Even though it was summer, Kristoff Bjorgman's sleigh could still easily travel through the various paths of grass and dirt that made up Arendelle's wilderness, just like it could with the snow and ice in winter.
Kristoff held the reins in his hands, being pulled along by his reindeer Sven. He had been Arendelle's official Ice Master and Deliverer for a little over a year, and he loved what he did. Ice was his life, after all.
Beside Kristoff sat the diminutive snowman, Olaf. Walking beside the trio was the huge snow golem, Marshmallow, easily keeping up with them with his large strides. Slung across Marshmallow's back was a custom pack, made out of that odd ice cloth that only Queen Elsa was able to create. In addition to the blocks of ice that sat in the sleigh, dozens more lay inside Marshmallow's pack.
"How far along are we for the morning deliveries, Olaf?", asked Kristoff.
Olaf looked down at the papers he was holding, which displayed the different orders they were to deliver that day. He moved his pen down over each checked-off item.
"Hmmm...we have one more delivery to make, then we should be done for the morning."
"Great. Who's it going to?"
"One Lukas Evensen, down by the cornfields."
"All right. You and Marshmallow can shove off for now, if you want."
"Okey-dokey!"
Olaf set his pen and papers aside and hopped out of the sleigh. He beckoned to Marshmallow.
"C'mon Marsh, there's some flowers I've found that you just have to smell!"
"Okay," he replied simply.
As the two snowmen walked off, Kristoff and Sven continued along to their destination.
"I can't wait to get this delivery finished. After this we can go get some lunch. How about it Sven?"
The reindeer looked back at his friend.
"Oh yeah, I think I'm gonna go for some carrot stew!" said Kristoff in his reindeer voice.
What they were about to find at Lukas' farm would make them lose their appetite completely.
Just like the day before, Elsa sat at her desk, writing signatures and filling out forms. A queen's work was never finished, it seemed.
The weather today was different; the sky was filled with clouds, and it looked as though it would begin to downpour at any time. In a repeat of the previous day, Elsa's paperwork was interrupted by a knock.
"Your Highness, the Ice Master would like to have a word," Kai's voice said through the door.
Elsa put her head down on her desk.
"Why can't I be left to do my mind-numbing work in peace," she quietly said to herself.
She rose her head back up. "Yes, Kristoff?"
The mountain man didn't wait for Kai to open the door for him, instead barging through it himself.
"Elsa, there's something-,"
"We've been through this before, Bjorgman. You address me as 'your Majesty', like everyone else. Just because you're engaged to my sister, doesn't mean you can be casual with me. Maybe when the two of you are finally married, you can do that."
"Okay, sorry. Your Majesty, there's something you should see."
"And what is that?"
"Remember that farmer you talked to yesterday?"
"If there's anything Mr. Evensen needs, he can relay that to the guards I provided him."
"You won't be hearing anything from him anymore. He's gone."
Elsa was confused.
"I'm sorry, what do you mean 'he's gone'?"
"He's vanished. And your two guards are nowhere to be found, either."
"What?"
"That's not even the weirdest part. The whole farm...it's disappeared, completely."
Elsa looked at Kristoff for a moment, then got up from her chair.
"Kai?"
Elsa's servant had already begun to file the papers away for later.
Looking at the empty expanse of land, one would never be able to tell that there was a farm there just one day before. What once contained a farmer's house, fields with corn, and pastures with cows was now all simply a big stretch of dirt. There wasn't even any grass. Kristoff was right; overnight, everything had simply vanished.
Sven carefully made his way down the hill, carrying both Kristoff and Elsa on his back. Beside them were two more guards, each on horseback. They all turned their heads this way and that, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Kristoff was the first to see the small, green shape that sat a few hundred yards away.
"Look." Kristoff pointed to the shape.
"What could it be?" said Elsa.
"Only one way to find out. C'mon Sven."
The reindeer picked up his pace, now almost sprinting towards the shape, with the guards following closely behind him. As they got closer, they could see why the shape had a green tinge to it; it was the familiar color of an Arendelle guard's uniform. The man wearing it was one of the guards Elsa had left with Lukas the day prior.
Sven came to a stop in front of the man, letting Kristoff and Elsa dismount him. Elsa walked up to the guard, and knelt down next to him. He was still alive, sitting in a fetal position and staring ahead at nothing as he slowly rocked back and forth.
"What happened here? Where's Mr. Evensen and your fellow guard?" the queen said.
"They were taken," replied the guard.
"What do you mean?"
"They took me too, but they put me back."
"Where did they take you? Who took you?"
"Them."
"Who's 'them'?"
The guard fell silent.
"Who is 'them'?"
He ignored Elsa, continuing to stare ahead. She got up and turned back to Kristoff.
"I thought you said there wasn't anyone here when you first found the place like this."
"There wasn't, I swear. He must have gotten here when I went back to the castle to get you."
Elsa motioned to the guards still on their horses.
"Bring him back to the castle infirmary and have him looked over."
Once they had settled the guard safely onto one of the horses, Elsa watched as they galloped off, up the hill and out of sight.
"We should get going, too. Looks like it's going to rain soon."
Just as Kristoff finished his sentence, they felt small drops of water fall from the sky. After a few seconds, it grew into steady rainfall. Kristoff and Elsa climbed back onto Sven, and were on their way. Elsa conjured up a large umbrella of ice to keep the three of them dry as they headed back towards town.
Arendelle's queen hoped that these strange events were isolated, and this would be the end of it. But somehow, she doubted that.