Chapter V

"Kristoff?"

"I'm here."

"Oh, thank gods, I've been looking for you for an hour now," I sighed with relief and sat down beside him on a bench which was standing on the furthest side of the lake.

"I'm sorry, Elsa. I shouldn't have run off like that," he muttered and let out a silent sob.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, we're all scared," I said and pulled him into a tight hug. He didn't return it though and that scared me. It scared me more than the fact that we were probably all going to die – Kristoff was giving up and I could almost feel how the warmth of his soul started to drift away. It terrified me because he was always the warmest and kindest person and seeing him in this state felt like knives were stabbing my heart. It hurt a lot and I didn't know what to do.

We sat there for a few more minutes, I hoping that Kristoff's numbness was just a trick of my imagination, when he stood up and said: "It's getting dark, let's go inside."

I only nodded because I was mortified by the shiver that went down my spine and was caused by Kristoff's emotionless voice.

"Kristoff?"

"Mm?"

"I love you."

He sighed as if he was exhausted and replied: "I love you too." I knew he meant it but in that moment his words felt like surrender.

We got back to my house and I led Kristoff to my room. He fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed. I kissed him on his forehead and lingered there for a moment, hoping he would be his old self after waking up.

With a last glance at my boyfriend I closed the door of my room and joined my mum on the couch.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

"He's asleep," avoiding the true meaning of the question.

"Sweetie, you know what I mean."

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes when I couldn't take the weight of my emotions anymore. I knew that as soon as I'd start talking the barrier would break.

"I–he is broken," my voice cracked at the last word and tears rolled down my cheeks. "I–I could feel him g–giving up," I cried and mum wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug.

"Shh, it's okay. Being scared or giving up is completely understandable in a situation like this. That's why we have to be strong for him. We have to show him there is still hope."

I buried my face into her shoulder. "We can make it right?" I asked her. Her eyes were wet with silent tears when I looked at her and she nodded. "Yes."

We both knew she lied.

x

"Psst, Elsa!" There was someone shaking my shoulder lightly when I regained my senses from a sleep.

"Wake up, wake up!"

"Whaswong?" I mumbled when the person wouldn't stop bothering my sleep.

"Elsa, you have to see this!" This time the voice sounded urgent so I opened my eyes and almost let out a scream when I saw it was Anna hovering ten centimetres above my face. She's so close … I shook my head to get rid of the thought and to wake up completely. "What's wrong, Anna?" I asked again.

She stood up and I could see that she was barely containing a huge smile from spreading across her face. "Nothing is wrong, just get dressed quickly and I'll show you," she said, jumping and clapping her hands excitedly.

I smiled at her, happy that she was happy, and started pulling on my shoes. She threw my hoodie and a jacket into my lap. I shook my head at her and wondering what got her so excited.

"Hurry, put these on," she said as she shoved a pair of thick woollen gloves into my hands.

"Okay, okay, calm down. Did someone bring pizza?" I teased because I knew she loved pizza.

She stuck her tongue out at me and laughed: "Ha-ha, no. It's better. And stop asking questions because I don't want to spoil it for you."

When I was finally ready she grabbed my arm and almost dragged me out of the room. Before we left the house she told me to close my eyes but she caught me peeking so she pulled the hood down so couldn't see a thing. A shiver went down my body when I felt her face touching the hood right on the spot where my ear was. "I said, no peeking," she whispered and I knew there was a smirk displayed on her face. I forgot to breathe so when I exhaled loudly she giggled and said: "Relax, Elsa. I promise that whatever I have to show you won't hurt you."

I was a bit disappointed because she thought I was nervous because of the thing she wanted to show me. The truth was it was Anna who made me nervous. Since that piano afternoon my feelings for her had been escalating rapidly and I had no idea how to show them. The fact that she was so affectionate all the time didn't help at all because I was afraid that if let myself enjoy all her tiny gestures and touches, I'd show too much and she would throw me out.

"Ready?" she asked and brought me back to reality.

I simply nodded because I was too worried my voice would betray the emotional war that was going on inside me.

She held my hand and opened the door. Cold air hit my face and the smell of winter filled my nostrils. "Step carefully so you don't slip," she said while guiding me to, what I thought was, the front yard. There was a sound of the gate opening, the same one as the first day I came here.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Psht, we're almost there." And she wasn't lying. I was sure we stopped in the middle of the road that ran through the village. "Okay, you can look now."

I pulled the hood off my face and my vision was filled with white colour. A thick white blanket covered houses and the road and I felt like I was transferred into a whole different world. Snow was falling quietly on my face while I stared at the marvellous view and I felt a tug on my arm when Anna entwined our arms and rested her head on my shoulder. "It's beautiful," she whispered as if she didn't dare to disturb the quietness and stillness of the moment.

"Yes, it truly is," I said in equally quite voice and slowly leaned my head on the top of hers.

After, I didn't know how many, minutes passed Anna broke the silence: "Elsa?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" she asked with joy reflecting in her eyes.

I didn't remember when the last time I built a snowman was so the thought about making one warmed my heart. "Yes, I do wanna build a snowman," I answered. We headed back to the front yard and only then I noticed Anna shovelled a thin path in the snow so I wouldn't feel it under my feet and spoil her surprise as we walked to the road. This girl really is devoted to everything she does, I thought to myself. Anna noticed the smile that rested on my lips and asked: "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm just enjoying this," I said and Anna's grin grew wider.

"I'm glad you are. Now, let's get started," she said and started making the base snow ball. I quickly joined her and started building the middle snow ball. When we were done we noticed Anna's ball was smaller than mine so we decided mine would be the base. She put her ball on the top of mine and said: "The head is missing."

"Yeah, I noticed. Let's see what I can do about it and maybe you could go and find some stones for eyes and buttons."

"I'm on it!" she exclaimed and ran to the other side of the yard. Meanwhile I carefully sculptured the head for the snowman. It was a bit oddly shaped but I liked it and when Anna returned with stones and some branches in her hands agreed that it looked great.

"I couldn't find anything for a nose though," she said sadly and dropped the material on the ground.

"It's okay, it will be perfect anyway," I assured her and started sticking stones into the snow balls. Anna did the same with the branches. When we were done we took a few steps back to get a better look at our creation. "It's perfect!" I said.

"Almost perfect," Anna corrected me but this time without the sadness in her voice. "What should we call it?" she asked.

"Hmm, I think Olaf would suit him well," I suggested.

"Yes, Olaf sounds great!" she agreed. "And he loves warm hugs."

"And summer," I added. We laughed at the irony of this even though it sort of made sense. I didn't notice Anna was gone until my laughter faded away. "Anna?" She didn't answer but then again she didn't have to since a cold snow ball hit my stomach and I had an idea who threw it. "So you wanna play, Anna?" I asked and started making my snow ball. Right after I stood up another snow missile flew past my face, missing it by centimetres. "You know, for a master archer you suck at aiming," I teased and regretted it immediately when a ball hit the back of my head.

"My aim is great, thank you very much." I turned around and saw Anna standing a couple of metres behind me with a victorious smirk displayed on her face.

"Oh, come here now, you little snow monster, I have something to feed you with," I said playfully and when Anna saw that I had a snowball in my hand she ran. I darted after her and I was chasing her until she abruptly turned around and raised her arms above her head. "I surren–ugh." I didn't have enough time to stop so I crashed directly into her and we fell into the snow.

"Oh my gods, Anna, are you okay?" I asked, searching her face for any signs of pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stopped like that. And yes, I'm okay, are you hurt?"

Relieved that she was fine I laughed. "No, I'm not hurt and I'm sorry for tackling you like this." Only then I realized that I was still on top of her, my hands on the each side of her head and my legs straddling her hips. I slowly turned my gaze to face her. She was biting her lower lip and her eyes bore into mine. I felt a sudden and strong urge to kiss her. What if she doesn't want it? The look on her face told me otherwise. Screw you, brain, I thought to myself as I started closing the gap between mine and Anna's lips.

Crack.

"What was that?" Anna asked and we both turned our heads to the source of the noise.

"Wait here," I told her while standing up. I grabbed the shovel which was leaning against the fence and started approaching the part where bushes grew. There was a sudden movement when the intruder started to run. "Open the gates," I yelled and ran towards the part where the fence would open. Just as I went through Anna realized what I was doing. "Elsa, stop! What are you doing?!"

But she was too late to stop me. I charged after the person who discovered our haven and, even worse, our existence. I could hear Anna running after me but she was slower than me – I was filled with adrenaline and fear.

My mind was focused solely on the intruder who was smaller than me. Good, when I catch him he won't stand a chance against me. We ran through the village and ended up on fields covered with thick layer of snow. I started breathing heavier and my muscles started to burn but that didn't stop me and the fact that the person running from me was getting tired too fuelled me. I was so close I could almost hear laboured breathing in front of me but I was about to stop when I realized where we were heading. The intruder didn't flinch though and ran straight to the frozen river. I wasn't left with other choice but to follow them and hoping the ice was thick enough to carry my weight. But it wasn't. A loud noise filled my ears when a web of cracks started to grow beneath my feet. Fuck, this is bad, this is really, really bad. Just before the ground beneath me opened I caught a glimpse of the person I was pursuing standing on the other side of the river. The person hesitated for a moment before turning back and disappearing into the forest. And then cold consumed me. I fell into the freezing water and all I could feel was pain. Like a million needles, no, knives stabbing every part of my body. I was almost lost in it when I remembered that I have to move to escape it. I pushed myself from the bottom and gasped for air when I hit the surface. I tried to grab something to hold on and to get away from the cold but my hands were numb and could feel myself slipping back into the pit of ice. Just when my head was about to sink back into the water I felt I was being dragged up.

"Goddammit, Elsa, you're so heavy," I heard Anna's voice coming from behind me when she pulled me out.

"I–I–I'm s–sorry," I managed to whisper through my clattering teeth.

I didn't know if she heard me because she started to pull off my wet jacket and hoodie. Gloves and shirt followed and I was beginning to worry she was so angry at me she wanted to quicken the process of freezing. I realized how wrong I was when she started to undress herself, she kept the sweater, and put her shirt and warm winter jacket on me. She covered my head with her beanie and the hood; she was so quick I didn't know when she managed to get her gloves on my hands. Then we started to walk.

"A–A–A–Anna, y–y–you're g–g– …"

"Shut up," she interrupted me angrily. "Don't you dare saying a word right now. Do you know how terribly scared I was? Do you even realize I almost died when I saw you struggling to keep your head above the surface?"

"I–I–I'm …"

"I said, shut up!" she interrupted me once again. "I'm so pissed at you, you know? I told you to stop, but no, you decided to ignore me! Tell me, what would you have gained if you caught that person, huh? No, no, don't say a word, because I know the answer; fucking nothing!" I managed to get a glimpse at her face and what I saw broke my heart broke. She was crying. Because of me. I wanted to apologize, to make it better but she wouldn't let me.

"Dammit, you're so cold," she said and rubbed my arms. I was so overwhelmed by her display of anger I almost forgot I was freezing cold and that my body was going through violent shaking. We walked the rest of the way in silence and by the time we reached the back door of her house I couldn't feel my feet and hands anymore.

"Wait here," she ordered and pushed me on the chair. She dragged my mattress closer to the fire place. Then she grabbed blankets and dry clothes and threw them on my bed and walked over to me. "Come now," she said and helped me standing up. I sat down on mattress and she started pulling off my shoes and pants. Then she reached higher and when I realized what she was about to do I managed to back away a bit but the glare she sent in my direction stopped me from moving, well except for the violent shaking. I knew I would be blushing horribly if I wasn't that cold when she took my panties off and replaced them with dry ones; she did the same with the rest of my clothes. I was still freezing and shivering when she laid me down and wrapped me into several blankets. Then she started the fire and when she looked at me her expression was a worried one. I tried to apologize once again but she cut me off as soon as I opened my mouth. "You're gonna bite your tongue off if you keep trying to talk."

She sat by me for a few minutes when I heard her sigh. "This isn't working." Then she stood up and walked away. I was left in silence; the only thing I could hear was my clattering teeth and sharp uneven breathing.

To say I was shocked when I felt a body pressed flush against mine would be an understatement. Anna lifted the blankets which were covering my body and pressed herself against me. She wrapped her arms around me and took my cold hands into her warm ones and held me tight. I could already feel her warmth starting to roll over my body and making me drowsy. It didn't last more than a few minutes when I fell asleep.

Wow, I mean WOW, thank you guys for all the support you're showing. I know I'm thanking a lot but I can't and won't stop doing it because you deserve to know how grateful I am for your favs, follows and reviews.

Now, to some of you, I can't spoil the story so I guess you'll just have to keep up with it and see how it goes. :)