Another night, and another wish to grant. But for this second one, a little journey was required. With nary a trace, the spirit left Olaf's side and headed north.
Through the forest, in full bloom, it flew, until it found what it sought within. Even up here the weather was warm. At this time of year, the lush greenery of the trees seemed to trap the heat and exude an atmosphere that was almost like the hot breath of the vegetation.
The only patch of cold for miles around was contained on a sled belonging to a certain mountain man, which he had just secured in one of Oaken's empty barns.
Kristoff placed the beam across the closed door and into the slots that would hold it in place, as he usually did to ensure that no one would break in to steal his cargo of ice to be delivered to Arendelle in the morning. It wasn't as if there were many people around here, let alone anyone who would want to steal ice, but Kristoff thought it was better to be safe than sorry. And he had been Arendelle's Official Ice Master and Deliverer for nearly a year and he'd never had his ice stolen, so he was obviously doing something right.
Kristoff sighed, inhaling the forest air. Although he liked living in Arendelle, he always felt more at home out on his ice-harvesting missions, where it was just him and nature and no people around to confuse things.
His new status as Ice Master meant that he had to deal with more people than usual, of course. For the most part, he tolerated them and they treated him respectfully, but people were complicated. Especially one person in particular.
Kristoff thought about Anna as he walked slowly towards the barn where he always slept. She was the most confusing person he had ever met. One incident in particular that had occurred a few weeks ago was on his mind.
They had been alone on a hilltop overlooking the city, lying on their backs and gazing at the sky, talking about everything and nothing. The moment had been perfect, so Kristoff had decided to make a move. He leaned over so he was looking down into Anna's eyes.
'Anna,' he had said. 'I'm really lucky to have a girlfriend as beautiful as you. And I want you to know that I'll work hard to prove that I'm worthy and that we can have a good future and a happy life together, even if you have to give up being a Princess to be with me.'
She had looked at him with a slightly confused expression. 'What are you talking about? We're just friends!'
'I- I thought we were dating!' he had replied. And it wasn't an unreasonable assumption to make. After their adventures last year, they had become very close.
'Well, we're not,' she had announced, as if it was that simple.
'But we kissed!'
'A kiss is not a contract!' she had said, sitting up. 'Don't get me wrong, it was very nice! And I like you! But I don't feel like doing it again. Sorry!'
Even after that, they were still together nearly every day. She'd still hold his hand sometimes and they still had those awkward moments, which Kristoff had always interpreted as chemistry, but now he didn't know what to think.
He guessed Anna didn't know what she wanted. However, Kristoff knew very well what he wanted, and holding back was starting to get frustrating. His plan of waiting for her to do something had failed. Girls were supposed to like a gentleman, weren't they?
Kristoff went inside the barn and closed the door behind him.
Sometimes it seemed girls were like a different species, they were so hard to understand. In fact, most other species were easier to understand than the human female.
Oh well. At least he could forget about all that stuff when he was with Sven.
'Reindeer are better than people,' Kristoff sang quietly to himself. You know, sometimes I wish... Oh, never mind. He lay down on the straw next to his best friend and went to sleep.
The sun shone on Kristoff's face, waking him up. He opened his eyes. The light was shining in through a gap high up in the ceiling, and now it was hitting his face, and the straw, and the skin of the naked girl lying next to him. Wait, what?
Kristoff sprung back. He closed his eyes, thinking he hadn't woken up properly, but when he opened them again the girl was still there.
She had very long, straight brown hair that was draped over the curves of her pale body, but that seemed to be the only thing covering her nakedness. He could see her body rise and fall with her breathing, which was good. It meant she wasn't dead. That would have been even weirder. But what was weirdest was that Sven had gone.
Kristoff tried to think of an explanation for the girl's presence and the absence of his reindeer. The barn door was still closed so Sven obviously hadn't got out by himself. A person must have been responsible. Kristoff knew that person wasn't him because he had no memory of letting Sven out, or of this girl. What he did know was that he hadn't drunk anything last night so his lack of memory was very strange indeed. He had no idea who the girl was, or why she was naked. Well, at least he wasn't naked, so that was a good sign.
The only person he knew who lived round here was Oaken, so he had to have something to do with this. Maybe it was Oaken's idea of a joke, some kind of Midsummer prank. Or maybe he's trying to trick me into marrying one of his relatives, Kristoff thought, which was the only realistic explanation he could think of.
Before he could think of anything else, the girl sat up and yawned. She blinked a few times, still waking up, then turned to Kristoff and gave him a toothy grin, which soon disappeared when she saw his expression.
'Who are you? Where's Sven?' he demanded.
Her only response was to raise an eyebrow and tilt her head in confusion. Then she started crawling towards him, giving Kristoff an eyeful of her rather large breasts. He noticed Sven's medallion hanging between them and was even more puzzled.
Just as she was about to reach him, Kristoff took his jacket from where he had left it the night before and put it around her shoulders, ignoring the blush that had crept to his face.
'If you're not going to give me any answers, then I'll try and find someone who will,' he said, getting up and heading for the door. 'Stay here,' he added before leaving, seeing that the girl was getting up herself. He watched as she appeared to struggle to keep her balance and fell back onto the pile of straw. He closed the door to the barn and decided that this girl was the strangest person he had ever encountered.
Kristoff's main priority was to find Sven, so he examined the ground in front of the barn for tracks. He was shocked to find that the only hoof prints he could see were leading into the barn and were evidently from last night. Refusing to give up, Kristoff searched the entire area for any sign of his friend, calling out for him as he did so. After this yielded no results, he decided to go and confront Oaken.
This whole situation had ruined his plans. If he couldn't find Sven, he'd have to walk back to Arendelle without the ice, meaning that the last couple of days he had spent finding it and carving it would have been wasted. But even more troubling than that was the thought that he would never be able to find Sven and had lost the best friend he'd ever had.
Kristoff burst through the door, the merry jingling of the bell and Oaken's friendly smile and call of 'Hoo hoo!' only making him even more angry.
'Why is there a naked girl in the barn with me? And where's my reindeer?'
'Oh, someone overdid it with the akevitt last night, eh?' Oaken winked.
'No! I'm on official ice-delivering business, I haven't been drinking. I've never seen this girl before in my life! All I know is when I woke up, she was there and my reindeer wasn't. Were there robbers here last night? Or is there some local madwoman I should know about?'
'There were no robbers. And there are no women for miles around here, so I cannot help you.'
Kristoff leaned on the counter so that he was looking Oaken in the eyes. 'If you've tricked me, I'll come back with the Royal Guard and make sure they punish you for interfering with royal transactions.'
'I am just an honest businessman, I do not trick people,' Oaken replied. Kristoff couldn't tell what he was thinking from his expression, but it didn't look like he was hiding anything.
'But,' Oaken continued, 'I will help you! You can have a discount on the clothes in our women's department for your lady friend!'
'She's not my...,' Kristoff began, but decided that he probably should get the girl some clothes. He went over to the clothing rail and chose a grey dress and a pair of leather shoes.
After paying for the clothes and ignoring Oaken's cheery goodbye, Kristoff went back to the barn. He found the girl walking slowly around the place, looking pleased with herself. She smiled at him when she saw he'd returned. His jacket had been discarded so she was now completely naked again.
Kristoff approached her and held out the clothes he was carrying. 'Put these on,' he said.
The girl looked at the clothes, then back at him.
Kristoff sighed, realising what he'd have to do. 'Put your arms up.'
She blinked at him.
'Like this.' He raised his own arms. She seemed to get what he meant and put her arms in the air.
Trying with great difficulty not to let his eyes linger on her shapely form, Kristoff pulled her arms through the sleeves, then pulled the rest of the dress over her head and down over her body until it was straight. Finally, he lifted her hair free from the collar and took out the medallion. He thought about taking it off her but something made him leave it so it was outside the dress. Now she looked almost normal.
And he could talk to her without getting distracted.
'Can you understand me?' he asked.
The girl nodded. Kristoff studied her features for the first time. She had a round face, but with a well-defined jaw. Her nose was a little large and mouth a little wide, perhaps, but she wasn't exactly unattractive. And her eyes were big and brown, fringed with dark lashes.
Wait a second... Kristoff knew those eyes... Then it dawned on him. It was the only thing that made sense, under the circumstances.
'Are you... who I think you are? Are you Sven?'
She smiled and nodded enthusiastically at the mention of the name.
He had no clue how it had happened, but everything fitted. Sven must have somehow changed into a human girl during the night. Kristoff knew the idea was ridiculous, but he couldn't deny the evidence. There was obviously some sort of magic involved.
'Can you talk?'
With a look of concentration, she opened her mouth. But all that came out were odd sounds like grunts and groans.
'It's probably best if you don't try that again.'
Kristoff thought for a minute about what he should do next. Without Sven to pull the sled, he'd have to abandon the ice for now. And he wanted to visit the trolls as soon as possible; Grand Pabbie knew all about magic and hopefully he'd be able to undo whatever magic had caused Sven to transform into a woman. But there was always the possibility that he couldn't help, and walking all that way to their valley and then back to Arendelle from there would be hard work.
So Kristoff decided that the best thing to do was to go to Arendelle now and fetch a horse and cart from the castle stables. That would make the journey a lot easier, and if he was lucky, he'd still be able to collect the ice, which would remain sheltered in Oaken's barn, on the way back, whether he could get help from the trolls or not.
'Come on,' Kristoff said, picking up his bag of supplies and his jacket from the floor of the barn. 'We're walking to the town. Oh, hold on!'
He knelt down and put the shoes onto the girl's feet while she leant against his head.
'Now we're ready! he announced, after he had stood up again. The whole situation was beyond anything he had ever dealt with before, but Kristoff would not have got anywhere in life without his qualities of practicality and adaptability, so he set aside all the questions he had and concentrated on walking to Arendelle.
Later, Kristoff and his former reindeer companion found themselves looking at Arendelle's town square. The town was bustling with excitement in preparation for the Midsummer Festival tomorrow. It would be the first Midsummer of Queen Elsa's rule, and Kristoff knew that she and Anna had a lot of wonderful things planned to make the celebration truly spectacular for everybody.
They walked through the market place, negotiating their way through the crowd. Merchants and traders of all manners of things had taken advantage of the festival atmosphere and it looked as though they were making a huge profit. Kristoff had planned to sell his ice at the market, and hoped that he'd still get the chance to, since Midsummer was the main event in the ice harvester's calendar. He just needed to get Sven back to normal and he'd be good to go.
Suddenly, Sven - no, thinking of her as Sven didn't feel right - veered off into the crowd surrounding the greengrocer's stall.
'Hey, don't wander off!' Kristoff called, hurrying after her and grabbing her by the sleeve.
She led him to a large display of carrots, which she started sniffing, bringing her face right up to them.
He pulled her away from the carrots before people could notice, and she turned her face to his, looking at him with wide eyes.
Kristoff knew what that look meant, and was half tempted to say what she was thinking in Sven's voice, until he realised that the deep voice he usually did wouldn't suit her anymore. It would have to be something more high-pitched now. But, no. He wasn't going to do that. Not in public, anyway.
He bought some carrots from the greengrocer, since the last time they had eaten was a while ago on their journey, and carried them to an area of the town square that was less busy, with the girl hovering around him the whole time.
Kristoff handed her a carrot, and she bit the whole thing, just like she used to do when she was a reindeer. Then she held out an uneaten half of the carrot in her teeth, offering it to Kristoff. He took it, just like he used to do when she was a reindeer, and lifted it up to his mouth. He was about to take a bite when he noticed a few people giving him strange looks.
'It's yours,' he said, giving it back to her. As she happily finished eating it, he put the rest of the carrots in his bag, so she wouldn't get distracted by them.
Kristoff started walking towards the castle stables when he heard a familiar voice behind him.
'Kristoff! Hey, wait!'
He turned around to see Anna running to catch up with him, dragging Elsa along with her. Meeting them like this was a bit of a mixed blessing. Now he could get permission to use the royal transport, but on the other hand, knowing Anna, she'd want to know why he needed it.
'Oh, hi! I wasn't expecting to meet you two here,' he said, deciding to see how things went, and to reveal as little of the Sven situation as possible.
'Kristoff, you've brought a girl!' Anna said, brightly. 'Hi, I'm Anna, and this is my sister, Elsa! What's your name?'
The girl stared at her.
'Umm, this is Sv... Svea. Her name's Svea!' That suited her. And Kristoff wasn't about to explain his theory in the middle of Arendelle's busy town centre. He needed to talk to the trolls first.
'Can I borrow a horse and cart?' he asked Anna.
'Why? Where's Sven?'
'It's a long story. I just really need a horse and cart. Please?' He looked at Elsa.
Anna linked her arm with Elsa's. 'Tell us. We've got time,' she said, knowing that something wasn't right with Kristoff. He was never away from Sven. And he never talked to girls, except for her and Elsa, of course.
Kristoff sighed. 'Look, I need to visit the trolls as soon as possible. And Sven... isn't ... available right now.'
'You can use a horse and cart from the castle stables,' Elsa said. 'But only if you take us with you. We want to talk to the trolls, too.'
'We do?' Anna asked, giving her a puzzled look.
'Yes. We need to ask them about Olaf, remember?'
'Oh yeah!' The fact that Olaf was now human had temporarily slipped her mind. 'Kristoff, the most amazing thing happened while you were gone!'
'Really? Well, you can tell me about it on the way,' he replied, hurrying to the stables, dragging Sven/Svea with him.
Anna and Elsa followed. They didn't ask Kristoff to wait for them to find Olaf, mostly because Olaf was off on an adventure somewhere, but also because they could see that he was serious about getting to the trolls as fast as he could.
Soon, the four of them were in a cart pulled by two strong horses, speeding through the forest. Kristoff was steering, with Sven, or whoever she was, sitting next to him. Elsa and Anna sat in the seats behind them and tried to figure out what was going on.
'Don't you think Svea's kind of weird?' Anna asked Elsa, keeping her voice low. 'She didn't bow when she met us. And she hasn't said a word this whole time.'
'Maybe she's foreign. But you're right, there is something a little...unusual about her,' Elsa replied.
They travelled on in silence for a while, until that silence was broken by an exasperated moan from Svea, who was clearly bored.
'Stop complaining,' Kristoff said to her. 'We'll be there soon, and we'll get Grand Pabbie to change you back.' He took the carrots out of his bag and gave them to her, which kept her quiet.
Anna observed this and wanted Kristoff to give them an explanation for this journey. Something very peculiar was going on.
'Kristoff, tell us why you want to see the trolls!' she ordered.
Kristoff thought for a moment. He knew he should tell them, and he wanted to do it in a way that would make sense. But since nothing about the entire situation made sense, he decided to just tell them the basics as they appeared to him.
'Fine,' he said. 'This girl isn't a girl.'
A few moments of awkward silence passed as they waited for Kristoff to elaborate.
'It's just...,' he continued. 'You'll think I'm crazy and you probably won't believe me, but, she's Sven. I woke up this morning and Sven was gone and she was there instead, and there are too many similarities between them. There's no other way to explain it; she's Sven.'
'We believe you,' Anna said, after thinking it over. It was the only thing that would account for the girl's weirdness. And it wasn't as if the idea was totally out of the ordinary, considering what had happened yesterday. 'The same thing happened to Olaf!'
'Well, not quite the same thing,' Elsa cut in. 'But we woke up yesterday to find he'd become human. Although he's pretty much the same apart from that.'
'That's strange,' Kristoff commented. 'I wonder if the two things are connected. Let's hope the trolls can give us some answers.'
It was just what could be called twilight by the time they reached the Valley of the Living Rock. Kristoff made sure the horses and cart were secure before getting down from the cart and lifting Svea/Sven down afterwards. Anna and Elsa alighted by themselves, and the four of them walked through the valley towards where the trolls lived.
The angular rocks and the steam erupting from the small geysers gave the place an eerie quality and only added to Elsa's uneasiness. She remembered the last time she had visited this place. It had been on the night of Anna's accident, the night everything had changed.
As if Anna could read her thoughts, she took Elsa's hand and didn't even flinch at how cold it was. She gave Elsa a reassuring glance before dashing ahead with Kristoff at the sound of the trolls' voices.
Rocks started rolling around them and suddenly they were surrounded by trolls, who started greeting them loudly and happily.
'Kristoff and Anna are back!'
'Have you two got married yet?'
'No, we're still not a-' Anna began.
'Who's that with them?'
They all turned to Elsa.
'It's the Queen!'
'Queen Elsa!'
'She's so beautiful!'
'And who's the other one?'
Just then the crowd of trolls parted and a larger rock rolled towards them, soon revealing itself to be Grand Pabbie. The old troll walked up to Elsa.
'Elsa,' he said, 'It's been a long time since you were last here. What can I help you with? Your powers are remarkably under control, I must say.'
'Thank you,' she replied, 'But it's Kristoff who needs your help, not me.'
'Grand Pabbie!' Kristoff called. He approached him, holding Svea by the wrist. 'I have a problem. I think Sven somehow got transformed into this girl.'
Grand Pabbie looked a little perturbed, then took both of the girl's hands in his and studied her.
'You are indeed correct,' Grand Pabbie said, after a couple of minutes. 'This was Sven. Only his form has been changed. This magic is strange. It's very strong, I've never seen anything like it before.' He let go of her hands and she wandered over to Anna, who had sat down on a rock and was chatting to some of the trolls.
'Something similar happened to Olaf, the snowman I made last year,' Elsa said. 'Except he can still talk. And he's still male.'
'That's because Olaf's essence is human. He is a part of you, Elsa,' Grand Pabbie replied. 'This girl, on the other hand, still has the spirit of a reindeer, except now her body is human.'
'Wait, if Olaf's a part of me then why is he male?' Elsa asked, genuinely perplexed.
'And why is Sven female?' asked Kristoff.
Grand Pabbie sighed. 'I cannot answer either of those questions. Magic works in mysterious ways, that's all I know.'
'Well, can you change Sven back?'
'I'm afraid not, Kristoff,' Grand Pabbie said. 'That would be far beyond my abilities.'
Kristoff was disappointed. Now he didn't know what to do. He'd have to get a new reindeer for his ice business. But what would he do about Sven? He couldn't just leave him... her to fend for herself.
'This is the second time something like this has occurred, you say?' Grand Pabbie asked Elsa.
'Yes, it happened to Olaf early yesterday morning,' she replied.
'Hmm... I feel we have not seen the end of this magic yet. Although, it is not evil, most definitely not! Quite the opposite, in fact!'
After thinking for a bit, Kristoff decided to ask one more question. 'What can I do to help Sven?'
'Not much beyond what you already have done, Kristoff. She will probably never be able to talk, but she seems happy enough.'
They watched as some of the younger trolls climbed on the girl, making her smile.
'However,' Grand Pabbie continued. 'I think she needs someone to look after her. The human world can be rather complicated. But I trust you will do the right thing, Kristoff.'
At this point, Bulda, one of the trolls who had been listening in, shooed the young trolls away and examined the girl.
'Bright eyes, working nose, strong teeth; I don't know what you're complaining about, Kristoff! She's perfect for you!' she declared.
Kristoff looked at... Svea, who grinned at him. He couldn't help smiling back at her. He might have lost his best friend, but maybe he had gained something even better.
Grand Pabbie yawned loudly. 'These summer nights are short,' he said. 'The sun is already just above the horizon and soon it will rise. We trolls will have to sleep. You should all head home, too. I am sorry I could not help you, Kristoff, but try to see this as a gift. That is all the advice I can offer.'
'Thanks anyway, Grand Pabbie,' Kristoff said. 'Come on, Anna, ... Sven, we're leaving. Goodbye, guys!' he called to the trolls.
As the four of them walked back to the cart, Kristoff slowed down to talk to Elsa. He had something on his mind.
'Would it be illegal if I...?' He was too embarrassed to finish the question, but he didn't have to; Elsa understood what he meant.
'I don't see why it would be,' she replied. 'She is, to all intents and purposes, a woman; no one will question you if you pursue a relationship with her. There's nothing stopping you from living a happy life with her that would be considered normal by everyone.'
In front of them, Anna had just helped Svea clamber into the cart and held out her hand to Elsa, giving her an affectionate smile. Elsa took it and, for a moment, the world stood still as they locked eyes before they both climbed into the cart and began the journey home.