I kept trying my hardest to fit the julbukk tradition into this story, but it just wouldn't take. Here's the next best thing, I hope.

Chapter 5

Anna woke up, and the first thing she noticed was that she no longer felt cold and sore. She felt... well, a distinct change from the entire day yesterday. So she immediately hurled herself out of bed, going to the window and throwing open the curtains.

Her eyes beheld a wall of howling white. Swirling gusts of snow-filled wind were whipping at the walls of the palace, obscuring her vision even of the courtyard below. She put her hand on the window and was shocked by how cold it felt. She shivered. Elsa...

There was a knocking at her door. "Anna?" Kristoff's voice came through. "Are you up?"

"Yes!" Anna said, turning her head but not moving away from the window.

Kristoff came through the door. When he saw her, he moved to her side and put the back of his hand on her forehead. "No fever," he said.

"Nope!" Anna said. "I'm all better. Now let's get out there and find Elsa!"

"Anna," Kristoff said, "we have no idea where she is."

"I know where she is," said Anna. "She's in her ice palace. That's where she'd have to be."

Kristoff looked judgmentally at his girlfriend. "Anna," he said, "didn't you say you saw her burst into snow and get blown away? What if she doesn't even have a physical body any more?"

Fear gnawed at Anna's intestines when she considered this. It was true; Elsa had no reason to even keep a corporeal shape. But Anna knew her sister, knew her better after the past few months with her and after the experiences they had shared together. For all that Elsa had opened up and freed her emotions, she still preferred to have a center, a ground- some place she could call home. She wouldn't totally abandon her body, and she'd want a place to put that body. And her old ice palace was the logical spot.

"No, Kristoff," she said firmly, "Elsa will still keep a shape. I know she will. And I know the palace is where she'll be. We have to get to the North Mountain."

"Not in this weather," Kristoff said, glancing out at the driving storm. "We have to wait until it dies down a little."

"No!" Anna said. "I want to go find Elsa now!"

"We couldn't even see out there," Kristoff said. "We'd get lost and we'd die in the storm. And what good would we be to Elsa then?"

Anna took a deep breath and bit her lip. She wanted to argue, wanted to rush out the palace gates right now and start trekking into the mountains. But she wouldn't go without Kristoff, and Kristoff seemed dead set against going in these conditions. She slowly, softly exhaled, walking back to sit down on her bed. "I'm so worried, Kristoff," she whispered. "What if she really is gone for good?"

Kristoff moved to sit on the bed next to her. "She wouldn't," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know Elsa as well as you, but I know she loves you. She wouldn't leave you."

"You think so?" Anna asked. "You promise?"

Kristoff leaned in and kissed her on the nose. "I promise," he said.

The snowstorm lessened in intensity around mid-afternoon, so the two of them pulled on their warmest winter clothes. Indeed, Kristoff had Anna wear a set of long underwear, then he gave her a set of his own long underwear to put over hers, then he let her put on her warm woolen dress and sweater and cloak. He himself wore two pair of long underwear, along with his heavy, warm trousers and tunic, with a sweater over that.

Even for all their protection, they were shocked to leave the palace. It was violently cold, almost unbearably cold. The snow was swirling down in thick sheets. And this made Kristoff look curiously up at the sky. "Why is it snowing?"

"Uh, because it's cold, duh?" Anna said, loading her pack into his sleigh.

"No, that's wrong," Kristoff said. "I think it's too cold to be snowing. Snow can't form once the temperature hits a certain depth. And we're definitely past that. So why is it snowing?"

Anna looked up into the sky. "Elsa," she breathed. "This must be her doing." Anna glanced out the open gates with determination. "We've got to find her and make her stop this."

"Assuming she wants to stop it," Kristoff muttered under his breath.

"What?" Anna asked.

"Nothing," he said. He and Anna climbed into his sleigh, and Kristoff flicked the reigns. "Let's get going, Sven."

The reindeer didn't move, merely standing there and shivering. Kristoff sighed. "Sven, buddy, what's wrong?"

'Golly, Kristoff, it's so cold! I can barely move!' said 'Sven.'

"I know that, buddy, but you've got to. It'll only warm up if we can find Queen Elsa. Please?"

'That's all easy for you to say! You've got warm clothes and everything! All I've got is this natty old fur!' Sven grumbled.

"Ah, Sven," Anna said, interjecting before Kristoff could talk to himself again, "what if I got you one of the blankets we put on our horses?"

'That would be great, Princess Anna! You're the best friend a reindeer could have! No wonder Kristoff thinks you're so wonderful!'

"Aw, you're sweet," Anna said, throwing a wink at Kristoff as she climbed out of the sleigh.

With Sven bundled up also, they set out, riding out of the castle and out of the city. They began to climb almost immediately, the hills a gradual but noticeable slope up into the wilderness.

"Elsa!" Anna called. "Elsa, where are you?"

"I thought you said she was up in her ice palace," Kristoff asked as they moved into the forest not far from the city.

"Well, I think she is," said Anna. "But maybe, if she's part of Winter now, she can hear through the snow too?"

"You make her sound like she's some sort of god," Kristoff said.

"Hmm," Anna said, leaning back in her seat. "Sometimes I wonder if she isn't. Sometimes I wonder if she's not secretly part-angel or part-goddess or something. It wouldn't be surprising, would it?" Anna crossed her arms over her chest. "But she still needs me. We have to find her."

They rode in silence for a few hours, Anna occasionally standing up in the sled to call out Elsa's name. Kristoff kept hold of Sven's reigns and looked ahead, trying to ignore the feeling in his chest that this wouldn't be nearly as simple as Anna made it out to be. He loved her so much, but she had her failings, chief among them her inability to fully consider a situation. From what she had described, Elsa had turned her back on being human- complete with breathing "some white breath stuff" out through her mouth, which Kristoff almost assumed had been her soul. That didn't sound like a thing that was easy to reverse. But he would try, for Anna's sake and for Elsa's. He knew how deeply the sisters cared for each other, and however much Elsa was or wasn't enjoying being a Winter spirit, there was a part of her that would miss Anna.

They stopped later in the afternoon in the shade of some great trees, where Anna unwrapped a cold sandwich and began frantically chewing. In truth, she was still a little worn out from spending all of yesterday with a fever, and the food was welcome energy. Kristoff was wandering around the sled, making sure Sven wasn't too cold. Suddenly- "Do you hear that?" he asked.

Anna stopped her chewing and pricked up her ears. She did hear something! It was a shuffling just through some of the trees and a voice muttering to itself, a very high and small sounding voice. Swallowing the final bite of her sandwich, Anna leapt out of the sled and began to creep toward the sound.

"Anna..." Kristoff whispered, reluctantly following her.

"Don't you want to see what it is?" Anna whispered back. "Maybe it will lead us to Elsa." She crept forward, quietly, softly, gently. She was the picture of silent grace, slinking forward without making a sound until she reached some bushes...

"Okay?" Kristoff mouthed. "Now wh-"

"AHA!" Anna bellowed, bursting through the bushes and pointing an accusing finger at the source of the noise.

"Aiee!" a small voice cried, and a figure fell back into the snow. It was quickly on its feet again, brushing itself off. "What was that for? I nearly died of fright."

Kristoff moved out of the bushes to stand beside Anna. Both of them beheld a little man- a very little man. He couldn't have been taller than three feet. He was wearing a brown burlap tunic, dark wool pants, and heavy little boots. A long stocking cap of off-white wool drooped off his head, and it was nearly the same color as the long, bushy beard that hung practically to the ground.

Anna and Kristoff could do nothing much but gape. The little man glared up at them, his hands on his hips. "What are you two doing out in this storm? You should be indoors, you know. Especially you, Princess Anna."

"You know my name?" Anna asked.

"Of course! I've been slipping gifts under your Christmas tree since you were born, I ought quite well to know your name."

"You-"

"Oh," Kristoff said. "Oh!" A huge smile spread across his face. "Grand Pabbie always used to mention you guys! You're a Nisse!"

"A Nisse?" Anna repeated, delight crossing her features. "Ooo! Do you have presents?"

"Not just a Nisse, please and thank you," said the strange little man. "The Nisse, or at least the Nisse of Arendelle."

"I can't believe it," Kristoff said. "My mom and my brothers and sisters used to talk about you all the time, about you and all the amazing things you would do for the people of Arendelle."

"Yes, well, it's a lonely job, but someone's got to do it," said the Nisse. "It didn't used to be so lonely, you know. Used to be, every farm and townhouse had its own Nisse, always ready to slurp up porridge and go to work tending to things. But times have changed. The world's grown older and colder, and the only one left is me." He trembled. "So much work left undone! So many chores unfulfilled! And you can't very well trust humans to do it right, can you?"

"Uh, I don't know?" Anna asked, confused. "Servants do most of the things in the palace."

The Nisse just shook his head and clucked his tongue. "You're all so lucky to have me," he said. "I've managed to get all the gifts for Arendelle ready more than a day ahead of time. All presents ready to go!"

"Ooo, are they in there?" Anna asked brightly, kneeling down and shoving the Nisse aside. She stuffed her head into the hole he had been peering through.

"Hey!" the Nisse snapped. "Don't touch those!"

"Wow!" Anna's voice came out, muffled slightly by being underground. She pulled her head out. "Kristoff, you've gotta check this out!"

"Really?" Kristoff said, kneeling down and getting on his hands. He stuck his head through the hole and saw a vast cavern filled with parcels wrapped in brown paper. He gaped. "Where did this cave come from?"

"I dug it," the Nisse said angrily, "now get your fat head out of there!" He kicked Kristoff hard in the bottom.

"Ouch!" Kristoff said, pulling out and glaring at the Nisse. "I just wanted to admire your work! The craftsmanship is exquisite."

"Is it now?" said the Nisse. "You work with rock?"

"Ice, actually," said Kristoff. "But I've dabbled in stone. You'd be surprised how similar they are."

"I can see that," said the Nisse. "I guess you must use a hammer and chisel."

"I do," said Kristoff. He leaned closer to the Nisse. "Do you find there's a particular angle that makes the stone really easy to work with?"

"Oh, absolutely," said the Nisse. "The trick is to come at it-"

"We don't have time for this!" Anna shouted, stomping her foot in the snow. "We need to find Elsa!"

"Elsa? Queen Elsa?" the Nisse said. "Where is she? Has something happened?"

"Well..." Kristoff said, working up the nerve to try and explain things.

Fortunately, he didn't have to. "Elsa went out into the storm and turned into some sort of Winter person!" Anna exclaimed. "She turned into ice and snow and... and she blew away..." Anna's eyes began to prick with tears.

"What?" the Nisse said. "Queen Elsa's gone and united with Winter?" He tilted his head to the side. "Well, I suppose that explains what I've been feeling. Oh dear, oh dear, this is most troubling."

"Feeling?" Anna asked.

"Yes," said the Nisse. "I can feel your sister everywhere around us. At first I thought that this must be one of her snowstorms, but I realize now that all snowstorms are her snowstorms these days. I can feel a tiny taste of her in every gust and snowflake."

"You can?" Anna asked. "Can you... can you tell where she's more heavily present?"

"I... maybe," said the Nisse. "That's not consequential." He turned away.

Anna took a deep breath and began to sing.

Hey Mister, Hey Mister,
Have you seen my sister?
Hey Mister, Hey Mister,
Where could she have gone?

Hey Mister, Hey Mister,
Do you know my sister?
She cares far too deeply
To leave me all alone.

"That's what you think," said the Nisse.

"That's what I know," said Anna firmly. "Elsa would never have abandoned me if she were in her right mind. The Winter was just too strong for her. She even said so!"

"Regardless, girl, your singing doesn't move me," said the Nisse grumpily. "I did all this work getting these presents together. Now I am going to spend the day relaxing, and the night sleeping contentedly." The wind suddenly howled, and the Nisse rubbed his torso. "Assuming I can even get warm."

Kristoff snapped his fingers. Well, he tried to; it was difficult through his thick gloves. "Hey," he said, "you want a warm place to stay the night?"

"Well I'd love it," said the Nisse. "Do you have one in mind?"

"We're going to be searching the mountains for Elsa," said Kristoff. "You said you could feel her, right? Maybe you could feel her better when you're closer to her?"

"I suppose I could," said the Nisse, "provided she were around. But where are you going with this?"

"I just so happen to know a place with nice, warm rooms," said Kristoff. "It's even got a sauna. We're probably going to bunk there for the night, looking for Elsa. You'd be welcome to stay with us... if you'll help us out."

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Anna chimed brightly. "Yes, help us out and we'll keep you as warm as we can!"

"No," said the Nisse, "I don't have the time or the desire. I do care about Queen Elsa, but I need my rest! I need my sleep before I must do so much work on Christmas Eve!"

Anna knelt down so that she was nearly at eye level with the Nisse. She sang softly, sweetly, gently.

I insist Sir, insist Sir,
Help me find my sister.
Insist sir, insist sir,
You give me a hand.

So please Sir, Oh Please Sir,
Help me find my sister.
Let me bring her home now,
However far she's ran.

The Nisse twisted and shifted his eyes every which way, but he kept bringing them back to Anna's beautiful blue-green gaze. She smiled at him with all the love and hope she could muster.

And at last, the Nisse heaved a sigh. "Very well," he said, "I'll help you look."

"Thank you!" Anna said, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"But you'd better not be kidding about that warm bed!" the Nisse said.

"Swear on my honor," Kristoff said. "Do you know where Elsa is right now?"

Pushing away from Anna, the Nisse closed his eyes and stood up on his toes. He began to spin around, twirling like a ballet dancer, until he abruptly stopped. His arm shot out, pointing north and slightly up. "That way."

"Then let's go!" Anna said, hurrying back through the bushes to the sleigh. Kristoff hung to the rear, allowing the Nisse to go before him and parting the bushes so he could pass more easily. Anna lifted him up into the sleigh.

Sven looked over his shoulder and growled at the Nisse. "Hush, please," the Nisse said, pointing a finger at Sven. "I've no need to be bitten by some mangy reindeer."

Sven's ears lowered, and he assumed an oddly calm demeanor. Kristoff arched an eyebrow. "That was easy. Thanks." He flicked the reigns. "North, buddy!"

"I have to warn you," said the Nisse, settling back in his seat, "it may not be so easy to find your sister as just going to where I sense her. And even if we do find her, it may not be as easy as you think to get her back the way you knew her."

"Maybe not easy," Anna said brightly, "but I know it can be done. Elsa was just really stressed out by the Winter's tug. I'm sure she's calmed down by now."

"Oh, my princess," the Nisse said softly, shaking his head. "I cherish your optimism."

"So you think it's going to be hard?" Kristoff said.

"Nearly impossible, in fact," said the Nisse. "You two don't quite understand what's happened to Queen Elsa, if you've told me everything accurately. You make it sound like she's used her ice magic to unite with the Winter, to become one with it in all its cold and snow."

"Yes," said Anna. "That's exactly what happened. And we're going to get her back!"

"She is not the first to have power over the seasons and elements," said the Nisse, "not first by a long shot. And she is not the first to be called by the seasons and the weather, when they grow fierce and strong. She is not the first to accept their call and join with them." He clasped his hands together tightly. "But if you succeed in bringing her back, she would be one of a handful to reclaim her humanity."

"She will be," Anna said. "I know she will."

"I don't think you appreciate the magnitude of what your sister has done," said the Nisse. "The seasons are powerful old things, with loud, booming voices and strong hands. Those who fall under their sway find themselves greatly changed. Their spirits are altered, their natures shift. They become less like themselves and more like the seasons they unite with. Your sister may not be the person you know when we find her."

Anna bit her lip. She heard everything the Nisse said, and it filled her with fear. But she knew she could get Elsa to renounce Winter's grip. She knew she could bring her sister back to herself.

She had to.