"We should take Sven, it's the fastest way." Kristoff suggested, struggling to keep up with Elsa, who was walking at an alarmingly fast pace.
"If you think that's best." Elsa responded, knowing how quickly Sven had gotten Anna back when she was freezing solid, over a year ago.
"He's just through here" Kristoff said speeding off in the opposite direction towards the stables.
Sven sat contentedly in a stall munching on hay and carrots, but immediately rushed over when he saw the queen and Kristoff bursting through the doors.
"Sven!" Kristoff called urgently, opening the door to his reindeer's stall, "Anna's in trouble, we have to go!" The reindeer dropped the carrots he had in his mouth without finishing and bolted out the door, immediately turning his back towards the two so they could jump on his back.
Elsa had never ridden a reindeer. She'd only ever ridden a horse the day she struck Anna's head, and it had taken everything she had to not freeze the horse completely solid on the journey to the rock trolls.
Her hands were clutched tightly together, and her shoulders slouched, the way they did when she was very uncomfortable.
Seeing her tell tale signs of anxiety, Kristoff placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay Elsa, I trust you. We trust you," He said, his head gesturing towards Sven who bleated in response and lightly pushed his head into Elsa's arm.
The queen's anxiety had been steadily improving, but when there was the smallest chance of hurting someone, anything, with her powers, she shut down.
"Elsa, like you said, we need to go. And we need to go now."
It was the pure love and concern that Elsa had for her sister that pulled her out of the depths of her mind and back to the present. She nodded weakly.
"I'm ready," she replied.
"On three," Kristoff soothed, and on the third number gave the queen a leg-up.
Gently landing on the reindeer's back, Elsa took a deep breath, thus resulting in a huge sneeze. Two snowgies appeared on Sven's back. Kristoff looked at Elsa with a worried expression.
"I am not the issue here Kristoff," Elsa reminded the blonde boy as he effortlessly swung up onto Sven's back.
"I know, that's why you're on my reindeer's back and not in bed." He wrapped his hand apprehensively around Elsa's waist, knowing the queen did not have the experience nor the energy to stay balanced on her own. He felt her flinch at the contact with his hand, but she didn't shy away from it.
"Let's go," Elsa mumbled, clearing her throat and gently placing her hands on Sven's neck, working hard to keep her powers at bay.
Blood pooled quickly around Anna's head as the mob of snowgies and Olaf rushed to where she lay at the bottom of the icy stairs.
"Anna!" Olaf shrieked as he reached the unconscious princess; taking her head in his fraid twig hands. "Anna! Anna, please, you need to be okay, you need to wake up!"
From behind him he heard the sound of hundreds of small cries, turning around to see all the snowgees crying frozen tears, inching closer to the fallen girl.
Olaf did the only thing he could think of to save Anna, to get her back to the castle where she had a chance.
"Marshmallow!" The snowman cried, "Marshmallow, help us please!
Silence.
All that could be heard was the echo of his voice in the mountains.
"Please," He whispered, pulling Anna's pale face close to his own.
The solid doors of the ice palace suddenly swung open and they heard a familiar grunt from within it. The snowgees gaped at Marshmallow's colossal figure as he peered down at the scene below.
"Oh thank god," Olaf sniffed, "Marshmallow, we came to deliver more of Elsa's snowgies, and Anna collapsed!" He rushed. Marshmallow looked at Anna, perplexed. "Please, help me get her back to the castle… she needs our help," Olaf pleaded.
Marshmallow stood there, mulling it over. He and Anna hadn't had the easiest past, but Elsa did seem to be particularly fond of her, so he supposed he would help her.
"Oke-hay," He said, slowly sounding out the world. The snowgees behind him and the one's by Anna cheered as the huge creature stomped his way down.
He reached down, gently picking Anna and Olaf up in his large hands. Anna groaned at the sudden change in position, and began to shake even more violently.
"Hurry," Olaf said, not taking his hands off of the girl, "Please, get us to the castle as quickly as you can."
Marshmallow nodded, breaking into a controlled run. He headed through the frozen lakes with ease, racing towards the castle.
"Elsa, deep breaths, you're fine," Kristoff shouted, holding onto her even tighter as she struggled to stay balanced on Sven's back. They had only made it a quarter of the way to the North Mountain and he could feel the queen fading fast.
"I'm fine," She insisted, grabbing more of Sven's fur for support. "Faster Sven, hurry," she whispered in the reindeers ear. But Sven didn't go faster, but in fact slid to complete stop.
"What's wrong buddy?" Kristoff asked him.
Sven bleated in distress, motioning upward with his head. Both sets of eyes followed his gaze. Not 100 feet in front of them, they saw a running, giant, snow creature. Elsa's snow creature.
"That can't be good," Said Kristoff, quickly jumping off of Sven's back and helping Elsa down afterwards.
"We have to stop him, he will frighten the whole Kingdom," Elsa said, coughing hard into her sleeve and making to run towards the creature.
"I don't think that will be a problem," Kristoff replied, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her, "Look."
And Elsa looked, realizing that Marshmallow was slowing his pace and heading straight for them. As he grew closer, Elsa saw that he was carrying something in his hands, only realizing what, well in this case who, it was as he began to lower his colossal hand to the ground.
"Anna!" Elsa shrieked, running towards her sister and immediately noticing the bloody cut on her forehead.
"What happened?!" Kristoff demanded, glaring down at Olaf, whose arms were pressed to the princess's forehead, trying to stop the bleeding. He peered up at them through teary eyes.
"We went to give the new snowgies to the ice palace. She was acting strange this morning but she insisted she was fine...but deep down I knew she wasn't…" The snowman sniffed, moving his gaze back to Anna, still unresponsive, still shivering in her sister's arms. "When I said we should go back," Olaf continued, "She got really mad… I've never seen her so angry… she kept going and… and… fell. Her eyes rolled back into her head… she… she hit her head on the steps, and now she won't wake up." Olaf finished, breaking into a fit of sobs, still trying to stop the bleeding with his twig hands.
Elsa did not understand why her sister was acting so strangely, but right now they needed to get her help, and the only place they could get help was the castle.
"We need to get her home," Elsa sniffed, tears now threatening in her own eyes, "now."
"Agreed," Kristoff seconded, still in shock from the state of his girlfriend. "Olaf, I need you to slide to the palace as quickly as you can," Kristoff instructed, "let Dr. Groffman know he is needed in Anna's chamber immediately, do you understand?"
The snowman nodded, reluctantly letting go of Anna, wiping his carrot nose with his hand not covered in her blood and made to slide down the mountain.
Kristoff shakily walked over and gently took Anna from Elsa's arms. Elsa fought it a bit, not wanting to let her sister go, but knew deep down that Anna would be warmer in her boyfriend's arms.
"Thank you Marshmallow," Elsa addressed, turning towards her colossal creation, "Anna may well be alive because of you."
He grunted knowingly, nodding and turning around to heading back towards his ice castle. Elsa turned back around, seeing Kristoff and Anna already on Sven's back. He clutched her tightly in his arms. She ran to them, this time fearlessly jumping herself on Sven's back right behind Kristoff.
Normally, Sven could not bear so much weight, but with the pure adrenaline pumping through his veins, he could barely feel any weight at all as they rushed towards their home. They were all hoping, praying, it wasn't too late.