Frozen Short Stories 4
Anna
Anna placed the candle on her window sill. She admired the flame for a while before moving it to her desk, and leaping into bed. She pulled the covers up to her nose, trying to get comfortable. She tossed onto her left side. Then right. Then left again. It was no use. She lay on her back, and stared up at the ceiling. It had been one year since her parents had died. She'd made three public appearances in her life. When she was born, when she was officially crowned Princess, and when her Parents had passed away. She didn't like to think like that. She peered out her window. The streetlamps were beginning to burn out. Was it that late?
"Gerda!" she called. She didn't hear anything at first, and slowly got out of bed. Her hair hung around her shoulders loosely, and her nightgown was wrinkled from laying in bed.
"Gerda!" she whispered again, peeking her head out the door. The castle was completely empty. Anna grinned. To the kitchen. She slowly tiptoed down the stairs, and pushed open the two wooden doors that led to the kitchen. The lantern on the table nearly gave her a heart attack. There, at the table, sat a woman Anna had barely ever seen before. She didn't look up from the letter she was writing, and the tea and soup that sat next to the letter was cold. The woman scribbled something on the letter, and reached for the tea. She frowned disdainfully when she found it to be cold. She went back to her writing, scribbling something here, dotting something there. She blew the hair out of her face, and picked up the plate with the teacup and soup on it. She stood up, and walked to the oven. She didn't even notice Anna. But Anna was awestruck. She hadn't seen this person in years.
Elsa?
Anna scurried to the table to see what her sister was writing.
"To Whom It May Concern..." Quite a way to start things out.
"With the tragedy of the King and Queen of Arendelle's passing, we are asking for more morale support in the Kingdom. Villagers have been requesting your Baker by name. From one Kingdom to another, your help would be greatly appreciated in these hard times. Our Kingdom still thrives in trade, but lacks in spirits. This message is one asking for partnership. Stian, the young Baker from your Kingdom would greatly increase morale of both the Villagers and Myself. Thank you for understanding.
-Princess Elsa of Arendelle"
Anna read the letter again. Stian? Anna hadn't heard that name in years. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something important about this Baker.
"Anna?" came a voice. In the doorway to the oven room stood Elsa, with a bowl of hot soup and a cup of hot tea.
"Elsa?"
"Wh- why were you reading that?" Elsa stammered, placing her food on the table.
"Who's Stian?"
"Nobody! Look, just give me my papers. You should be asleep right now!" Elsa said, snatching the papers away.
"Elsa, what are you doing outside your room?" Anna asked, not meaning to sound mean, but she was genuinely curious. Elsa sighed.
"I don't spend all of my time in my room, okay? Just, please go back to bed okay?" Elsa asked, more of a plea than a demand.
"Elsa, we could spend some time together! We never see each other and-"
"Anna please." she begged. Anna was taken aback, and left the kitchen. What? How could she have just left behind her Sister, her only family left whom she never got to see? Why would she not take this opportunity to talk to her? And who was this Baker guy? Stian? The letter seemed like a plea, too. She wanted to see Stian, not the villagers. Why did she need to see this person? Why couldn't Elsa just talk with her? Anna was a great listener, although she didn't seem it.
Anna continued back to her room, and lay down in bed again. This time she fell asleep without a problem.
Anna woke up earlier than she planned that morning. There was a layer of condensation on the leather tent over her head. She moaned, and rolled over in the sleeping bag Kristoff had kindly given her the night before, along with the tent. He slept outside, with Sven. Anna felt a bit guilty taking the tent, but he insisted. She'd only just met him yesterday, and he was already doing her favors that nobody would do. No way was she sleeping out in the cold, but Kristoff was apparently used to it.
She pulled her boots on. She'd slept in her new winter clothes the night before, because boy did Elsa know how to make summer cold. After searching for her Sister all day, nearly freezing, and being chased by wolves, Anna didn't put up a fight when Kristoff offered her the tent to sleep in.
The sun rose slightly over the mountainside, making the trees cast shadows over the clearing where they'd set up camp. Anna looked around for her guide.
"Kristoff?" she called.
"What?" she heard him answer. He was further up the hill, cooking something over a fire. Sven stood next to him, eagerly smelling whatever was in the pot.
"What's this?" Anna asked, sitting down on the log that Kristoff was using as a makeshift bench.
"Lutefisk. It's the only thing I had in my pack to eat. I hope you like fish." Kristoff said as he slowly stirred the frothy green mixture. Anna caught a whiff of it and gagged.
"I think I'll pass." she said.
"More for us." Kristoff said, ladeling it into two bowls. He passed one to Sven, and began slurping one himself. Anna sat there silently, trying not to gag again as she saw Kristoff down the hot green slime. He wiped his chin, and pulled out a small knife. He stabbed the fish in the bowl with the knife, and began gnawing at the skin. Anna stood up, she couldn't take much more of this.
"I'm gonna go take down the tent-"
"Oh yeah, the tent! How did you sleep last night, Princess?" Kristoff asked sarcastically.
"Very well, thank you." Anna scoffed back. Kristoff laughed. "And you?" Anna asked.
"It was cold. I barely slept, so I decided to get the lutefisk ready. And now, that you don't want any-"
"Fine!" Anna said, sitting back down on the log. Kristoff grinned as he ladled another bowl of the slime for Anna. He handed it to her. The liquid wasn't as much of a slime as it was an ooze. The gelatinous broth wouldn't have fallen out if Anna had turned the bowl upside down. There were bits of fish floating in the slime, and one whole fish head peering up at her. Kristoff motioned for her to try it. Anna shrugged, and held her breath. The brought the bowl up to her mouth, and slurped.
It was the worst thing she had ever tasted.
Kristoff laughed hysterically as Anna spat it out, trying desperately to rinse the taste out of her mouth. She took Kristoff's canteen, and brushed her tongue off with her mittens.
"You don't like it?" he laughed.
"Ah! Ah!" Anna said, not wanting to taste the food again, drinking even more of the water. Kristoff pushed snow on the fire, and stood up.
"Ready to go, Sven?" he asked. The reindeer grunted. "All right, we're waiting on you, Anna." Kristoff said, as he slowly walked to the tent, and began taking it down. He rolled the leather tent up, and put high in one of the trees for safekeeping. It would have been too heavy to carry all the way up the North Mountain.
They continued up the hills, until the trees appeared less and less frequently. Eventually, they came to a ridge. Anna looked down at the view, but only a sad sight greeted her.
"Arendelle..." she said.
"It's completely frozen." Kristoff finished.
"Yeah, but Elsa will thaw it." Anna said, trying to keep hopes high. She was unsure herself.
"Will she?" Kristoff asked.
"Yeah! Now, this way to the North Mountain?" she asked, pointing. Kristoff laughed as if she had said something stupid.
"More like this way." he said, moving her hand to point nearly straight up. Anna was taken aback by the mountain that they had to climb. This would be an issue. Hopefully Elsa would listen...