A matter of pride

It took Anna a while to catch up with Kristoff. He was clearly mad since he didn't take the time to wait for her. When she left the apartment, Anna didn't find him on the hallway. She went to the parking lot; Kristoff's truck was parked in the right place but there was no sign of her boyfriend. She exited the building hoping to find him on the sidewalk, and there she found him. He was laying against a post lamp, casually waiting for her, as if they had agreed to meet in that place. Anna got close to him and opened her mouth to try to convince him to go back inside, but he interrupted her. He explained he was in the mood for a walk and began walking down the street towards the closest market.

The evening was grey and cold, it was not a nice weather to go out on a walk. But Anna thought it could definitely be worse than it was, at least it was not snowing at that moment. Anna struggled to keep up with Kristoff. It was not easy under normal circumstances to walk as fast as him and, right at that moment, he was walking faster than usual. The snow from the previous snowfall on the sidewalk was not making things easier for her. She tried to call for him to wait up, but he just kept walking, hands in his pockets. Anna was pleased when she saw the closest store to his apartment was opened and he entered the place. She followed him inside and finally was able to catch up with him.

She was trying to be patient with Kristoff but if the man kept forgetting she was walking right behind him; she was going to stop trying and she was going to return to the apartment on her own. When he stopped in front of a shelf to look at the prices, Anna took the opportunity to talk to him. She was not going to chase after him the whole time without some kind of explanation. Truth be told, she was worried for Elsa and Kristoff's fight.

"Kristoff? Is everything all right?" she said when he acknowledged her presence. He didn't answer and she tried again, "I mean, it doesn't look like it is and I don't want to meddle but I've never seen you guys yell at each other for real and-"

"What do you want to eat?" he interrupted her.

Confused by the question since it had nothing to do with the fight she said, "Kristoff, I- what?"

"Food. Dinner. Eat," he explained with annoyance. "What do you want to eat?"

Anna was not prepared for that question and decided it was best to just answer him, "I don't know. I thought you had a menu planned for tonight. And don't talk to me like that." She was trying to be nice and patient with him but she was not going to let him talk to her in that way, whatever was going on was not her fault, "I have no idea what's going on, so don't vent your frustrations at me."

Kristoff looked at her, anger still present in his eyes, but after a few seconds he realised his mistake. He sighed tiredly and said, "Sorry. You are right. I- I just can't-" he paused for a moment and frustration took away what he was about to say. "Ugh! I hate when Elsa behaves this way!"

For a moment Anna thought he was going to calm down and explain what was happening. But his annoyance with Elsa was preventing him to speak clearly. She chose it was best to try to get him to explain at least that, "when she behaves what way?"

"Like she was behaving at home! I hate when she won't listen to reason."

Anna didn't know what she was expecting to hear, but that answer was certainly not it. It did nothing to clarify what was going on, "Kristoff, I'm still in the dark here, what happened?"

Kristoff put the bag of pasta he had picked back in the shelf, "Remember the other day she was arguing with a guy over the phone?"

"Marshmallow?"

"Yes. Well, I found out what the discussion was about. It was about a vacancy at the ski resort. Marshall told her she was probably not going to get hired."

"Oh, that's a shame…" Anna remembered Elsa's attitude after the call. "But what does that have to do with your argument?"

Kristoff realised it was going to take a while to explain to Anna the whole thing, so he opted to just jump to the part that had triggered the discussion, "I agree with him. And I told Elsa to do something about it."

"So, she got mad because she wants you to take her side?"

"No, she didn't get mad. I got mad. She doesbelieve Marshall's at fault because he didn't try hard enough to convince his boss to hire her, which I don't agree with. But that's not it. I'm mad because she doesn't want to do anything about this situation."

The more Kristoff tried to explain the situation, the harder it was for Anna to understand what the problem was, "I don't understand. You are mad because she is not mad?"

"No. I'm mad because she doesn't want to even try to change her luck," Kristoff picked a few items from the shelf and started walking again. Anna was following him. "She is self-deprecating. She doesn't believe in her abilities and possibilities and she doesn't even try!"

Anna noticed Kristoff was raising his voice and it wasn't a good place to do so. She didn't want people to believe they were arguing in the middle of the store. She put her hand over his arm and asked him to relax.

He noticed his mistake and apologised, "I'm sorry. I just hate when she does that. She talks about herself as if she is good for nothing. And when you try to change her mind, she just won't listen…"

Anna thought she understood better her boyfriend's frustration with his sister, but she still was unsure what he meant, "When you say 'try to change her luck', what do you mean?"

It was at that moment Kristoff realised Anna still didn't know much about Elsa and her past. And it was going to be really difficult for him to explain the whole situation to her, especially in a grocery store. So, he opted to give an honest but vague answer, "She'll have a better chance in life if she studies. She's smart, I know she can do it, but she refuses to try."

"Oh, so you want her to go to college?"

Kristoff looked at Anna with astonishment. Her question only proved his point, Elsa was indeed smart and she had what it took to study and earn a diploma. After all, Anna had spent little over a month with Elsa and she hadn't even noticed the fact that his sister had been illiterate most part of her life. Truth be told, Kristoff believed Anna had noticed, but hadn't mentioned it out of respect. If Elsa had fooled Anna, a girl who was studying to become an educator, then she was indeed smart. Probably she had been studying on her own as she had told their mother once; maybe she was trying to do something about it, but he hadn't noticed. Maybe he should have had a little more trust in Elsa in that matter.

Anna noticed how all of a sudden Kristoff's expression changed and he seemed more at peace. She saw him smile for the first time that evening and then he answered, "You know what? Don't worry about this. We've been having this argument with Elsa since we were teenagers and maybe I shouldn't get so angry."

"Okay… What just happened?"

"Nothing, I just noticed something. Don't worry about it." Kristoff knew Elsa was embarrassed of that part of her life and he knew it was one of the main reasons she refused to try; so, he thought it was better not to explain it to Anna at that moment.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk more about this?" Anna was confused about the sudden change in Kristoff's attitude, especially since she hadn't said anything to help him calm down. Or that's what she believed.

"No. Don't worry about it. Let's buy a few more things and then go back home."

When they returned to Kristoff's apartment Anna saw Elsa was laying on the bed, watching the ceiling motionless. She didn't react when they entered the place and Kristoff didn't say anything to her. He just walked straight to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Anna stayed were she was, watching Elsa waste for some time. She felt bad for her and what the accident had caused. She wanted to help her somehow but she had no idea what to do.

Coming back from the store, Anna had asked why the job in the ski resort mattered so much to Elsa; Kristoff explained that working independently gave Elsa good money, but it was never a sure deal; the accident proved she needed to find another income. Kristoff had also explained he believed Elsa could do great things as a ski instructor but, in his opinion, working for one of the big resorts was the best option. Elsa agreed with him on that matter, however after the conversation with Marshall she was in very low spirits about having a chance in one of the big resorts.

She was not sure how long she stayed there, waiting for Elsa to react, to say something, before giving up and walking towards the kitchen to help Kristoff cook dinner.

It was strange to see the siblings eat dinner in complete silence that night. Elsa had only joined them for dinner after Kristoff's insistence. Something in Anna told her Elsa had joined them to avoid another confrontation with her brother since the girl still looked lost in thought. Elsa picked at her food, not really interested in eating. On the other side of the table, Kristoff kept looking at Elsa from time to time but stayed mostly silent.

Kristoff was silent, but he was not angry with his sister anymore. He was just letting Elsa think over the things they had argued about. He was acting in his sister's best interests by not letting the matter slip under a guilt-ridden apology on his part. It pained him to do it but he knew it was for the best. He knew Elsa had great things waiting for her if only she gave herself a chance.


It was a few days later, on Saturday morning, when Elsa found the courage to ask Anna a question related to her fight with Kristoff. Anna had spent the night in the apartment after a snowstorm had taken place the previous night. Anna and Kristoff had agreed it was too dangerous to drive in that weather and so she had stayed the night. Kristoff was still sleeping in his room while the girls enjoyed breakfast together. Anna was happily explaining a recipe to Elsa when Elsa asked her a question. Anna was not expecting Elsa to speak at all that morning since she had remained pensive after the fight two days before. She was in good humour in general, but Anna had noticed there was something on the girl's mind all the time.

"Anna?" she tentatively called her attention. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure! Anything. Is it about my cooking skills?" Anna had spent the last few minutes commenting on some great recipes she had found online and which she wanted to try. She considered herself a great cook, and was always eager to talk about it. "Because let me tell you I-" she stopped herself when she noticed Elsa's amused but apologetic expression. "It isn't about my cooking skills, is it?"

"Not at all," she laughed. "Sorry."

With a sigh she accepted she could brag about her cooking skills some other time and asked, "What is it?"

"If you owned a shop or something like that, would you hire someone who is not educated?"

"What?" Anna was expecting any kind of question, but that was definitely not on the list.

"I mean…" she put her mug on the table. "If the person was okay, not mean, respectful; would you hire him or her?"

"Umm… Well, that depends." Anna considered the question for a while before answering, something told her Elsa had a real reason to ask that question and she wanted to be honest with her, "If I knew who the person was, maybe I would. But it depends on the job the person had to do; you know?"

"So, no?" Elsa said with disappointment.

"It isn't impossible for that person to get a job, but his or her odds are not so good. No." Anna left her mug on the table in front of Elsa's while she considered asking her why that was important. She was not oblivious to Elsa's pensive mood and wanted to find out what was on her mind. She was about to ask the question when Elsa interrupted her.

"Why?"

"Well, I'd like some kind of guarantee. And a degree, diploma or something like that is a guarantee. That way I'd know the person has some basic skills or knowledge."

"But, what if the person hadn't got the chance to study? What then?"

"Then…" Anna watched Elsa's body language before continuing, she seemed unable to stay still and Anna realised the answer might mean more to her than she originally imagined. "They have to adapt, I guess? They don't have much choice. Why are you asking?"

It was obvious the answer was not what Elsa had been expecting; she sighed as she leaned against the back of the chair in defeat.

"Elsa?" tried Anna once again.

"Kristoff is right. I won't ever find a job."

"Well, that's quite an exaggeration. I'm talking about education in general. There are many places that are more than willing to hire someone with a high school diploma," she stopped when she realised Kristoff's claiming was not making much sense. "Why does Kristoff say that anyway?"

"There aren't many jobs available in the North Mountain and most of them require at least a high school diploma," said Elsa, discouraged.

"And that's a problem because…?" Anna waited for Elsa to elaborate but she didn't. For a moment Anna felt lost not really understanding her problem. But then she remembered her conversation with Kristoff earlier that week. Kristoff wanted Elsa to study, he had said that himself, but Anna hadn't really paid attention to it because she thought he meant study a career – go to college. She never imagined he was talking about high school.

When she noticed Elsa was not going to answer she said, "I'm sorry. It's just I didn't think you hadn't finished high school. That's all."

"Well, actually…" began to say Elsa but she changed her mind in the last second. "You know what, it doesn't matter."

Anna watched Elsa aimed for her crutches and chose to stop her before she avoided the conversation. Something had made her open up and ask that question. Clearly, she wanted to talk about it but for some reason felt conflicted to so. "Wait, Elsa. I can see you want to talk about this. Let's talk."

Elsa left the crutches where they were and sat back down, "I don't really feel comfortable talking about this. But I can't talk to Kristoff because he's mad at me."

"He said he is not mad at you, not anymore at least. Don't worry about him," she shook her hand, gesturing she didn't need to give it importance. "I'm your friend, remember? You can always talk to me."

Elsa felt calm after Anna's statement. She was grateful for the girl and her friendship and so she chose to open up, "I know Kristoff is right. I suspected I had to study to get a better job. And you just made that clear to me. But the thing is I don't really know where to begin…"

"Oh, but it's not as hard as it seems!" Anna said with enthusiasm. "You can go to your school and explain you want to finish. Your headteacher will find your file and-" She noticed Elsa was fidgeting on her chair and stopped her explanation, "What?"

Elsa was nervous about letting Anna know. But she thought it was better to just be honest with her, there was no way the girl could help her if she didn't know; but a part of her was afraid and embarrassed. "What If I never went to school?" she asked. "What do I do then?"

"Well, if you never went to schoo- Wait, what?" Anna leaned on the table and tilted her head asking Elsa to repeat what she had just said.

"I never went to school."

"You were home-schooled then?" she thought it was strange one of the siblings went to school and not the other, but Kristoff had always insisted his sister had had a different childhood after all.

"Something like that."

"So… you never took the MT's to assess your knowledge?"

Now Elsa felt lost. She didn't know much about school but she had no idea what Anna was talking about, "MT's? What's that?"

"Wait, hold up. There's no-way the system would have let you be home-schooled if your parents didn't agree to follow the MT program. You really don't know what they are?" Anna noticed Elsa was an exception to the rule in more than one way.

"Anna, I don't think you understand. I was home-schooled, yes. But, Gerda didn't follow any program she just… taught me."

"Okay." She was still trying to understand what Elsa meant so she plainly asked, "What did she teach you?"

"Basic things, I guess? How to read, write… Math."

Anna looked at Elsa doubting if she had her correctly. 'Read? Write?' she wondered. She knew Elsa was a teenager when she joined the Bjorgmans' family, so that meant Elsa hadn't learnt anything while she was in the orphanage. At that moment she realised Elsa probably had more than one reason not to like to talk about her childhood. Not really knowing what to answer her brain formulated a quick, "What?"

"Math, you know, numbers, the operations and-" said Elsa. Trying to explain in more detail what she was talking about.

"I know what math is. I'm asking about-" Still not believing the orphanage had done something like that to a child she asked, "Are you serious?"

Elsa nodded her head and chose to explain herself better, "I was never given the chance to study when I was a kid. By the time I moved in with the Bjorgmans, I barely knew how to read. Mum and dad taught me. But, with their jobs and making sure Kristoff and I were okay, they couldn't get too far. They arranged for me to take some exams as a free student once I felt I was ready. You know, to earn a primary school diploma, but I cowered. I stopped studying when I started working as a ski instructor in the North Mountain. Being honest, I'm really ashamed about it."

Anna knew Elsa was not lying when she said she was ashamed because she had explained everything as fast as possible. Probably making sure Anna didn't have much time to ask questions in the middle. She couldn't blame Elsa for feeling like that, but she also knew it was not her fault. She was not given the chance to study when she was just an orphan. Anna made the mental note to ask Kristoff about the orphanage they had stayed in when they were children; if that place was still being under the administrator, something had to be done. But she chose not to worry about bad management politics at that moment. Elsa was trying to ask her how to change that part of her life. She wanted to learn and grow, and she had promised to listen to her and advise her if possible.

"I'm sure there are some exams you could take to earn your diplomas, Elsa. Or you could go to an adult school-"

"I tried once and I couldn't do it," interrupted Elsa. "Go to school, I mean. Kristoff convinced me to try. But traveling every day from the mountain was expensive and…" she paused, trying to find the right way to express her feelings without giving to much information to Anna. "I know it may sound weird but… I don't like spending time with strangers."

"You're a ski instructor…" said Anna making her notice it didn't make much sense.

Elsa smiled, as if she was waiting for that question. She began playing with a napkin on the table as she explained, "That's different. They are paying attention to the snow, the skis, and the mountain. Not me. They listen and try, and try again, but their focus is not me. It's their task."

"You are actually right about that," Anna agreed. "Your instructions were clear and I was able to follow them but I don't remember much about what you did around me when you taught me." Anna thought of a solution to Elsa's situation for a while. If she hadn't had much experience with school, it was going to be difficult for her to study on her own; unless she had someone there, guiding her. An idea crossed her mind and offered, "What about a private teacher?"

"It could work I guess, if the person was patient enough. But I don't have the money to pay for a private teacher…" Elsa's short lived enthusiasm disappeared when she realised she didn't have the money. Elsa couldn't find a solution to her dilemma. The only other option was to study on her own, but it was just what she had been trying and she felt it was not working.

After a minute in silence, Anna interrupted Elsa's train of thought. "Okay. Then it's settled!"

Having no idea what Anna was talking about she asked, "What is?"

"I'll be your new teacher!"

"What?"

"You need a teacher and I'm studying to become one. It's perfect!"

Anna's grin was contagious in Elsa's opinion but she was not going to take advantage of her sister-in-law like that, "I can't pay you, Anna."

"You don't have to pay me. I'll be paying you back."

"I'm confused…"

Anna extended her arms to grab Elsa's hands on the other side of the table, "You saved my life a month ago, Elsa. Teaching you is the least I could do to pay you back. I want to do this. I want to help you too." Seeing Elsa was taking more time to answer than she hoped for, she tried once again, "Please?"

Elsa couldn't help but laugh at her willingness. She remembered the times Kristoff had explained that once Anna chose to do something, there was little he or anyone could do to change her mind. Elsa guessed it was one of those situations. "You'll need to be patient."

Thumb on her chest she declared, "Patience is my middle name!"

"I find that hard to believe," said Elsa laughing in her face.

"Hey!"

Laughing even harder at her faked annoyance Elsa thought she was not going to find someone better for the job. At least she trusted Anna and felt comfortable around her. She could try this time, and try for real. Maybe she had a chance to learn after all, "Deal."


Anna stepped out of her house and waved to Kristoff who was waiting for her. She had arranged to have dinner with him after her classes a few days later, and she was eager see him. She run the short distance not to be exposed more than necessary to the cold weather and got in the truck. She couldn't even greet her boyfriend before he trapped her in a strong hug. It caught Anna by surprise since Kristoff was a sweet boyfriend but he was not really a hugger. After a few seconds, she knew the hug had some meaning behind it but she couldn't pin point what it was.

"I missed you too?" she said trying to guess.

When Kristoff let go of the hug, she noticed he was looking at her with more affection than it was usual. He was acting as if he hadn't seen her in a long time and she had no idea why.

"You are amazing. Did you know that?" he said matter-of-factly.

"Okay. I love you too. But this is getting weird. What's gotten into you?" She put her right hand on his forehand to see if he was sick and laughed about it.

He laughed too and grabbed the hand, taking it away from his face. "Elsa told me the two of you talked the other day. She also told me about your offer…" he said and kissed her hand.

Anna blushed at the tender gesture. She couldn't believe Kristoff had such powerful effect in her emotions. "You mean the offer to help her study?"

Nodding his head he tried to make her understand why he was so happy, "You won't just be helping her study, Anna. You'll be giving Elsa what other people were not willing to give her in the past. This means so much to her…" He raised her chin since she was still looking at their hands and added, "It also means a lot to me. Thank you," before kissing her forehead.

"Kristoff, you are exaggerating. I'll just do what any other person in my situation would do."

"Maybe you see it like that, but for me it's so much more. She has always been self-conscious about this, so my parents didn't force her to take those exams," he explained. "I never stopped pestering her about it though. She is too smart to waste her chances. You are willing to help her and that means the world to me."

"I'm just doing what I think is right. And I know how much Elsa means to you. Your sister is a great person, Kristoff. And the more I get to know her the more I understand why you love her so much. If I can help her, I will."

He gave her the biggest smiled he could, "Thank you."

Finally noticing that if Kristoff was talking about that, it meant the siblings had actually talked about their argument, "Did you guys make amends?"

"She did. She said she agreed with me and she was willing to do something about it. That's when she told me about your conversation."

"Did you apologise too?"

"Why would I? She said I was right!" he said half laughing. "Have you got any idea how difficult that is?"

"Kristoff!" Anna smacked him on the shoulder.

Laughing even harder he stopped her and said, "Relax! I'm not a bastard. Of course I did." Starting the engine ready to leave he asked, "Dinner?

"Yes. I'm starving!"

"You are always starving."


Teaching Elsa had proven to be more interesting than Anna thought. She was prepared to teach kids and teenagers, she had had experience teaching them in the past few years, but she had never taught an adult before. It was different, but a good different. Each day she was amazed by Elsa's capabilities. She was smart and naturally curious. She just needed guidance.

In the first week, Anna noticed Elsa needed more help in her confidence than in actually understanding the things she taught her. She had little tolerance to her own mistakes and felt she needed to do everything perfect or she was wasting Anna's time. So, Anna had made everything in her power to help her understand mistakes were part of the process and let her know she had what it took to learn and earn a diploma.

They had chosen to study an hour before dinner every evening Anna spent with them, and Elsa had promised to work on her own during the mornings. Each day they covered a different subject to make things more interesting to both of them. Usually Kristoff took that time to cook dinner or do the shopping so it was working for the three of them.

That evening they thought it would be interesting to start studying biology. And Anna decided it was best if they started by the human body. Something she was sure Elsa had already read about.

"See? Our body is 60% water more or less." Anna pointed to the big encyclopaedia that was opened in the middle of the table between them.

Elsa looked at the diagram on the book with interest and read some of the things related to it before asking, "And how much of that water is ice?"

"What?"

"In a person, what percentage of that water is ice?" she asked raising her head from the book eager to know the answer.

Anna tried to read the diagram quickly to see what had made Elsa ask such a question, "Ice? No, Elsa. It's just water. I mean it serves different functions but it's just fluids. Not ice."

"But ice is water, isn't it?"

"Yes but-"

"So, some percentage must be ice," interrupted Elsa.

For a moment Anna thought she was messing with her, but she noticed Elsa was actually trying to find the answer in the encyclopaedia. "Water needs to be below 0 degrees to freeze. Your body temperature is, at least, 36 degrees Celsius," explained Anna.

"Well, that's strange..." mumbled Elsa to herself as she continued to look at the words written in the book.

"You won't find it there, Elsa" Anna chuckled at Elsa's insistence. Usually she just accepted all her explanations.

"Sorry. I trust you. It's just-" she kept reading not finishing her sentence.

"Don't worry. Each question helps you learn, so keep them coming!"

From the couch where Kristoff was laying both of them heard him say, "I think it'd be cool if some percentage was ice... Get it? Cool."

"That's the best you can come up with?" asked Elsa unamused by her brother's antics.

Anna was about to retort saying she was glad she was teaching Elsa and not Kristoff when a couple of knocks on the door called their attention.

"I'll get the door while I wait for your laughs" He jumped from the couch and crossed the room to open up the door. To his surprise his parents were on the other side happy to see him after such a long time.

"Dear! I've missed you!" said eagerly Gerda while Kai shook his hand.

After realising who were knocking at the door, Anna was surprised to see Elsa get up faster than she usually did, almost forgetting her crutches in the process, and crutching all the way to the door to give her parents a hug. She let the family members greet each other before greeting them herself. She was always amazed to see how happy Kristoff and Elsa were around their parents. She thought the siblings were really thankful to the old man and woman who had raised them.

After all of them had sat down and they had talked about the trip and the weeks apart; Gerda noticed the table were Anna and Elsa had been studying minutes before.

"What were you girls doing?" asked Gerda.

Elsa tried to answer but her brother interrupted her, "Elsa is trying to make her thick-skull thinner."

"Shut up, you moron," laughed Elsa throwing a cushion to his brother's face.

"What? It's true!"

"I'm with Elsa, there are other ways to explain it Kristoff," said Anna joining the conversation.

"Well…?" said Kai hoping one of the three was going to actually answer the question.

Anna noticed Elsa and Kristoff were still arguing and laughing so she chose to answer the question herself, "I'm helping Elsa study. She wants to earn her diplomas."

She thought Kai and Gerda were going to be happy about Elsa studying again, but she never expected them to be as happy and astonished as they were after her answer. Both of them didn't wait any second to voice their delight and show how proud they were of Elsa. Anna noticed the situation made Elsa a little uncomfortable for all the extra attention but she looked as happy as her parents in that moment.

Anna looked were Kristoff was sitting and, when their eyes met, she noticed he was just as cheerful as everyone else. She saw him look at her tenderly. In that moment she noticed that what she had offered to Elsa meant more than she had imagined. And felt content to know she was returning Elsa the favour of saving her in the mountain somehow.


I apologise for taking so long to upload this chapter, but I wanted to do it right. I felt bad for leaving you hanging for so long, so this this chapter doesn't have a cliffhanger. That doesn't mean things are not about to get interesting soon.

Please let me know what you think of it. I know Elsa's past may seem weird right know but everything will be explained with time. Little by little Anna is getting the pieces of Elsa's past in place.