Time apart

Only the dim light of a lamp illuminated the room where Elsa was sitting. She was on the same armchair she had been sitting the previous day when she had been told the truth about her birth parents. She was looking at the papers Agdar had given her. Still incredulous about the information detailed there, she kept reading the same words over and over again, as if those documents were going to answer the many questions she had.

The old clock on the corner had just struck four in the morning, when the young woman realised she had been looking at the same old yellow certificates for over half an hour. Her mind had been trying to go over the multiple reasons Agdar and Idunn could have had to abandon her. But the answer was always the same to her, 'You are different.' Her mind would tell her over and over again. 'They could have raised you. They simply chose not to. They raised Anna. You are the problem. You are dangerous. You are different.'

It didn't matter how hard she tried to look for a different answer, her mind always came back to the same conclusion. And it hurt. It hurt more than she had ever imagined. All her life she had said she didn't care about her birth parents. But deep down, she had always wished they had had a good reason to leave her behind. Kristoff's parents had died in a car accident. They loved him, but destiny had other plans for them. Her parents, on the other side, had decided to leave her behind.

She let out a shuddering breath, and then she noticed Kristoff standing by the door. She tried her best to dry the tears that kept falling down her cheeks, but it was useless. She knew her brother had noticed she had been crying even before she had seen him standing there. She tried her best to avoid looking at him, hoping he was going to understand the silent message and leave her alone; but she knew it was a matter of time until he said something to her.

Kristoff, who had seen the light coming from the living room on his way to the bathroom, thought the best thing to do was make sure that whoever was in the living room at that time of the night was okay. His intuition told him it was his sister, but it could have easily been one of his parents too. The news hadn't sit well with them either.

He was thankful to see it was his sister the one sitting in the armchair. He hadn't had the chance to talk to her during the day, since Elsa refused to leave her room after the Arendelle family left. And in his worry, he had stayed the night, hoping to be there for her whenever she felt ready to leave her room and talk.

"Elsa?" he said when she noticed his presence. He had seen her crying, and felt it was best to let her realise he was there on her own, rather than startle her. He looked at her, waiting for an answer; but she kept looking at those damn certificates as she tried in vain to dry her tears. He didn't understand her insistence in showing a strong exterior when it was obvious she was in pain.

"How long have you been here?" he asked in a low voice. He didn't want to wake his parents up. He waited for quite some time, and when it was obvious she was not going to answer, he let out a sigh and tried again, "Elsa."

"What do you want, Kristoff?" she hissed. She rested her head on her hands, and tried in vain to use her palms to dry the tears. She had hoped he was going to understand her need to be alone, but clearly he was not going to leave without an answer. She was not ready to talk to him, or anyone for that matter, she was still struggling with the realisation that she could have had a family, but they had been better off without her.

He raised his brows in surprise, he had imagined she was going to be hurt, but he didn't expect her to be angry. Not at the beginning at least. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "We worried when you didn't open your door at all yesterday."

"It was frozen shut," came the short reply. She had tried to open the door at some point during the evening, when Gerda had begged to see her. But her powers had had other plans.

"Oh…" He understood what that meant. Kristoff remembered all the times his parents had tried to help a scared Elsa who had frozen her door after a nightmare. "Do you want to talk?" he said, gesturing to the papers on the coffee table.

Elsa let a tired sigh escape her lips. The tears had stopped, but she didn't feel good enough to talk to anyone, especially her brother. She loved him, but being honest, she didn't want to see him at that moment. "People sitting alone in the middle of the night usually don't want to talk."

Kristoff pursed his lips as he thought what to say. It was not easy to get Elsa to open up when she didn't feel like it. "I thought you just couldn't sleep..." he said. Part of him knew it was best to return to his bedroom, but the last thing he wanted to do was leaving her alone. He couldn't imagine what was going through her mind at that moment. 'Probably nothing good,' he thought.

He walked to the nearest armchair and sat down. He watched the papers on the coffee table and asked, "What are those? Certificates?" Truth was, no-one in the family had read the documents except for Elsa. They felt it was wrong to do so without her consent.

Elsa hesitated before answering. She really wanted Kristoff to leave her alone, but she didn't want to start an argument either. She thought it was best to tell him, after all, she had noticed the papers were in the same place she had left them. "They detail information about Elsa Arendelle." Elsa picked them once again as she read some of the information in the birth certificate. "She was born on February 1st. In Romsdal. Her parents were Agdar Arendelle and Idunn Nilsdotter."

"Your birthday was last week?" asked Kristoff surprised to find out the date of her birthday. Elsa was still older than him by little over a month.

"No," said Elsa upset. "My birthday was on December 22nd."

"Elsa…" Kristoff knew what she was doing. She was trying to talk as if Elsa Arendelle was another person entirely, and he knew it was for the worst in the long run. The truth was out there, and even if they didn't like it, it was better to accept it. He thought himself a hypocrite at that moment though. Just a few days ago he had been trying to do the same thing as Elsa.

"What, Kristoff?" asked Elsa. It was getting harder for her to stay calm.

"Nothing," he replied unsure of what to say. She was angry at him, that much was clear. He was not sure why, but he wanted her to open up. He didn't want her to keep everything inside. He raised his hands showing innocence and said, "I- I just thought it was interesting to know your birthday... Don't you?"

She shook her head and looked down. "I'm not this person. This-" said Elsa shaking the paper on her hand. "This is the person I could've been. It's not who I am. Nor who I want to be."

Kristoff had to admit her answer made sense. It was true Elsa was not the same person than the baby in that certificate. So many things would have been different in her life if she had grown up with her biological family, it was fair to assume they were different people.

They stayed silent for some minutes, each sibling lost in their own thoughts. Kristoff desperately wanted to say something that could make things better, that could erase Elsa's sadness; but nothing seemed right at that moment.

Elsa, on the other hand, kept debating with herself if she should ask her brother what had been on her mind since the previous day. She had heard her brother arguing with Anna. It had been hard to ignore their yells in front of the house, not far away from her window. She had been trying to understand and process what she had just been told, when she heard them outside. The way they had talked about the truth as if it was old news didn't sit well with her.

Making up her mind, and finding the strength to ask, she said, "Did you know?"

Kristoff thought his sister was going to remain silent for as long as she could, so her question surprised him. "What?" he asked, not sure what she was talking about.

"Did you know?" she repeated. "About this…" She pointed to the documents in front of her. "About who I am."

"I did- No..." he hesitated. Kristoff didn't know where the question was coming from, but he felt lost for words. He wanted to be honest, but he didn't know how to explain he had known for a couple of days.

Not liking his hesitation, she asked again, "I heard you and Anna argue yesterday. Please be honest with me, did you know?"

"Yes." He couldn't do it. He couldn't lie to her.

A pained expression was soon replaced by a glare when she registered his words. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried. I mean, I didn't try. But I was going to-" He ran his hands through his hair. "I didn't know how to tell you."

"Is that why you and Anna insisted I met your parents-in-law?" Elsa thought Anna and her brother had realised she was Arandelles' daughter even before Agdar and Idunn did.

"What?"

"Is that why you forced me to stay at their house when I begged you to let me go?" Even if at the beginning Elsa had felt guilty about the accident; as days went by, she felt her brother hadn't been fair with her that night. After the initial guilt had faded, she realised Kristoff hadn't really helped her in the Arendelles' house. Not until she had exposed her powers at least. "Did you and Anna want them to come to the realisation they were my parents or something?" Her brain kept making assumptions about that night and everything that had happened since.

"No! I didn't know the truth then!" he protested, raising his voice.

"Then why?!" she asked. Her eyes brimmed with new tears as she continued, "Why did you force me to go and stay there?!"

They both were raising their voices and he knew things were getting out of hand. He needed Elsa to listen and understand. "Yes, I wanted you to meet them; but it was because I wanted Agdar and Idunn to like you that's all. I'm sorry I forced you to stay that night but I felt the two of you needed to apologise."

"Why would you care if they liked me or not if it's not for this?" She picked her birth certificate just to toss it once again.

"No. Elsa, listen, you are getting it all wrong." he tried to explain. "Anna and I found out the truth, yes. But it was just a few days ago. After the accident." He needed her to understand he would never even consider doing something like that to her. "And the only reason I didn't tell you this week was because I didn't know how! I was still trying to understand the news myself! How can you think I would do something like that to you?!" He tried to be patient but her mistrust was getting on his nerves.

"Then why did it matter if they liked me or not?!" Deep down, Elsa knew she was mixing things up. All the things she had wanted to discuss with her brother were coming out and she didn't even know what made her angrier.

"Because they are the parents of your first friend in forever!" he yelled. He was frustrated. All he wanted was to help her out, but she wouldn't accept it. "Because you were finally willing to try and let someone in! That's why I wanted you to meet them, and for them to like you." He noticed she was finally listening to him and took the opportunity to explain himself better about the truth. "And about your parents… I only kept the truth from you for a few days. I swear."

"Is that why you avoided me like the plague this week?"

Ashamed of himself when he saw his sister's disappointment, he nodded. "I wanted to protect you."

"Protect me? From what?"

"From this!" he said, pointing to her and the miserable state she was in. Elsa was still wearing the same clothes she had the day before. Her eyes showed she had been crying for longer than he had originally imagined; and, to make things worse, she had confessed freezing her room without her trying. "From you and your self-destructive thoughts! Don't tell me this is healthy, Elsa."

Elsa kept quiet. She was angry with her brother. Angrier than she'd ever remembered being, but she didn't know what to say. It was true she was in a deplorable state, but it was not necessary for him to point it out. She couldn't help feeling the way she did, and he made it sound as if it was all her fault.

"Do you feel better knowing the truth?" he asked.

"Of course not," she yelled all of a sudden, surprising herself. "But I wouldn't feel so miserable if I knew my brother cared enough to tell me truth."

"You think I don't care about you?!"

Before Elsa had the chance to answer, Kai stepped into the living room and turned on the light, calling the siblings attention. "That's enough, Kristoff," he said loud enough for both of them to stop.

"I was trying to-"

"I said it's enough."

Kai's serious expression didn't leave place for arguments. Knowing it was better to listen to his father, Kristoff stood up, apologised and left the room. Maybe his father interrupting was for the best. Elsa was hurt and it was hard for her to think straight. He just hoped Elsa could see his point of view and understand his intentions.

Kai watched his son disappear in the hallway and turned to his daughter who had remained silent. He soon realised Elsa had no intentions of returning to her room, so he simply said, "don't stay up all night. Try to sleep, at least for a couple of hours, Elsa." And with that he turned the light off and left Elsa alone with her thoughts and the dim light of the lamp once again.


The next morning, Kristoff was surprised to see his sister enter the kitchen and sit down to have breakfast with the rest of the family. Even Kai and Gerda were surprised to see her there, but they didn't comment on it.

Kristoff felt bad for their discussion during the night, but he still wished he could spare Elsa the pain of the truth. Elsa looked miserable. It was obvious she hadn't slept more than an hour, and she had a distant look in her eyes. However, he hoped the fact that he kept the truth hadn't affected her too much. He knew part of that sadness was his fault and it hurt.

It took a few minutes in silence for Gerda to lose her patience and ask, "how are you feeling today, dear?"

Elsa took another sip from her coffee. She then said, "I'm better. But I'm still trying to accept the fact that my birth parents couldn't care less about me…"

"Well… We didn't really listen to Agdar and Idunn yesterday. Maybe they had their reasons for what they did. Maybe they did care about you." It pained Gerda to say those words. Even when she knew it was the best for Elsa's peace of mind, she couldn't help but feel she was hurting her daughter with sugar-coated lies. She didn't know if Agdar and Idunn had justified reasons for what they did, but to think they were able to take care of a sweet girl like Anna merely four years later didn't give Gerda much hope. She didn't feel comfortable defending the Arendelle either. After Agdar and Idunn had left the house, and after Gerda had tried in vain to talk with Elsa through the door, the realisation that her daughter's biological parents had showed up in her life had hit her. The most selfish part of Gerda wanted Anna's parents to disappear and never talk to Elsa again. They had abandoned her as a baby and they were now showing up claiming to be her parents when she and Kai were the ones who had made everything in their power to raise Elsa into the woman she was today. When the world had turned its back to the lonely - different - child, they had stayed by her side and had tried to pick up the pieces. It was wrong for them to show up now and threaten the life they had built as a family. But she couldn't let Elsa know how much their presence had affected her. She wanted Elsa to make her own decisions about her birth parents.

Elsa raised her head and looked at Gerda. It was clear she didn't believe her words. She noticed how hard the old woman was trying to say the right thing instead of what she truly believed. But she chose to dismiss that, and simply answer to what had said. "I don't think they did."

Kristoff who wanted to lift his sister's spirits, tried to speak his mind and give his opinion based on what the Arendelle family had tried to tell him days before, but he was soon interrupted by his sister.

"You could have said something days before, Kristoff," said Elsa not paying much attention to him.

Her tone was low and monotone, but it carried so much resentment. Kristoff knew there was no point in trying to talk with Elsa when she was in that state. He felt it was best to just excuse himself from the table. "I've got to go see Sven and then go to work," he said, standing up.

"You can stay and finish breakfast first, Kristoff." Gerda tried to make him stay. She had heard their fight the previous night, and it hurt her to see them like that. Kristoff had clearly made a mistake by keeping the truth from Elsa, but she understood her son's intentions. On the other hand, she couldn't blame Elsa for feeling betrayed. The whole situation was a mess and it was taking a toll on everyone in different ways.

"No, thanks. I've got to go," he replied as he picked his jacket from the chair. He kissed his mother on the cheek, bid his father and Elsa goodbye and left, not saying another word.

Some minutes later, after an uncomfortable silence, Elsa thought it was a good time to tell her parents what had been on her mind lately. She had made her mind up about returning home the previous night, and she thought it was best to just tell them. "I want to go home."

"What?" asked Gerda. She wondered what Elsa meant since she was there with them.

Elsa sighed, knowing her mother was not going to like her idea. "I want to go back to the North mountain. I've been in Trolheim for too long."

"Oh, well,I guess we could arrange to go one of these days if you want to make sure everything is okay."

"No, you don't understand. I want to go back. I want to go home to stay."

"What?" She stopped picking up the the cups from the table to look at Elsa. "No," she said. Something told Gerda it was a bad idea. Terrible. Elsa had mentioned going back to the North mountain after the accident, and she felt it wasn't good for her to leave so suddenly. "No, no," she repeated. "You are still healing it's not-"

"I've been feeling good enough to live on my own for weeks now," interrupted Elsa. Gerda was using her leg as an excuse to keep her in town and she knew it.

"Elsa, we've talked about this." There was no point in pretending this was about her broken leg anymore, and said, "It's not healthy to isolate yourself."

Elsa let out a tired sighed, she was tired of this. Of constantly explaining her decisions to everyone. "I'm going back." She left no place for arguments. "If you don't want to give me a ride I could take a bus, and then ask Marshall to help me get to the cottage." Elsa had made up her mind about it. She didn't like living in the city, she found it too stressful. The only reason she hadn't miss the mountain so much in the last few weeks, had been due to Anna and Kristoff's company. But now that was broken. She didn't feel like staying anymore.

"I'll take you," said Kai surprising both women. He had remained sitting quietly since Kristoff left the table.

"Kai!" complained Gerda. "What are you saying?" She then turned to Elsa once again. "Elsa, you should stay here, at least until the next doctor's appointment."

"It's not like I'm not coming back, mum. I just want to be on my own for a while. I promise I'll be back for every appointment."

"Is this because of-?"

Before the old woman had the chance to ask her about the Arendelles, Elsa hurried and said, "It's because I've wanted to be back home since the accident. I miss my cottage."

"I'll arrange to have my shift later tomorrow, so I can take you. You are not taking the bus if I can give you a ride." Kai said matter of factly. He noticed his daughter had made up her mind and it was best to just listen to her.

Elsa looked at him and smiled for the first time that day. It didn't reach her eyes, but it was enough to show her father she was thankful. Kai was a man of few words, but with simple gestures she could see how much he cared about her. "Thanks, dad."

He murmured a 'no problem' as he watched her pick her crutches and walk out the kitchen towards the bathroom.

Once Gerda heard the bathroom door close on the other room, she gave her husband a stern look. "You are out of your mind. Elsa's clearly not okay."

"She doesn't seem to be holding up in the best way, no," he agreed. "But, she's got the right to make choices of her own. She knows what will make her feel better."

"I don't want to stop her from making her own choices, but she hasn't taken the news so good. It would be better for her to stay with her family," whispered Gerda just in case Elsa returned.

"Elsa knows better than anyone how to deal with her own emotions. She stayed strong for years, even before we met her. Let her be in a place where she feels comfortable." He then picked the newspaper and began reading it, showing he - like Elsa - had made up his mind. He was taking his daughter home if that's what she wanted.

Gerda didn't agree with Kai this time, but she felt it was endearing to see how he went out of his way just to help her feel better. She just hoped her husband was right and they were not making a mistake by letting her go to the mountain after everything that had happened.


Keeping his promise, Kai made sure he had the morning off the following day. He helped Elsa get her things ready and he drove her to the North mountain. Gerda chose to stay at home. She was still unsure about Elsa's idea, and she knew she wasn't going to be able to keep her mouth shut.

For that reason, father and daughter travelled on their own and Kai, who usually remained quiet on road trips, took the opportunity to talk with Elsa. It had been a while since the two of them had been on their own, and he felt it was time he asked Elsa how she felt about everything that was going on in her life. She was probably not going to open up, but at least she was going to listen to him. He wanted to remind her she could trust her family. Always.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright on your own?" he asked, calling Elsa's attention. She had been looking out the window since they got into the car.

The girl turned to look at her father. "Yes, I'm sure."

He thought for a moment what to say, Elsa didn't seem to be in the mood for conversation. "You know, it may seem like your mother and your brother meddle in your life sometimes, but it's just because they love you too much." He felt like an hypocrite since he was meddling himself. But he wanted Kristoff and Elsa to be on good terms once again. It was a matter of time before reality came crashing down on Elsa and he knew she was going to need her brother's shoulder.

"I know…" she turned her head to the window once again. Looking at the snow covered mountains had a relaxing effect on her. "But one thing is to meddle and another is to lie to me. To keep something so important from me and pretend it isn't."

"I don't think he tried to keep the information from you forever. I think he honestly didn't know what to do with it."

"Maybe," said Elsa thinking about her argument with Kristoff. "But I've got the right to be hurt. He wouldn't forgive me so easily if it was me who kept something important from him."

Kai chuckled knowing it was true. Kristoff avoided confrontations and he was peaceful guy, but he could take some time to forgive whenever he felt someone had deceived him. "You do. Just don't be too hard on him."

"I won't…" said Elsa sincerely. "I don't like being angry with him."

"I think I've never seen you angry at him before. I don't think he understands what's going on."

A sad smile plastered on her face. She couldn't remember a time she had felt like that towards Kristoff either, but she couldn't just pretend she didn't feel the way she did.

They travelled the rest of the way in silence, merely commenting a few things about the cottage and things Elsa needed to do once her cast was removed. Reaching the cottage had been easier than they thought since Kristoff and Anna had left the motorski where the trail to the cottage began on their last visit. When both made sure everything was in order for Elsa's stay, Kai informed her he needed to leave if he wanted to get to work on time.

"I've got to go," he said getting closer to Elsa to bid her goodbye. "Promise me you'll call me, or Gerda or anyone if you don't feel okay. Don't bottle up things in here, sweetheart." He pointed to her chest.

It had been a long time since he called her that, and Elsa noticed how worried he was for her. "I promise," she said giving her father a hug.

"And, Elsa?"

"Mmh?"

"We are your family," he detached from his daughter and grabbed her shoulders to make sure she listened to him. "For as long as you want us to be. I don't particularly care what a piece of paper says, you are my daughter."

Elsa felt the tears gather in her eyes, but tried her best to hold them in. She couldn't speak so she nodded instead.

Kai smiled at her, understanding her silent answer. "Don't make your mother worry too much. Call her from time to time."

"I will," she said when she found her voice.

She watched him leave and she stayed by the door, enjoying the serene snowfall that had just begun. She felt the mountain was already helping her find some needed peace.


kristoff heard the knocks on his apartment door for the third time and he let out a sigh. He had just came back from work, he was tired, and he was not in the mood to deal with whoever was so insistent. He guessed it was his neighbour, who for some reason had the idea that Sven was eating his trash. Kristoff was tired of explaining the old man his dog didn't leave the apartment without him, but he wouldn't listen. They had had the same discussion for months, and he was not in the mood for it.

His intention had been to put the couch bed back together that evening, but Sven was still sleeping on it, and refused to leave. So he had ended up laying next to him. Thinking it was best to just deal with the man. He got up from the makeshift bed his sister had occupied for the last weeks, and opened the door.

He was surprised to find Anna standing on the other side of the door. The two of them hadn't talked since her parents had told Elsa the truth four days ago, and he wasn't expecting her at all. He knew he should have called her, but his fight with Elsa and the fact that his sister had left town to return to the North mountain - without telling him anything - had left him in low spirits.

Kristoff looked at her, trying to come up with something to say. He had opened the door with anger, and he hoped Anna didn't take it personal. "Sorry, I thought you were my neighbour. That's why I didn't open the door sooner."

"Hi," said Anna timidly. She felt ridiculous acting like that in front of Kristoff, but truth was they had never fought before and she didn't have an excuse for her visit other than wanting to see him. She chose it was best to act as if their argument never happened, and continued the conversation, "the one who blames Sven for everything?"

"That's the one," said Kristoff smiling. He had missed her.

"I should've called," she apologised. "But I really wanted to see you and talk about the other day."

"Don't worry about it. Come in." He took a step back and opened the door completely to let her enter the apartment.

As soon as Anna entered, she noticed how messy the place looked. The tidiness she was used to seeing since Elsa had moved in with her boyfriend was gone, and replaced by clothes and objects scattered everywhere. "Wow, it's been a while since this place looked like this." She didn't like to point out the obvious, but she knew there was a reason behind the mess. Probably the fact that Elsa was no longer living with Kristoff. Anna knew she hadn't returned after the accident, and it seemed that was still the case.

"Yeah." He bent to pick a jacket that had fallen from the coat rack by the door, suddenly aware of the mess. "I haven't had the time to clean."

"I guess Elsa is not living here anymore." She said it as a joke since Elsa liked to keep things ordered around the apartment. But Anna noticed the comment didn't have the effect she hoped in Kristoff. She watched him walked towards the couch and sit there with a sigh.

Anna walked and sat by his side, she noticed Kristoff's unhappiness and thought it was best to just ask about his sister, for sure Elsa was the reason Kristoff looked the way he did, "how is she?"

"Not good."

Anna grimaced. She knew the truth was going to be shocking for Elsa but she hoped the girl was going to be able to see the good side of finding out the truth. Hearing she was not doing okay didn't give her much hope for that to happen. "Is she still staying with your parents?"

"She took off," answered Kristoff not looking at her.

"What?"

"She went back to the North mountain."

The way Kristoff said it gave Anna the idea he was not at all okay with that. She knew how much her boyfriend worried about his sister, and having her living in another place while she wasn't feeling okay surely didn't sit well with him. "Are you okay?"

"No." His answer was short and definite. He didn't feel like beating around the bush.

Anna could feel Kristoff's sadness, but there was also certain anger hidden behind it. And she had an idea to whom it was directed to. "Kristoff," she said, holding his hand and calling his attention, silently begging for him to look at her. "I'm sorry. If I had known-"

He turned and look at her straight in the eye. He had missed her, but it didn't mean there weren't some things he wanted to discuss with her. "You did know," he interrupted. "I told you she didn't need any more shit in her life and you just thought it was best to show up like that." He watched her look down at their hands and then asked, "What were you thinking?"

Anna felt ashamed. She knew she had overstepped that day; maybe she should have listened to Kristoff and give it some time. Especially if Elsa had taken the news so badly. But she wanted Kristoff to see her point of view too. "I was thinking it's terrible when people you love keep secrets from you," she said. She could relate to Elsa in that matter. "I was thinking she deserved to know the truth, even if it hurt." Kristoff opened his mouth to retort, but she raised her hand and stopped him before he got the chance. "I know what you are going to say... You are going to say Elsa is different; that Elsa didn't want nor needed the truth, but I still believe she-"

It was Kristoff's turn to look down; he had to accept he had been mistaken, Elsa thought the complete opposite to what he had originally believed. "She agrees with you," he interrupted mid sentence.

"-deserved… What?"

"She agrees with you," he took a deep breath. "Or so it seems, she got mad at me for not telling her the truth sooner."

"She got mad at you?" Now that was something Anna was not expecting. She expected Elsa to be angry with her parents, but not with Kristoff.

"We had a fight," he said running a hand through his hair. "A bad one. The next day she asked Kai to take her back to the North mountain. I haven't heard from her since…"

She felt bad for Kristoff. But the fact that Elsa agreed with her called Anna's attention. "So… she wanted to know the truth?"

"Apparently. Even if the truth made her feel like a piece of garbage."

Surprised by the comment, Anna hoped Elsa hadn't felt that way for real. "Did she say that?"

"No. But she didn't have to." Kristoff stood up and walked to the fridge to get something to drink. When he returned, he sat on a chair close to the couch, facing Anna. He breath out his frustration and said, "all I wanted to do was to protect her from the truth. Protect her from the idea that her biological parents couldn't care less about her…"

"Don't say that." Anna felt the need to stand up for her parents.

"You don't want me to say that?" countered Kristoff with anger. "Then what am I supposed to say? Huh? Am I supposed to praise your parents for ruining her life?"

"No," she said appalled. "But we don't know the whole story. I know my parents. I know they loved her, they made that clear." Anna was sorry for Kristoff, but she was not going to let him talk like that about her parents. Not before he gave them a chance to explain themselves.

"Loved her?" He snorted. "Do you think that's love?"

"Yes, I do," she said defiantly. "My parents abandoned her, yes. And it's terrible, I know. But they tried to give her a chance in life! A chance they couldn't give her... Not at the time at least." She reasoned. Anna deep down hoped she was not standing up for them in vain.

"I can't believe you… Do you really think what they did is justifiable?"

"They are my parents," answered Anna taken aback. "I need to believe they truly did what they thought was best for Elsa."

"Anna, you can't live life trying to see the good in everyone and everything all the time! Are you really ready to justify what they did?!"

"They are my parents!" said Anna outraged.

"And Elsa is my sister!" yelled Kristoff. "I just want what's best for her!" He was tired and angry, he didn't have enough patience to deal with another argument but he couldn't just accept what Anna was saying.

"Well, she is my sister too! And my family is her family, Kristoff. I want what is best for her too! It's best if you come to terms with that." Anna felt strange saying it out loud. It was the first time she called Elsa her sister since she found out the truth. Saying it made it feel more real. And it was shocking. After a moment thinking about that, she noticed tears had gathered in Kristoff's eyes and he was fighting to keep them in.

After some time, Kristoff found his voice and said softly. "We are family. Elsa and me. We've always been... We were there for each other when there was no-one around." He raised his head and frowned. "So, don't come and tell me your parents are her family when they are not. Don't tell me I have to come to terms with this mess."

Anna glared back. She was not going to back down. "Well, this mess is Elsa's life. And my life too. So you better get used to it."

He rested his head in his hands, breathing deeply and trying to calm down. After a few seconds, he came to the realisation they were going to end up saying things they didn't mean if they kept arguing. "You should go," he said in a low voice, not knowing what else to say.

"What?!"

"I think it would be best if you just go," he kept a low tone of voice. He wanted some time on his own and he needed to stop the argument before things got out of hand, if they hadn't already.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Anna pained by Kristoff's request.

"I feel like I'm losing the most important person in my life, that's what's wrong with me!" he yelled. "And I don't know how to deal with that! And I'm hurting you because of it." He brushed a couple of angry tears that had escaped and continued, "I don't want to fight with you. But I can't talk about this without getting angry right now."

He was still sitting on the chair, head down, so Anna knelt in front of him to be able to see his eyes. It hurt to see him like that, but it was necessary for him to understand they could talk things through. She squeeze his hand and said, "You are not losing Elsa, Kristoff."

He took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves looked at her and asked, "Do you remember what I said to you when you first asked about my family?"

Anna had to dig up in her memories, she knew he was talking about one of their first dates, but she didn't remember what he had said exactly. "Something about they being the most important thing you had?" she asked, hoping her memory was correct.

"The only thing I had… I don't want my family to fall apart because of your parents, Anna. And I feel you don't understand that, so please, just leave. Give me some time to get used to all of this."

Anna realised then, there was nothing she could say to Kristoff that could change his mind. She wanted to shake him and make him understand that things could get better if they talked, if all of them took some time to actually talk things through. However, insisting was only going to cause more harm than good at that moment. She stood up and walked towards the door. She opened it and stopped, giving him a few seconds to change his mind, but he didn't. Before she closed the door behind her, Anna took the opportunity to say, "your family is not the only one that feels like it's tearing apart Kristoff."


Thanks everyone for your reviews. It's nice to know you are enjoying the story so far.

Wish you all a happy new year!