Author's Note: I apologize in advance for any inconsistencies since this chapter is a little longer than others. Also, I'd like to apologize for the chapter's length. I wasn't intending it to be as long as it turned out to be.
Princess Kirsten of Denmark was curled up in her spot reading a new book. She had quickly lost interest in the Edgar Allen Poe book after reading The Tell-Tale Heart noticing the burning need to read something different. She thought that the short story was a grand read, but her soul desired a different story to satisfy it. She had quickly glanced at a title of a book and slid it out from its spot with her fingers curled around the spine of the book in a protective way before returning to her spot.
The Danish princess had only turned the page finishing the first chapter before she heard a creaking sound wake her from her dream-like state of reading. Looking up, Kirsten saw a sliver of light slip into the library from the crack of the door. She waited patiently holding her own breath captive to see who was coming into the room. The door was pushed open some more until it revealed a familiar yet uncertain face. Kirsten lit up like a fire. She closed the book and placed it daintily on a nearby table before making her short journey to the door.
Anna opened the door all the way feeling confident in not disturbing Princess Kirsten in her reading activity as she saw the girl come toward her. Anna felt relieved as she allowed Kirsten meet her at the door. Not letting go of Kristoff's hand, Anna stepped inside the library and smiled at Kirsten who was only a few feet away from her.
"Kirsten, I'm so glad you still here….I mean, I kind of figured you would be here, but I thought you could have wondered off somewhere is all….Oh, I'm just bad, aren't I?"
Kirsten covered a giggle behind her right hand just the way Elsa had done when she laughed at the Duke of Weselton's toupee flopped down at the coronation's ball. She looked back at Anna with shining admiration for the Norwegian princess in her eyes.
"It's alright, Anna. I got what you were saying."
"Oh, good. I hope I didn't stay away too long. Did you get lonely?"
"No. I'm just fine. I didn't really notice."
"Okay. Well, in that case, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend."
Kirsten cocked to her head to the side in pure curiosity and blinked a few times. "Boyfriend?"
Up until that moment, Kristoff had stayed slightly behind Anna using her as some sort of shield. He did want to meet her new friend, but he wasn't sure if he should have introduced himself or let Anna introduce him. He decided that the latter was a better choice. Anna gently tugged at Kristoff's hand prompting him to join her side and greet Princess Kirsten. Anna presented Kristoff to Kirsten by gesturing to him.
"This is my boyfriend, Kristoff Bjorgman. He's the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer by Queen Elsa's decree."
"Your sister gave your boyfriend that title?"
Anna smiled proudly thinking back on the memory. Yet her trip to memory lane was cut short as Anna was pulled back into reality with the sarcastic and teasing tone coming from Kristoff's mouth. He had locked eyes with Kirsten.
"I know, right? I didn't think it was a real thing, but apparently it is now because Elsa said so."
"Elsa?"
Kristoff froze in fear. He had just realized that he referred to Elsa in just a casual way. Anna freed her hand from Kristoff's so she could use it to pat his back in a reassuring way. She laughed off his slip while doing so.
"You see, Kirsten, Kristoff and my sister are friends. He just forgot to address her in a professional matter while in the company of other people aside from myself."
"No. That's quite alright. I was just intrigued on how your boyfriend, Kristoff, must feel referring to your sister by her first name rather than use her title as queen. "
Anna slipped her hand off Kristoff's back feeling his tight muscles loosen.
"Well, you know, we're all just friends to each other. I mean, Elsa is pretty grateful to Kristoff for helping me go up the North Mountain to talk to her and bring her back home so she can thaw Arendelle and she and I would be best friends again. So, I'm sure she would like to try and be friends with Kristoff. As for Kristoff's part….I don't know. I think he's afraid of my sister."
Kristoff could feel his cheeks burn up with embarrassment and a hint of frustration. "I do not!"
Anna smiled at him. "Oh, come now, Kristoff. You did hesitate to befriend my sister. I mean, you did come around, but you were afraid of her."
"I was not."
Anna's smile widened as she paced her hands on her hips. Her voiced was laced with mockery.
"Were you afraid my sister would freeze you?"
Kristoff balled his hands into fists and thrust them down at his sides. "Anna!"
Anna straightened her posture and dropped her little act. "Come on, Kristoff, I was only teasing you."
Kristoff wasn't amused. He directed his hands toward Kirsten while keeping his eyes on Anna's.
"Even if I knew you were teasing me, couldn't you have had the decency not to tease me in front of her?"
Anna gave a side glance before looking back at Kristoff.
"What? I'm not allowed to tease my boyfriend in front of my new friend while talking about my sister all at once?"
Kristoff didn't know what to say. He just couldn't process what Anna said since he was still embarrassed from her teasing about him being afraid of Elsa freezing him. Of course he wasn't afraid of Elsa! But Anna liked to think that the reason why he first hesitated to befriend her was because he was afraid that she might freeze him to death if he ever hurt her little sister in any way as punishment. But the real reason Kristoff was afraid of befriending Elsa was the simple fact that she was Queen of Arendelle… and possibly for the reason that she also had ice and snow powers. But that was beside the point.
He felt that, as an ice harvester, that he didn't deserve being friends with the only person who wasn't just the sole sovereign ruler of the kingdom but also the elder sister of his girlfriend despite helping the sisters reunite in the end. He wasn't sure if he was worthy of her friendship, but then…Everything changed when Elsa brought him to the side of the ice rink that she made while they watched Anna and Olaf skate around with Sven behind them and she offered him a friendly smile and she asked him what his likes and dislikes were and who his family was. That was all it took for Kristoff to realize that he was worthy of the queen's friendship because he knew she wanted to be friends with him. That was the moment when he felt better about his friendship with Queen Elsa and his relationship with Princess Anna. At that moment, Kristoff had felt like the luckiest guy alive.
Kristoff pulled himself up from the depths of the memory and blinked at Anna. He could feel his red on his cheeks fade back into the fair complexion on his skin. He pulled away slightly knowing he no longer had to feel embarrassed.
"Fine, Anna. It's fine."
Anna beamed at him. He couldn't help but smile back. Both of them looked back toward Kirsten. She grinned at the happy couple in turn.
"So, what do you want to do, Kirsten?"
"I don't know, Anna. You know the castle the best. What do you suggest we do?"
Anna bit her lip thoughtfully. She hadn't thought of what she and Kristoff would do when they would meet up with Kirsten. She searched her brain before and an idea popped into her head. The garden! Of course! Anna smiled at Kirsten.
"Why don't we go to the garden?"
Kirsten's eyes lit like stars in the night sky and clasped her hands together in front of her face with a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
"Really? That sounds wonderful!"
"Great. Let's get out of here." Anna turned on her heels and grabbed Kristoff's hand and dragged him behind her. "Come on, Kristoff."
Kristoff uttered a gentle whine. Kirsten stifled a giggle watching the sight of the couple leaving the library before her. She composed herself shortly after and followed the couple close behind. She made sure to close the door to the library before catching up with Anna and Kristoff down the hall.
The trio of young adults made their way to the castle's garden through hallways at a leisurely pace. They were in no hurry at all. Kristoff and Kirsten became quick friends on their way to their destination and Anna was unphased by the two of them bonding. In fact, she was quite glad her sensitive mountain man and new friend from Denmark were bonding. Regardless, she wouldn't have known what they were talking about since her mind was occupied on other things.
She wondered what Elsa was teaching Karen and how they went about their business as tutor and tutee. Did they share jokes and complimented each other on their command over their magic powers while practicing with them? Anna had no idea. But she couldn't obsess over the matter. It's not like she had control over what her older sister did without her. Why should it bother Anna now that Elsa was spending some time away from her? After all they had spent thirteen years apart. Why would it bother Anna to spend just a little extra time apart from her sister? It wasn't like she was going to shut her out again and avoid. Or maybe it was because they spent thirteen years apart that Anna couldn't stand being away from her sister more than necessary? Anna wondered about that….But she didn't have much time to ponder why she felt this way as she soon found herself bumping into something stiff.
Anna stumbled back a bit before composing herself and saw that she had run into Kristoff's back. But he didn't seem to notice. Anna wondered why he and Kirsten had stopped. Anna walked around her goof of a boyfriend and saw what obstructed their path to get to the garden. It was something she did NOT want to see. Elsa and Princess Karen standing mere inches apart at each other's sides and they were smiling. How dare they smile! Oh, how she detested their smiles. It was more that she detested Karen's smile. It taunted her. It poked fun at her rubbing in her face that Karen got to spend time with her beloved older sister, Elsa. Anna could almost feel the mockery wiping off Karen's smile stating that she would replace Anna as Elsa's new andbetter little sister. Anna would have none of it. She curled her hands into tight fists at her sides.
All the while when Elsa noticed the trio of friends walk toward her and Karen, she couldn't help but smile. She was pleasantly surprised to not just see Kristoff but to see him chatting up a storm with Princess Kirsten. It was clear to her that the two became quick friends. Looking over on Kristoff's other side, Elsa frown when she didn't see Anna. But her smile would soon return as she saw her sister comically bump into Kristoff's backside. Elsa had to cover her laugh with her right hand. She just thought that Anna was so adorable and funny with her antics. They were so Anna. They were Anna antics. It was so like her little sister to make Elsa feel better. Elsa knew that all Anna had to do to make her feel better was be herself. Elsa was so glad to have Anna as her sister. Her baby sister was all the sunshine she needed to get through life. Anna was her sunshine and she wanted to keep it that way.
By the time Anna was at Kristoff's side, Elsa had brought her hand back at her side. She didn't want to make Anna think that she was making fun of her if she saw her stifling a laugh with her hand. She didn't want to give off the wrong impression to her sister because she cared deeply for her. When the two groups were close enough in distance, Elsa decided to close the gap of air between them with her voice.
"Hello."
Kristoff and Kirsten looked in the direction of the chirpy greeting and saw Elsa and Karen walk toward them. The moment Kirsten saw her sister, Karen, she had a wide smile on her face. Kristoff was equally happy when he spotted his good friend Elsa, the Queen of Arendelle. He greeted her back with equal enthusiasm.
"Elsa! It's so nice to see you again." He glanced over toward Princess Karen. He took a few steps forward and extended his hand for Karen to take. "Hello. I'm Kristoff Bjorgman. You must be Elsa and Anna's friend, Princess Karen. Nice to meet you."
Karen smiled at Kristoff and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too, Kristoff. How do you know Princess Anna and Queen Elsa?"
"I'm Anna's boyfriend. When we first met, she asked me to help her go up the Northern Mountain to get her sister, Queen Elsa, back to the kingdom and thaw Arendelle and mend their bond as sisters."
"Oh! So, you're a mountain man?"
"Actually, I'm an ice harvester. Elsa named me the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer."
"Wow. You must be good at harvesting ice. Can you carve ice into sculptures too?"
A throaty chuckle came out of Kristoff's mouth. "I haven't thought about that. I mean, I love harvesting ice, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to take up ice sculpting as a hobby."
Karen's eyes sparkled with genuine interest and Kristoff gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. Elsa and Kirsten smiled to each other after witnessing a new friendship bloom between Kristoff and Karen. And among the grassy knoll of friendship and sunny joy was a storm cloud looming in the distance that was Anna. But no one seemed to notice the bitter brew bubbling up inside the princess. She was waiting for this gathering all to be over so she could go somewhere quiet and explode like a volcano. But for the time being she would stay silent and slapped on the best fake smile she could conjure up.
Kristoff took his hand off of Karen's shoulder and stepped back a bit. He glanced over Anna to make sure she was still at his side and then turned back toward Elsa and Karen.
"Where were you two?"
Elsa directed a soft smile of her burly yet sensitive friend. "We were in the garden."
"Really? Oh, man. The three of us were just heading there."
Elsa regained her composure quickly. "Oh, don't worry. Karen and I were just there so I could tutor her in using her water and ice powers. She's gotten quite good at her control over them."
Kirsten perked up at hearing about her little sister's progress. "Really?"
"Yes. She has gotten better at turning water into ice. I think with a little more practice she'll be in complete control of her powers in no time."
Kirsten's eyes sparkled with joy. "That's so wonderful!"
Karen smiled at her older sister. "Just you wait, Kirsten, you'll be so proud of me when Elsa's done tutoring me."
"I'm already proud of you, Karen. You're doing so well."
Karen blushed at her sister's comment. "Thank you, Kirsten. That means a lot."
"You're welcome."
Watching how Karen and Kirsten communicated with each other, Elsa thought of Anna. She looked over at her little sister with a smile on her face, but then her happiness went away once she got a glimpse of her sister slightly frowning and had her arms crossed. It wasn't until that very moment that Elsa felt a pang of guilt in her heart. She hadn't realized that Anna hasn't had the chance to speak up. Elsa felt that Anna must have felt left out from all that was happening in front of her. Elsa wanted to make it up to her.
"Anna."
Anna snapped her head toward her sister and dropped her arms. "Huh?"
"Karen and I were about to go have some tea. You're more than welcome to join us if you like. Unless you rather go with Kristoff and Princess Kirsten to the garden."
"No, thank you. That's fine. I know Kristoff can show Kirsten around the garden, but I wouldn't mind going with them. I'd like to have some fresh air."
Elsa couldn't decipher if Anna was being genuine about wanting fresh air or she wanted an excuse to keep on an eye on Kristoff and Kirsten. But then again….Elsa should know better that Anna would have enough faith and trust in Kristoff and Kirsten not to go behind her back. They were good people after all and Anna was a good person. But that didn't stop Elsa from wondering if Anna wanted an excuse to avoid her. If she did, why would she? Elsa shook the thought from her head baffled to herself that she could ever think that her own sister wanted to avoid her and especially after all she's been through to bring her back home where she belonged and to reconnect as sisters again. Yet a dreadful, sinking feeling latched itself to the depths of Elsa's heart.
A pinch of dejection was laced in Elsa's voice as she spoke. "Alright, Anna. You guys have fun. I'm sure we'll see each other soon."
Anna smiled and waved at her. It was strange though. It felt like a knife went through Elsa's heart. Why was she worried that he sister was only putting on a show for her and their friends? Did she do something to upset her sister? Even though it pained Elsa of why she couldn't understand the feeling that gnawed at her heart, she decided that there was nothing wrong and chose to belief her sister's smile and wave were genuine and full of love. She smiled and waved back at her sister with just as much love as she hoped her sister had for her. After the exchange of smiles and goodbye waves, Elsa and Anna simultaneously dropped their hands and smiles. Elsa turned toward Karen.
"Ready to go, Karen?"
"Of course, Elsa!"
"Alright. After tea maybe we'll squeeze in a bit more practice if we have the time, that is."
"That would be great."
Karen grabbed Elsa by the wrist and rushed past her sister. As Elsa dragged away by an energetic Karen, she flashed one last smile at Anna, but it appeared Anna didn't even notice. But the fact was that she pretended not to notice her older sister give her a smile as she left with Karen. Rather, Anna just crossed her arms as if she was deep in thought and stared at the void in front of her where her sister and Princess Karen once stood. She stared at the carpet so intensely that she could have burned a hole through it with her glaring eyes. However, Kristoff and Kirsten noticed that Anna had barely spoken. Kristoff took a step closer to his girlfriend and placed a caring hand on her shoulder.
"Anna, are you alright? You haven't said much since the five of us came together."
Word seeping through gritted teeth and closed lips. "I'm fine, Kristoff. Let's just go to the garden."
Kristoff knew something was bothering his Anna, but he couldn't pinpoint what was bothering her so much. He took his hand off of her shoulder and turned back toward Kirsten.
"Kirsten, are you ready to go the garden?"
"Yes. I think it'll be nice to get some fresh air and be surrounded by nature."
"Yeah. I think you're going to love it. It's so calm and peaceful and beautiful….Right, Anna?"
Kristoff had a smile on his face and turned to his girlfriend when he uttered the word beautiful think of her. Yet he didn't see her at his side anymore. "Anna?"
Kristoff was in a panic. His eyes darted around to find her until he saw her walking in front of him and Kirsten. "Anna!"
Anna looked back at Kristoff and gave him a smile. "Don't worry, Kristoff. I just remembered that I forgot something in my room. I'll join you and Kirsten as soon as I can at the garden. Enjoy your time while I'm gone. Bye!"
With that, Anna swiftly turned the corner of the hallway. Kristoff dropped his face. "But Anna…."
Kirsten placed a gentle hand on Kristoff's shoulder.
"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be with us in no time."
Kristoff wasn't quite sure about Kirsten's words, but he had to put faith in them. He had to have hope in his heart that Anna would join him and Kirsten in the garden as soon as she could. The only thing that bothered him is what Anna had forgotten in her room that she sudden needed to retrieve it now. Then again, Kristoff couldn't worry about such a trivial concern as he could feel Kirsten's hand slide off his muscular shoulder and he looked at her. She smiled at him.
"Kristoff, it's going to be okay. Anna will return."
"I guess you're right, Princess Kirsten. Come on. Let's go to the garden."
"Do you know how to get there from here?"
"Yeah. Anna and I have been in the garden quite a few times, so I sort have memorized how to get to it."
"Okay then. Lead the way."
"With pleasure."
Kristoff offers his arm for Kirsten to take and she slips her hand in the crook of his elbow to grip his arm before they continue their journey to the garden.
To Be Continued…