Gerda thought she'd seen him before. After taking a moment to think back to what she did 2 hours before, she remembered how he'd dived into the water to help her when Bae had accidentally tossed her into the water after she'd ridden into the town after inspecting the cave. It appeared to Gerda as if he was having trouble reading some parts of the book he was looking at. He was sitting down on the ground, reading a book which was a collection of Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales. "Is that a good book?" Gerda asked him. "More or less," answered Kai. "Some of the stories have strange endings, and endings I particularly dislike. There's this story called THE TINDERBOX. I think the main character is a jerk, and I didn't like how things turned out for him in the end. I think the story influenced my uncle in a terrible way." "Yes, he comes across as somewhat of a monster," Gerda admitted.

Then she said, "You're the boy who saved me and then tried to help by leaping into the water. It really wasn't needed, though. What's your name?" "It's Kai," he said. "Just Kai. What might your name be?" "My name is Gerda," she said, introducing herself. "Daughter of Kristoff. About that story; how did it impact your uncle?" "He thought the soldier in the story was a hero," explained Kai. "It's only now that he's starting to understand that the soldier is not someone he should try to emulate."

"He must have been a child when he read that story."

"No, not exactly. He was around 18 when he read it."

"Did he start reading Andersen's stories when he was 18?"

"Yes. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Nothing wrong at all! I was just curious."

Kai looked down at the book Gerda carried with her. It was open so he saw that it was filled with blank pages. "What's that book?" he asked. "Just to take notes and draw pictures," she told him. "I just went around Arendelle asking the townsfolk what they knew about Queen Elsa." He smiled with a look of curiosity. "Why?" he asked. "I'm trying to write a book about Elsa's life," she answered. "I'm going to publish it under a pen name." "Which parts of her life are you focusing on?" he asked. His eyes were beaming with curiosity.

"Mainly the events relating to the cursed winter and the attack of the spirits on Arendelle."

"I've heard about the cursed winter, but what's this about spirits?"

"The spirits of the enchanted forest."

Kai looked at her with a blank and confused expression on his face. Upon seeing him act so confused, Gerda turned the pages of her sketchbook and showed her drawings she drew of the spirits. The spirits of air, water, fire, and earth. "These are the sketches I did of the spirits," she continued to explain; pointing to each of the pictures she drew. "The spirits of air, water, fire, and earth. Ring a bell?" Kai was still as confused as ever.

"You're not from here, are you Kai? Where are you from?"

"I'm from the Southern Isles."

"I'd expect someone from one of Arendelle's neighboring kingdoms to know more about what happened 20 years ago. Didn't your parents tell you anything about what the spirits did to Arendelle 20 years ago?"

"My parents certainly didn't. They couldn't. They're not around."

Gerda could tell Kai didn't find it easy to talk about his parents. She was worried she might cause Kai to cry if she misspoke, so she decided to choose her words carefully. "Would you like to purchase that book?" she asked. "The librarian allows people to purchase books for a price." "That sounds nice, Gerda," he said, standing up and walking towards the counter. Once he arrived there, he opened his bag only to find it was mostly empty. His uncle must have pilfered it. "Well?" said the librarian, who was expecting her money. "How about a trade?" he asked. He reached into his bag and pulled out a compass. The librarian nodded and gave him the book written by Hans Christian Andersen. There was something unique about the compass. If the librarian had looked at the compass for a few more seconds, she would have noticed that the compass needle didn't point north, but instead pointed some other way. Kai walked away from the counter, but he turned to look one last time at the compass. Kai placed the book in his bag and walked very slowly towards the library door. He was taking his time.

"Wait!" cried Gerda. Kai stopped. He smiled then turned to face Gerda so if he was hoping Gerda would call him. "Yes?" he asked. "I have some time to spare," she said. "Well, most of the day, in fact. If you're just visiting, I can show you around." "I'm glad to hear it," smiled Kai. "My uncle will be glad of your help. You must meet my uncle." Gerda nodded, and the two of them entered the tavern where Hans was at. They saw Hans sitting in the tavern drinking a pint of beer and playing a game of chess with someone. "Uncle, since we're going to be leaving soon, I found someone who wants to show us around," interrupted Kai. Hans looked mildly annoyed with Kai for interrupting him. He looked at Gerda's face. Something about her face reminded him of someone, and it didn't feel good to him. "I'm playing a game right now," he said. "When I'm finished, I'll accompany you. Look around Arendelle without me, but return to the ship soon." Gerda touched his shoulder. "Sir, you don't know what you're missing out on," she urged. "Go enjoy the festivities with your nephew. He wants you by his side." Hans considered her words for a moment, and then continued playing the game.

Kai and Gerda were now increasingly desperate for Hans to finish the game. So desperate they began shouting advice to Hans regarding what moves he should make. "Move your knight!" shouted Kai. "Sacrifice this pawn!" hollered Gerda. "Would you quiet down, please?" Hans' competitor shouted to them. "No!" shouted Gerda and Kai in unison. "Hans, face it!" said the competitor, who was very cranky. "None of us can play in this environment." "But I wanted to win some money," whined Hans. "Keep your money for safekeeping," the competitor said. "We'll play again next time we meet."

"But there might never be a next time. I'm supposed to leave Arendelle today, so I can't stay."

"Then become a citizen of Arendelle."

"I doubt I'll make a good citizen of Arendelle, for I doubt the royals and I would become simpatico."

But Hans' words fell on deaf ears. "Fine, you win!" Hans admitted, turning to Gerda. "Where should we go first?" So Gerda took Hans and Kai to explore the parts of Arendelle she thought would interest them. On the way, Gerda began asking Hans questions.

"So your name is Hans too?"

"What are you going on about?"

"Well, Kai was just reading something by Hans Christian Andersen."

"My formal name is Johannes. Call me that if you want, lest anyone get confused."

Gerda took Hans to places Hans had not been to on his first trip to Arendelle, like one of Arendelle's bakeries, which was called FLORIAN'S FAMOUS FLANGENDORFERS. Gerda seemed to be known to the owner of that place. Along the way, Hans noticed a few kids beating a piñata that bore an uncanny resemblance to himself, but surprisingly, he got over the fear of that sight relatively quickly, for Gerda was a very good guide who did her best to put him at ease. They also did other things like attempt to take bites out of apples that had been suspended on strings. At one point, Kai and Gerda had attempted to take a bite out of an apple that was suspended on a string. But someone pulled the apple out of the way, causing Kai and Gerda to accidentally "kiss" each other on the face. Everyone watching laughed when they saw this. Hans laughed too, which was ironic considering how reluctant he was to come to Arendelle in the first place. But his laugh quickly faded to a faint frown when he thought he saw Kai blushing.

After this, they went to the Farmers Market. "The farmers at this market come together every year to make a soup for the poor," Gerda told her companions. But when they arrived there, they were greeted with unpleasant news. "What!" Gerda gasped. "What do you mean there's no minestrone soup for the poor this year?" Gerda was so loud that everyone in the market could hear her. "I'm sorry, Gerda," said Farmer Christina, who was one of the farmers at the market. "None of us are getting any younger so it's best that we save our produce for ourselves." Hans turned to Kai. "Kai, it looks like this trip to the market didn't work out," he said. "We might as well get back on the ship and leave this kingdom." But Kai didn't respond, for he was deep in thought. "Kai, are you listening to me?" Hans sternly said. "Even a scoundrel like Prince Hans of the Southern Isles is a more generous person than you lot," Kai shouted. But he wasn't talking to Hans. He was shouting at the proprietors at the market. All eyes were now tensely fixed on Kai. Hans look at Kai sternly. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Do you want me to be exposed and sent to jail?" "I've got this," Kai whispered. Farmer Greg turned to Kai and said, "You really shouldn't talk about that scoundrel." Hans looked increasingly distressed upon hearing this. "I'm sorry," Kai replied. "Did I strike a nerve? As terrible as Hans was, I'm pretty sure he knew how to make a good soup."

Kai bent down and picked up a pavement brick. "What are you doing, boy?" one of the farmers asked. "You'd better not be thinking of hurting someone with it." Kai took out a piece of cloth from his bag and started to clean the brick. He lifted the brick and slowly dropped it into a nearby cauldron. A smiled formed on Gerda's face when she saw this. "Stone soup!" she exclaimed. "Take that brick out of my pot, boy!" Farmer Greg shouted. "I just want to show you something," Kai shouted. "You're wasting my time, boy," Farmer Greg roared.

"I'll remove the stone in a few minutes. I just need some clean water."

"Again, I'm asking you: What are you trying to do?"

"With this brick, we can prepare a soup that is fit for a king."

Farmer Greg reluctantly filled the cauldron with water. Then he helped Kai, Gerda, and Hans light a fire underneath the cauldron. "Does anyone have a rock?" Kai asked the crowd that had gathered in the market. Someone gave him a bit of rock salt, which he then tossed into the boiling water. Then Kai asked the crowd, "Does anyone have any beans?" In went the beans.

"Does someone have any carrots?"

In went the carrots. Into the soup went all sorts of ingredients like pasta, tomatoes, potatoes, olives, garlic, and onions. Finally, the soup was finished. "Anybody hungry?" Kai shouted to the crowd. "Yes!" the crowd roared. Hans, Gerda, and Kai were given ladles and bowls. They poured soup into the bowls and handed them out to members of the crowd. A bit of a smile formed on Hans face while he did this. When the cauldron was nearly empty, Farmer Greg poured soup into three bowls and gave them to Kai, Gerda, and Hans. A stern expression formed on Greg's face. He said to Kai, "I see what trick you used to make that soup. I should take you to the Queen and file a complaint against you." Hans took a step closer towards Greg, and he had an angered expression on his face.