Author's note: I meant to put this at the beginning of the prologue, but I forgot. Oops. Anyway, I just want to give a disclaimer that this story is basically a line-by-line retelling of the movie, alternating between Kristoff and Anna's perspectives. I love the movie Frozen, but I've always felt that the story of their romance has been a little bit under-told, so I wanted to bring it out into the light and really flesh it out, getting to know them better as characters and getting deep into their heads as they go on their adventure together. There are a few scenes that I've added in to give them some background and depth, and there are a few things I've skipped over because they're not relevant to Kristoff and Anna's love story, and/or Kristoff or Anna weren't there to witness them, so I wouldn't be able to write them from their perspective. But this is meant to be a complete story (rather than a series of one-shots), so there are some scenes which are necessary from a storytelling perspective, but make it take a little longer for us to get to the good stuff – and that's okay, but I hope you're buckled in for a slooooooooow burn. I'll try to make it entertaining along the way. Happy reading!

Chapter 1

3 years later…

Kristoff shook his head in affectionate frustration as he finally located the last of the troll children hiding amongst the ice on his cart, trying to stow away with him on his journey to the coronation in town. He picked up little Gabbro and placed him on the ground next to the triplets, Slate, Shale and Sandy. All four of the little trolls looked up at him with adorable wide eyes and begged him to take them with him to town, but he shook his head at them.

"Your parents need you to stay here with them," he said to the little ones. "I'll be back in a few days, and I'll tell you all about the coronation."

"Do you promise you'll be back soon, Kristoff?" Gabbro pleaded.

"Of course," said Kristoff. "Don't I always come back?" He waved the four little trolls off back to their waiting parents and gestured for Sven to turn the sled around and start down the road to the capitol of Arendelle. As they meandered down the little road out of the trolls' village, Kristoff waved goodbye to other friends of his. He was always a little sad when he left the Valley of the Living Rock, as all of his happiest memories had taken place here, with the trolls who had taken him in and provided him with a loving second home ever since he was a young child. But duty called, and he needed to go and sell some of his ice so he could bring back a little income to help keep all of them warm and fed through the winter. It was early spring now, but he made his income selling ice in the town and villages throughout the summer to sustain them through the winter, when the demand for ice understandably dropped significantly.

A little ways outside the village, Kristoff and Sven approached a fork in the road. They turned left, moving down the mountain toward town. As always, Kristoff glanced up the right fork, thinking of his parents and his siblings, who lived a little ways down that road. Kristoff's family were reindeer herders. He was the youngest of seven children, and had come as a surprise to his family, born 10 years after his next-youngest sibling. As the baby in a hard-working, busy family, he'd had a good life, and he knew his family loved him, but they had never had a lot of time to teach him about the reindeer herding business, and he'd always felt a bit like an afterthought. And anyway, ever since he was very young, he had been much more interested in ice harvesting than reindeer herding. His parents had never taken much note when he and his favorite young reindeer, Sven, had snuck away to watch the majestic ice harvesters work in the glacial rivers high in the mountains. He had learned his trade by watching them and imitating them throughout his childhood, and now he was proud to be able to make a decent living from it.

In a way, working with the ice had led him to meet his chosen family with the trolls, too. One night, he and Sven had cut a little block of ice and he was on his way back to his parents to show off what he had learned. But the Northern Lights were out that night, and he and Sven got distracted and went off their normal path to admire the lights dancing in the heavens. As they were wandering, a set of horseback riders sped by them on the path, and Kristoff noticed that a trail of ice was following each step of one of the horses. Fascinated, he and Sven followed behind.

When the riders dismounted, he saw that it was a little family – a finely dressed man and woman with their two daughters. The King and Queen and their two daughters, he realized with a shock. The older daughter, with white-blond hair, looked distraught, and the other daughter, a redhead, seemed to be unconscious in her father's arms. Kristoff watched in amazement as the rocks on the hillside all began rolling toward the family at once – then sprang to life. Trolls!

The oldest-looking troll approached the family and listened to the parents as they explained that their eldest daughter, Elsa, was born with ice powers, and that she had accidentally hit her little sister, Anna, in the head with ice magic while they were playing together. The elderly troll explained that he was able to heal the little girl because the ice was only in her head. He told the family he would erase Anna's memories of Elsa's ice magic for her own safety, and advised them to keep the knowledge of her powers hidden. He then took Elsa aside to talk to her for a minute, but Kristoff hadn't heard what they said to each other because just then, a troll had come up behind him and Sven, took one look at them, and declared them cuties that she wanted to keep.

And that was how he met Bulda, who was like a second mother to him. Ever since that day, he had spent more and more time with the trolls, who taught him about family, laughter, and the meaning of love. When he reached adulthood and told his parents that he wanted to own his own ice business, they were supportive but didn't have enough money to spare to help him out. They did gift him the one thing they could – they gave him the reindeer who had been his favorite since childhood, Sven. That meant more to Kristoff than any money they could have given him, and he said goodbye to his childhood home with love and affection. The ice business hadn't always provided enough for him to have enough to eat or a place to stay, but the trolls always shared whatever they had with him, and in turn he shared with them whenever he had anything extra.

Kristoff shook his head as he and Sven continued down the mountain. He was feeling extra sentimental tonight for some reason as he reflected back on his life. Maybe he was just grateful for all the love he'd had in his life. He knew the princess, who would be crowned queen tomorrow, had lost her parents a few years ago. He hoped that the two sisters he remembered from that long-ago night were doing okay.