Frozen Together Chapter 12
It was the first day of the royal sisters' new life. They slept through the first half of it.
It was nearly noon when they finally stirred. Elsa's snow-and-air mattress, while chilly, was as comfortable as any feather mattress Anna had ever slept on. Being up all night after a stressful day helped, too. They stretched and took stock of their situation.
"I think we need three things, to get started," Elsa decided as she braided Anna's hair. "We need food, we need blankets, and we need to find you some warm clothes to wear."
"I can help with the food part, a little," Anna said with a trace of a smile. She untied a fancy cloth pouch from her belt sash and opened it.
Elsa's eyes went wide. "Chocolate?! Anna, how did you...?"
Anna giggled. "I figured I might want a late-night snack after the ball was over, so I sort of... grabbed a few pieces off the dessert table when nobody was watching."
Elsa tried to look stern. "A few pieces? That looks like half the tray! Anna of Arendelle, that was not very princess-like behavior!"
Anna shrugged. "If you really think it's that bad, then maybe you shouldn't eat any."
"Hmmm." Elsa thought fast. "I think I'll offer you my very first royal pardon. So that takes care of that problem. Does this count as breakfast or lunch?"
"Who cares?" Anna grinned. They both enjoyed their chocolate meal together in an extremely un-princess-like manner, with much licking of fingers.
Their brunch was delicious, but not very filling. Once they were done, they took a long look all around them. Elsa thought she saw smoke rising from a nearby valley. "It's probably just a mountain man's shack," she decided, "but he can tell us where we can buy the stuff we need."
"Elsa, it might be best if I went alone," Anna suggested. "It might scare the guy if you tried to pay him with... cold cash."
"Anna, that wasn't funny," Elsa scowled. "But I suppose you're right. I can make us some furniture and decorations while you're gone. You'll be careful, right?"
"Don't worry about me, Elsa. I can take care of myself!" Anna showed what she thought were some good fighting moves, and nearly fell when her shoe got hung up in her skirt; Elsa caught her and held her up. "Well, anyway, I'll be back by sunset." They hugged quickly, and Anna set off on her shopping trip.
She soon found out why shopping expeditions are called "trips." Her path led mostly downhill, the way was steep, and she tripped and fell several times on the way down. "If this is what Gerda goes through when she shops for the palace, I should double her pay," Anna said to herself. By the time she found the source of the smoke they'd seen from the ice palace, she was sore, cold, disheveled, bedraggled, and not feeling much like a princess.
As she approached the wooden building, the door flew open, and a mountain of a man carried a mountain man outside and threw him in the snow. "Oaken is not a crook!" the bigger man exclaimed, and stormed back inside.
A reindeer left the sled where it had been standing, scampered over, and licked the snow-covered man's face. "No, Sven, I didn't get your carrots," the man said sadly. "But I did find us a place to sleep. And it's free!"
Anna walked over to him cautiously. "Excuse me, but could you..." Then she remembered how princesses were supposed to present themselves. She drew herself up to her full height (such as it was) and tried to look regal. "Ahem, good sir. I noticed your comment about spending the night. Would that mean that you are available to run an errand before nightfall?"
"Maybe," the man said, rubbing his neck. "What kind of errand?"
"I intend to purchase some supplies here, and I will need transportation back up the mountain when I am finished." She didn't think her "princess act" was fooling anyone, but she felt like it was expected of her.
"Up the mountain?" the man repeated. "That mountain?" He gestured with his thumb at the tall, dark mountain behind them. "There's nothing up there!"
"There is now. Do you have any other pressing... uhh... things to do?"
"Not really," he sighed as he got to his feet. "The ice business isn't working for me this summer. Actually, nothing is working for me this summer." He looked at her speculatively. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to pay me for this errand of yours? I mean, I'm not greedy or anything, but a man's got to eat."
"Fair compensation for services rendered would be... fair." She felt like she was running out of fancy words. She'd been taught how princesses often talk to common people, but she'd never actually had to practice it. She felt ridiculous. It's not like she actually thought she was better than this mountain man, or anyone else, for that matter.
"Okay," the man said. "Fifty øren for one trip up the mountain." She glared at him haughtily. "Okay, thirty-five." She glared again. "Fine. Twenty and a bunch of carrots for Sven." The reindeer licked his chops.
"Very well. I accept. I will be out soon." She swept past him, hoping he hadn't seen her shivering, and entered the trading post.
"Hoo-hoo! Big summer blowout!" the owner smiled from behind the counter. "Beach umbrellas, insect repellent, and tools for the barbecue!"
"I'll think it over," she said, dropping the princess voice. "What I really need is some winter boots, warm clothes, and blankets."
"Ahh, those would be in our winter department," Oaken said, his smile fading. "Unfortunately, our winter department is not so much on sale. In fact, our winter department is not so much in stock." He wasn't kidding; there was almost nothing left. She was able to find a pair of boots that fit fairly well, a coat that was badly out of style but would keep her warm, and a matching set of wool bonnet, scarf, and mittens. Oaken's face lit up when she placed the latter on his counter.
"Ahh, yes, very good choice! Those were knitted by my very own granny. Perhaps you will say 'hello' to my granny if you enjoy the sauna? Granny loves to say 'hello'." He opened the door to the sauna. "Hello, Granny!" he called. Anna kept shopping.
She found a few blankets that looked like they would be warm enough, although their colors clashed with her coat, her bonnet, and each other. Finding food was the easy part – she wanted foodstuffs that didn't require cooking, and nearly everything in Oaken's food inventory fell into the "preserved" category. She remembered the carrots for the reindeer as well. She paid for her purchases, then had a thought.
"That man out there," she said quietly. "Is he... all right?"
Oaken bobbed his head. "He is rude man sometimes, but he is not bad man. We play this game together many times, ja? Tomorrow he will come back with much better manners, and I will wait on him nicely."
"Thank you, Mr. Oaken," she said, and lugged her purchases outside. The mountain man had the reindeer already hitched to his sled. He slung Anna's purchases into the back, helped her into the sled, shared a carrot with Sven (which made Anna cringe), and away they went.
"Since we're going to be in this sled together for a while, I guess we should introduce ourselves," the man said. "I'm Kristoff, and that's Sven."
"I am Princess Anna," she replied, trying to sound regal without being haughty about it.
"Princess?" the man gasped. "If I'd known I was giving rides to royalty, I would have cleaned all the food wrappers out of my sled first!"
It was a slow, uphill journey. Anna made good use of the time by doing something she hadn't been able to do for a week: talk. Elsa had been completely preoccupied with preparations for the coronation, and Anna had felt like she was alone in the palace again. Now she had a captive audience who was curious about what she had to say... or at least certain parts of it.
"...so then, this Duke comes up, I swear he looked like a monkey, especially with those two gorillas backing him up wherever he goes, I think they'd be excellent at gorilla warfare, I know that wasn't really funny, but it came to me and I had to say it; anyway, this Duke comes up to my sister in the middle of the formal supper and he wants to talk about trade agreements! Honestly, the man has no sense of time or place, my sister tried to be polite about it, she did a better job than I ever could have, I would have taken him by the –"
"Wait! You said you almost got engaged to a man you just met that day?"
"Well, yes, but it's okay when it's true love, isn't it?"
"And his proposal is still open?" Kristoff marveled.
"Of course it is!" she burst out. "I haven't given him an answer yet. Now pay attention! I was saying –"
"You haven't told him 'no'?"
This mountain man just didn't get it! "How can I tell him 'no' if I'm not sure he's the one or not? That's silly!"
"Anna... I mean, Your Highness... you can't marry someone you don't even know!"
Anna sighed in exasperation. "Kristoff, I'm grateful for your help, but you're starting to sound just like my sister!"
"I sound like a girl?" he exclaimed. "Sven, why didn't you tell me my voice was changing?"
"I didn't want to hurt your feelings," he replied in his Sven-voice.
"No, I meant – hey, why are we stopping in the middle of nowhere?" Anna wondered nervously.
"Sven needs to rest," Kristoff explained. "We're about halfway up the mountain, and it gets steeper from here on up." He unhitched the reindeer and gave him a carrot, which Sven nearly inhaled. They stretched their legs in the forest clearing, enjoying the silent beauty of the ice-coated tree branches and the frozen stream with its motionless waterfalls. Anna considered how she'd felt when she came through this patch of woods on the way downhill, and was grateful for her new warm clothing.
Suddenly, Kristoff held up a warning finger and guided Anna back toward the sled. "Something's coming!" he whispered.
Anna tensed up. "Are there wolves in this forest?" she quavered.
"In the daytime? Not usually." Sven growled and struck a point. A moment later, they saw what he was pointing at. It was not a wolf... it was a...
"Olaf!" Anna burst out. The fact that her childhood snowman was walking around on his own didn't astonish her as much as it might have in the past, before she'd seen her sister do amazing tricks with snow and ice.
"You know this... guy?" Kristoff was stunned.
"Hi!" the snowman greeted her. "I'm Olaf, and... I'm sorry, but have we met?"
She got down on her knees in the snow so she wouldn't tower over him. "Well, we've never been formally introduced, but I've known you for a long, long time."
"That's good," he agreed. "Old friends are the best, even if I don't remember you. Anyway, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs! And you are...?"
"Anna, and I like warm hugs, too." She had a sudden flashback to that scene in Elsa's room, where a snowman very much like this one had helped bring them back together at last. She bent and gave the snowman the warmest hug she could give.
Kristoff noticed her getting a bit teary-eyed. "Do you two have a history together or something?" he wondered, confused.
"Ooh! Histories can be great!" the snowman burst out. "Was it a good history or a bad history?"
"Good... definitely good," Anna nodded. Kristoff was getting more confused by the moment.
"That's good," Olaf agreed. "I wouldn't want to be a bad guy. I don't think I could play a bad guy. I don't look the part. I don't have a bad guy's nose. Actually, I don't have any nose at all."
"I think we could fix that – right, Kristoff?" Anna took one of Sven's carrots and set it into the snowman's head. But she pushed too hard, and less than two inches of carrot could be seen on his face when she was done. She was dismayed, but Olaf seemed to like it.
"Oh, what an adorable little nose! It's an anime nose! Maybe I should go for the chibi look?" His eyes suddenly grew huge and dark, and his head got bigger. "Does chibi work for me?"
She just pushed the rest of the carrot forward from the back of his head until it was in its intended position. Olaf gasped in delight. "Look at my nose... It's a beautiful snowman's nose! I mean it's a beautiful nose for a snowman, not a nose for a beautiful snowman." He turned back to Anna. "Be honest – does this nose make my butt look big?"
"Look, guys, this is all very heartwarming and everything, but can we get moving?" Kristoff urged them.
"Heartwarming... that sounds nice," Olaf nodded. "Some day I'd love to find out what it's like to be warm all over. Summer! That's what I'd like to experience!"
"Uhh, let me guess," Kristoff thought out loud. "You've never been around in the summer, right?"
"Only in this summer, and this feels more like winter," the snowman nodded. "I want to feel the sun on my face, and get a tan, and maybe do some sunbathing... wouldn't that be the living end?"
"For you, yes," Kristoff nodded in disbelief. "For now, can we please get going? I want to deliver the lady's stuff and get out of these woods before nightfall."
"Yes, you're right," Anna nodded. "Elsa will be wondering where I've gone."
"Elsa?" Kristoff and Olaf both exclaimed at once.
"Elsa is the one who made me!" the snowman went on. "I have to meet her and thank her! Maybe she made me so I could do something special for her. I need to find out what that is."
"You're Princess Anna, and you're going to see Elsa?" Kristoff wondered, stunned. "As in, Queen Elsa?"
"Yes, that's her," Anna said.
"Queen Elsa is up on the North Mountain? What's she doing up there? Is she okay?"
"I can honestly say, she's never been better in her life," Anna said softly.
"Okay... okay... okay, I need to figure this out," Kristoff said distractedly, waving his hands. "I woke up this morning, wondering what I was going to do to earn a living today. Now I find I'm delivering sausage and lutefisk to the Queen of Arendelle, and I'm trading comments with a talking snowman! Where did today go wrong? Should I have taken that left turn at Albakkerki? No, no, don't answer that. We do need to get moving!"
"You said it!" exclaimed Olaf. "Can I go with you... what did she call you? Rice Krispies?"
"That's Kristoff," the man said tightly.
"Sorry, Rice Kristoff. If you're going to see Elsa, then I'm going, too." The snowman bounced into the back of the sled, sat on top of Anna's provisions, and began shouting at the reindeer, "Giddy-up! Mush! Charge! Uhh... fetch!" Sven looked back and stuck his tongue out at him. Kristoff harnessed the reindeer, and they were soon making their way up the mountainside again.
When they reached the chasm, Kristoff stopped and climbed out, utterly stunned. There before him was the most amazing ice stairway he had ever seen... and it paled in magnificence compared to the sparkling castle on the next spur of the mountain.
"Now that's ice," he sighed. "Now I've seen everything. I can die a happy man."
"Don't die yet," Anna pleaded. "You need to help me get my stuff up the stairs to the front door."
"What is this place?" he asked softly as they climbed the blue-white stairs.
"This is the new Royal Palace," Anna said. "Queen Elsa and I live here now."
"I know this wasn't here yesterday. Where did it come from?"
Anna thought fast. "The Queen wanted it to be built in less than a day, and it was done." There, Gerda – I didn't tell a lie, she thought.
Kristoff stopped when he got to the first step of the palace. "I can't put my dirty boots on this," he said reverently, and set Anna's bundles down in the snow. "I need to get back down the mountain before the wolves come out."
"Thanks for the lift," Olaf smiled.
"Yes, thank you for the help," Anna added, gave him his twenty-øren coin, and touched him on the arm as he turned to leave.
The woods were chilly as he and Sven made their way back down the mountain. The wind was beginning to pick up, and there were traces of snow in the air. Still, he couldn't remember ever feeling more warm inside.