"And so, after the sudden fall of the Kingdom of Erigisen to the north fifteen years ago, Arendelle went through a brief period of recession due to the loss of a vital trade partner," Anna's tutor droned on, "This eventually forced us to branch out to other neighboring kingdoms. Currently Arendelle has trading arrangements with Corona, Dun Broch, Edinborough, and…Your highness? This is vital information for you to know, and I will not have you sleeping through it!"
Anna jolted awake with a start. "Hunh?" She rubbed her eyes dazedly.
The tutor shook her head disapprovingly. "With all due respect, your highness, you really should at least pretend to be interested in foreign affairs. Your eighteen years old now, and soon your parents will step down and you shall take their place as a ruler. I'm doing my best to prepare you for that time, but you must put in the effort as well."
Anna bowed her head in embarrassment and shame. She felt guilty for not paying attention. Her kingdom, and everyone in it, was depending on her. "I'm very sorry," she apologized, "Please continue." She would soon be ruling all by herself. Alone.
Her tutor nodded. "Very well. As I was saying, the Kingdom of Erigisen once resided to the north of Arendelle before it's sudden fall fifteen years ago, this lead to a brief recession in Arendelle which- Your highness?! Are you alright?!"
Anna had begun to shake violently, her skin growing pale as death. It was another episode; she had at least one a day. Some days were better than others. She tightly gripped her snowflake necklace, waiting for the painful chills to pass. Rubbing her thumb over the pendant seemed to help.
Eventually the shaking subsided, and Anna returned her attention to her worried tutor. "I'm okay, I'm fine." she assured weakly, urging the woman to continue the lesson.
The tutor eyed her with concern. "Just make sure you do not push yourself too hard, your highness."
Three weeks later Anna and Kristoff were waiting for the royal doctor to arrive. The King and Queen were extremely worried about Anna's worsening condition, and had decided to arrange daily medical examinations in order to make sure she was okay.
"Kristoff, can I tell you something?" Anna questioned, leaning back against the burgundy sofa.
Kristoff shrugged, a small smile on his face. "As long as you aren't telling me you want to marry Hans, I'm good."
Anna frowned. She knew that she should scold Kristoff for being rude to Hans, but for some reason she just couldn't bring herself to. The prince didn't sit well with her either, for whatever reason, and he had only grown more attached to her as the days went by. Needless to say, she wasn't interested.
"Be serious Kristoff." She said pleadingly, bringing her gaze to meet his.
The ice carver's expression softened. "Sorry. What did you want to tell me?"
Anna looked down vacantly, her hand involuntary moving to hold her snowflake pendant. The blonde man had never seen her so empty-looking or sad. "Kristoff…I think I'm dying."
This got his attention immediately. "What? What do you mean? You can't know that for sure!"
Anna shook her head, a sad smile rising to her lips. "It's strange… I feel like I'm…like I'm missing something, you know? I feel weaker with every passing day, Kristoff. I don't know how much longer I can bare it..."
The blonde man's eyes began to water. "B-But Anna, y-you can't die! Not after-" Not after Elsa broke her own heart to save yours.
Anna shook her head, fighting back tears. "You think I want to die? I don't want any of this…I just want…I want…" her lips trembled as she trailed off. She folded in on herself, making her appear half her size.
Kristoff knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his large warm ones. Anna was important to him. She was practically a part of his family, and it hurt him to see her in so much pain. "What do you want, Anna?" he asked tenderly.
A frustrated tear rolled down the princess' face. "I just want to be happy! I want to stop feeling like there's a block of ice where my heart should be! I want to find…find something! I don't know what it is though! I just need to find it!"
Kristoff's brow furrowed in thought. Anna wasn't making any sense now. Before he could say anything though, the royal doctor entered the room.
"How do you feel today, your highness?" the plump woman asked, taking out a seashell from her satchel. The royal doctor was known for her…unorthodox methods.
Anna smiled weakly. "I'm doing okay, Dr. Ursula."
Kristoff narrowed his eyes at her for lying.
The doctor put an ear to her seashell, bringing it up to rest upon Anna's chest. The doctor paused and listened. "Let's see… Oh dear..." She mumbled, pulling away.
Kristoff internally winced at the look on the doctor's face,
Ursula stared at Anna and sighed forlornly. "You poor, unfortunate soul…"
Kristoff cracked under the pressure. "What's wrong? Is she worse?"
Ursula nodded gravely. "The ice is beginning to spread faster than before…I'm afraid there is nothing more I can do now." The doctor sighed again, putting her seashell back in her satchel and making her way to the door. "It is only a matter of time before…well, you know."
Kristoff leapt to his feet, blocking the exit. "Wait! Please, there just has to be a way to make her better! Don't you have any medicine or anything?" his voice was frantic, desperate.
Ursula shook her head, brushing past him. "Medicine can't cure magic, boy. Only magic can cure magic, and the trolls have already tried their best, from what I've heard. There are no more options. I'm sorry."
She left them both to stew together in heavy silence. Anna was the first to speak.
"Well, there you have it," She said with a shaky smile, "At least the trolls were able to let me live a little longer. That counts for something, right?"
Kristoff shook his head slowly, his mind racing. Anna dying was not an option. He had to think up a plan to save her, and fast.
"Only magic can cure magic," The doctor's words repeated in his head.
"Like I'm missing something, you know?" Anna's voice echoed, "I want to find something! I don't know what it is though! I just need to find it!"
And finally, a piece of Grand Pabbie's prophecy from three years ago became clear.
The ice shall fester, when apart,
Only unity shall save thy heart.
Kristoff suddenly knew what he had to do. He knew who could save Anna.
"C'mon," he said, taking her arm and leading her from the room.
Anna stumbled to keep pace with the tall man's big strides. "W-Where are we going?" she asked in confusion.
Kristoff stopped and stared directly into her eyes with a look of pure determination. "We're going to the North Mountain."
Hi everyone! Sorry I didn't update yesterday, FFnet was down, ugh! I was having serious withdrawal issues. But now it's back up, and here's an update! Hooray! Not much happened in this chapter, just a little foreshadowing with some "setting the scene" sprinkled on top. The next chapter is where things are going to pick up a bit.