youths, and charmed by their genial airs. Perhaps it was his desire to be done with the search, or perhaps they were the chosen ones destined to be his pick, but whatever the case was he didn't put up a fight when he felt his feet pull him in the direction of the duo.

The girl, Anna, laughed a little before reaching into the same bag and taking a small nibble at a carrot of her own as Kristoff chomped away at his, "Alright, fine. But if we don't find a paying job by tonight, the inn fee is coming out of your carrot funds." Kristoff was about to argue with her, but before he could even swallow a plump little fellow sidled up to them and smiled.

"Pardon," the man said, "But I couldn't help but overhear you mention that you were looking for temporary employment." Kristoff gave the shorter man an once-over, as if trying to judge his character at first sight. He was plump, obviously well fed, and his clothes were much finer than the coarse woolen tunics he and Anna wore. He was obviously someone of importance.

"You heard right!" the bubbly redhead chimed in before her friend could even open his mouth, "My name's Anna, and this," she patted her companion on his broad back, "Is my partner in crime, Kristoff. Not that we actually commit crimes, it was just a phrase. We're actually quite innocent, we harvest ice for a living. I mean, we did until this weird cold front came in. Now we just kind of sit around and wait for summer."

"My name is Kai, I'm Head of Household for the royal family of Arendelle." He bowed slightly at the waist before continuing, "You see, two of our staff have recently been involved in… an accident, and the Queen has instructed me to find some temporary replacements for them. One of the men was our stablehand, and since his departure we've yet to find a suitable substitute for him that the animals will tolerate. And you, sir," Kai gestured at Kristoff, his arm slung across Sven's back as he chomped away on a carrot, "Have quite the- er- gift with your four-legged friend.

"What," Kristoff swallowed the bit of carrot he'd been chewing, "You mean Sven?" said reindeer tilted his head upon hearing his name, "He's family. I've never really had to deal with any other animals before. I'm not sure I'd be of much use."

"Oh please," Anna scoffed, "Remember Mr. Folstad's runaway stallion? You had that thing back in its pen in less than an hour."

"Yeah, but…"

"Or ol' Mrs. Dalby's cat. That thing hates people, but you were able to coax it out of a tree in no time!"

"Yes, Anna, but I don't think that the royal stable is going to be full of cats."

"No," Kai interjected, "But you might be surprised at the number of riley horses we house." Both ice harvesters gave him quizzical looks, not quite understanding his attempt at humor.

"Wait, you did say two positions, right?" Kristoff asked, "Because if you wanted me to do anything, you'd have to let me bring feisty pants here along. We're a team."

"Of course!" Kai's reply was automatic, "We always need an extra hand helping out around the castle; cooking, cleaning, running errands. The staff is very busy year round, what with trying to help the Queen and all."

"I wouldn't be working for the Queen herself, would I?" Anna tried to sound as if she couldn't care less about that particular part of the arrangement, but the eagerness in her voice didn't go unnoticed by the men. However, only Kristoff knew the real reason behind her inquiry, and Kai simply took the tremor in her voice to be nervousness, and he smiled warmheartedly at the girl.

"Don't worry, child, you'll only be doing a few household chores, nothing involving anything overly important. Besides," his expression dropped for a moment, "The Queen… she doesn't often come out of her room. She likes to keep to herself."

"What? But she's so nice and outgoing and…" Anna shut her mouth at the glare Kristoff gave her. Oh yeah, I'm not really supposed to know her. "I- I mean she just seems so personable, as Queen and all. Yeah."

"The Queen is quite a remarkable young lady," Kai affirmed, "She just buries herself in her work, and it's the staff's job to support her by making sure the castle is kept up. That's admittedly a little hard to do when we're shorthanded, you see." He looked imploringly at the two youths, praying that they'd agree to his offer. The girl seemed anxious, the boy seemed wary, and the reindeer; well, the reindeer was preoccupied with the carrots boy had set down in the sleigh.

Anna was torn between shaking Kristoff by his shoulders until he agreed to take the job, or collapsing at his feet and begging him to make the stout man disappear. She'd spent countless hours over the past few months trying to block out the image of Elsa's smiling face, forcing herself to forget how blue her eyes were, attempting to wipe the feeling of her lips against her own from her mind; of course, none of that ever worked. She still became easily flustered whenever she overheard people talking about the Queen in the square, and as much as she assured Kristoff otherwise, her 'crush' on the monarch hadn't just faded with time.

Kristoff took note of the pleading look in both pairs of eyes before him. He so badly wanted to take the offer. Working at the castle was the best gig you could land in Arendelle; free meals, free board, generous pay. It was exactly what he and Anna needed, and he knew it, but that gaze of Anna's… it wasn't just begging for a job. That was certainly there, no doubt, but he could see underneath all the superficial layers that she was throwing his way. He saw the longing in her gaze. In fact, he saw that look in her eyes every day for the past eighteen months. Kristoff wasn't a fool; he knew exactly who Anna was thinking about whenever she got that dopey smile on her face. He knew exactly who brought a blush to her face at the most random times of the day. He knew the real reason his friend hated coming into town, why she always became so blue when they passed the gates without entering, always stealing glances at the veiled upper windows of Arendelle's castle.

Yes, he knew, but for the sake of his friend he feigned ignorance and hoped that she'd move on and forget her scandalous fling. It'd been months of them both pretending that nothing had happened, and nothing had changed, much to the chagrin of both youths. Kristoff finally opened up his mouth, ready to decline the offer that the Queen's servant was making, but he made the mistake of glancing down at the watery blue eyes of his best friend. The look she was giving him was enough to make him cave in, just as he had on the ice a few days ago, and that night so long ago outside the looming castle gates.

"Alright, you got me," Kristoff sighed, clasped the older gentleman's hand, and gave it a firm shake, "You've got yourself a new stablehand." Anna cleared her throat and jabbed him in the side. He rolled his eyes and smiled, "Oh yeah, and I guess you can have her do something too."

"I'm so very glad that you've accepted," Kai spoke with an obvious tone of relief as he shook Kristoff's mittened hand. Composing himself slightly, he gestured down the path that led up to the open castle gates, "Allow me to show you to the castle. Let's get a move on, shall we?"

To Be Continued