Anna breathed in deeply, gathering her nerves. With a trembling fist, she reached out and knocked on the door in front of her.
"Enter!"
Tentatively, the redhead opened the door and walked into Elsa's study. The Queen was sitting down at her desk, looking at some paperwork.
Anna wasn't certain what she should do next. Run up to the monarch and tell her how much she had missed her? Fall to her knees and beg her mistress for forgiveness? Or simply remain where she was, fiddling with the buttons on her uniform? Indecision chose the third option for her.
The Queen finally looked up. For a moment, all her face registered was shock at Anna's presence. But within three seconds, Elsa's expression had morphed into one of pure rage.
The redhead wanted to sink into her boots. She had been hoping that relief and affection would dilute Elsa's anger for her departure, but that clearly wasn't the case.
" Anna," the Queen hissed. "How dare you show yourself here again!"
"W-what?" Anna sputtered. She had expected the Queen to be angry, but this…
The temperature in the room dropped dangerously. Icy mist began to trail off Elsa's hands.
"Did you think that you would be welcomed back with open arms?" the monarch demanded. "The one thing I cannot forgive, Anna, is betrayal."
"Betrayal?" Anna shot back. How could the Queen be accusing her of…? "Elsa, I know I disobeyed you, but I only wanted to-"
The Queen cut her off with a wave of her hand. A layer of frost materialized on Anna's lips, painfully sealing them together.
"Your motivations are irrelevant. You are a liar. A traitor. I was foolish to ever give you a chance," the Queen paused. "You are hereby stripped of your position as my personal attendant. Furthermore, you are forever banished from the vicinity of Castle Arendelle."
No! Anna couldn't believe the words she was hearing. Ever since they'd met, Elsa had watched over her, taken care of her. They'd declared their love for one another! Now the Queen was acting like nothing between them had ever mattered… all because Anna had left without permission?!
Tears began to fall from the redhead's eyes. It felt like her world was ending. Elsa's words had shattered her soul and crushed her heart.
"Leave my presence. I never want to see your face again." Another wave of her hand finally dissolved the frost.
Anna stared at her. "B-but… Elsa, I l-love you. I-I'm… sorry…
The Queen's eyes narrowed. "That's 'Your Majesty' to you, peasant," she said curtly. "Now leave."
Some of Anna's all-consuming sadness began to give way to anger. This wasn't the woman she'd fallen in love with. Maybe… maybe that woman had never existed in the first place. Had it all been a lie? Had Elsa always been wearing a mask?
"How… how can you do this?!" Anna shouted at the top of her lungs. "You said you loved me! You fucking promised that you'd always take care of me… that I'd always have a home with you! What the hell is wrong with you, Elsa!"
"Enough," Elsa said curtly. "I've wasted enough time with you as it is. You're a beggar, Anna. A thief. It was foolish of me to ever think you could be more… to think that I could make you into more. You don't belong here."
"Elsa… !" Anna's cry was cut short by a look down at her shirt. Her uniform was gone. She was now wearing the filthy set of clothing she'd possessed before her time in the Castle. At the same time, she noticed that a layer of dirt and grime had appeared to have settled on her skin. At the same time, Anna began to feel a familiar sensation in the pit of her stomach. In an instant, the gnawing perpetual hunger that she hadn't dealt with in over a month had returned, as if all of the full meals she'd eaten in the Palace had never happened.
Wind began to whip around her, drawing her back. She tried to plant her feet on the ground, but the gust was so powerful that Anna was taken off her feet. The redhead glimpsed Elsa one last time before the wind propelled her into the air.
She slammed through the doors of the study. Still keeping her aloft, the wind carried Anna through the hallway and towards the glass window at the end of the corridor. The redhead sped through the air faster and faster, helpless to stop her momentum.
Screaming, she collided with the glass and fell towards the city below.
\
"No!" Anna cried, vaulting up from her bed with so much force that the fur blanket fell to the floor.
The redhead's eyes blinked open; Anna breathed heavily as she processed the world around her. A dream. It had all been a dream. She was still at Oaken's, in the middle of her mission to make it to the North Mountain.
Despite this realization, Anna could already feel her eyes beginning to moisten. It had all seemed so real… at least until a gust of wind had thrown her out of the Palace. Although… given that Elsa could create icy winds with her powers…
Anna shook her head. The Queen would never do that to her. Elsa would undoubtedly be pissed that Anna had left the Castle without permission, but she would never go as far as to kick Anna back out onto the streets.
Right?
The redhead sighed. Where were these thoughts coming from? Elsa had made it abundantly clear that Anna was set for life in the Castle, and the Queen had never given the former thief the slightest reason to doubt her.
But a small part of Anna, deep down, still did. It wasn't rational. But the redhead couldn't quite rid herself of the fear that one day, Elsa would be fed up with her. That her new life would eventually prove too good to be true. It had happened before, after all…
A painful lurch pounded in her stomach as she remembered… the reason why her subconscious still had this doubt.
Anna had told Elsa of her past. And ninety-nine percent of what she'd said had been truthful. She'd lived in an orphanage until she was sixteen. She'd failed to find work afterwards and spent the next few years thieving and living on the streets.
But the one thing she'd never told the Queen was that she had been adopted.
She hadn't lied to the monarch because she'd felt ashamed. Or because she felt that it would make Elsa view her differently. No. Anna had kept the incident a secret only because it was too painful for her to talk about, and there never had been any reason to do so. It was the redhead's explicit policy to never even think about it.
But it came to her mind now.
She'd been eight years old. Though everyone told her how cute she was, Anna had never been adopted. The redhead had a reputation for being rash and wild, and most families were immediately turned off from considering her when they learned of this.
But one day, a man and woman who lived nearby had come into the orphanage looking for a daughter. And for some reason, they had been immediately taken with the redhead. Within an hour after meeting them, Anna's dream had come true. The children at the orphanage had been treated relatively well, but she had never truly fit in there. For the first time in forever, she truly felt wanted .
It had been the best day of her life. The couple, a married pair of thirty-year-old merchants, chose to adopt her. They weren't wealthy in any sense of the word, but Anna hadn't cared in the slightest. Finally, she'd been given a home! A real home. Her new parents lived comfortably enough to the point that food and shelter were never an issue, and that was more than enough for Anna.
"Are you… are you my Mommy now?"
The woman had beamed at her. "Yes. Yes, Anna!" she'd exclaimed, pulling the girl into a warm embrace.
For eleven days, her new parents had doted on her. They were busy, but every day they spent time with her… playing with her and reading to her. Anna had never been happier.
But one night, everything had changed.
"With the dragon slain, the brave Knight finally released the Princess from the tower. Soon, they were married in a lovely ceremony in front of the entire kingdom. And they lived happily ever after," her mother finished the story.
Lying in bed, Anna smiled wistfully. "I wish I was a Knight, Mommy."
The woman smiled at her, ruffling her hair affectionately. "Sweetheart, Knights have to train every day and go on really difficult quests. I don't think you would enjoy a life like that," she chided Anna lightly.
"Yeah, but Knights get to do amazing things. I want to be one! I want to storm castles and kill dragons and marry Princesses!"
In an instant, the warm look in her mother's eyes vanished. "You mean you want to marry a Prince, sweetheart," the woman corrected.
Anna had frowned, confused. "But Knights marry Princesses, Mommy, not Princes! Besides, Princesses are nice and sweet and beautiful. Who wouldn't want to marry one?"
What followed was a two-hour-long lecture, soon joined by her new father, in which both of her parents vehemently tried to convince her that she would never want to marry a Princess. Even at that age, Anna had been stubborn. She hadn't truly been aware that she was attracted to women yet… the realization didn't occur in full until she was fifteen. At the age of eight, Anna hadn't really even been aware of what it meant to be attracted to someone in the first place. All she knew was that she would be happy to marry a Princess.
Her parents repeatedly told her that such thoughts were wrong and that such a union would be an 'abomination'. Anna hadn't really understood what they were talking about, but she refused to say that she'd rather marry a Prince. Finally giving up, her parents had left the room. Anna had fallen asleep soon after, but not before hearing her parents begin a whispered yet frantic discussion.
For the next three days, they'd been distant from her. Her 'parents' barely interacted with her except to give Anna her meals and almost seemed to be avoiding her as if she had the plague. Anna had been sad and frightened, but part of her had hoped that they were just upset because they weren't selling enough stuff… or something like that. They did keep having long talks with hushed voices whenever Anna wasn't in the room, after all, but the redhead could never make out what they were saying.
Finally, on Anna's fourteenth day with her new family, her mother told Anna to come with her on a trip to town. Smiling, happy that they finally wanted to spend time with her again, she'd accompanied her mother without a second thought.
To her surprise, their destination was the orphanage.
Her 'mother' left her in the lobby, had a quick but intense discussion with one of the staff, and then exited the building without another word, leaving Anna behind. A few minutes later, the caretakers informed the redhead that the adoption had been canceled.
She'd spent the next two years in a deep depression. All of the other children had avoided her, acting as if she were some sort of ghost who had returned from the dead. The redhead had taken to spending nearly all of her time outside by the waterfall; that was when she truly started to learn how to climb.
It had taken years for her to figure it out. It wasn't until she was thirteen that Anna finally gained enough knowledge about the world to put the pieces together. The symbols on the walls of her parent's house. Their reaction to her declaration that she wanted to marry a Princess.
They belonged to one of the religions in Arendelle that vehemently opposed the idea of two women being attracted to one another. Just her luck.
In the end, their reason hadn't mattered. After a brief light of hope had appeared in her life, Anna had been discarded like a paper doll. For the next eight years, no one had considered adopting her again.
But eventually, Anna had refused to let the experience crush her. She drove it from her mind, almost trying to convince herself it had never happened. Even as her life went from bad to worse, transforming her from an unloved child in an orphanage into a homeless girl forced into thievery, part of Anna had never given up the hope that she might get another chance at a life worth living.
That chance had arrived, with compounded interest, in the form of Elsa. True, the month she'd spent with the Queen hadn't always been easy. But despite being forced to kill… and coming within a breath of death itself, Anna was forever grateful that they'd met.
Even still, the fear persisted that fate would screw her once again.
\
Elsa stared at the door of the dining hall.
Despite not being a morning person, Anna was almost never late for breakfast. In the redhead's own words, her love for food was stronger than her hatred of waking up. Therefore, it was puzzling to the Queen to see her personal attendant be absent for the first twenty minutes of the morning meal.
Rapunzel, sitting beside her, was simply enjoying her last breakfast in Arendelle. Surprisingly, she had not commented on Anna's tardiness and had brushed aside the monarch's concerns, even though the Princess had grown quite fond of Anna over the past few weeks.
The Queen was just about to rise up from her chair, storm up to Anna's room, and personally drag the redhead out from under her sheets when the main door finally opened. For a moment, she smiled, but her expression quickly turned into a frown when Gerda entered the room, a letter clutched in her hands.
"Good morning, Gerda," Elsa greeted. "Correspondence from another monarch?" she questioned, nodding towards the paper held in the head servant's fingers. It was rare for the staff to interrupt her meals… unless it was very important news.
The older woman shook her head. "No, Your Majesty," she began nervously.
Elsa stared at her. "What is it?" the monarch asked. This didn't look good. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed all of the kitchen servants from the room, leaving only Rapunzel and Gerda in her presence.
The head servant walked up to the table, appearing far more apprehensive than usual.
"Your Majesty, Miss Anna is… missing. When Kayla went to give Anna her usual wake-up call, she wasn't in her room. All Kayla found was this."
Fingers nearly trembling, Elsa snatched the letter out of Gerda's hand. It was addressed to Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elsa in barely readable writing that could only have belonged to Anna. Given that the redhead obviously wasn't versed in composing letters, the envelope was unsealed. She ripped the paper out and began to read.
Elsa,
By now you've probably noticed that I'm not in my room. Or in the Castle. I'm not sure exactly how to tell you this… but I left last night to go search for the trolls. I know you'll be furious, but this is something I have to do. You mean too much to me to leave your fate to chance.
I hope you can forgive me. Despite what you're probably thinking right now, I remain your faithful servant. You've bent a lot of rules for my benefit… now I'm returning the favor. I went against your orders, I won't deny it, but I'm only doing this because I want to protect you. Just tell everyone who questions where your personal attendant is that you've sent me off on an important mission. Technically, it's not far from the truth… sort of. Okay, it's a lie, but do it anyway.
I know it's a long journey, but I'll be fine. I've survived several winters outside on my own, and I didn't have the advantage of your magic then. It might take me a few weeks, but I promise you that I will return.
Love,
Anna
For five seconds, the Queen simply stared at the parchment. Something must be wrong with her eyesight. The words in front of her were not what she thought they were. Anna could not have left the Castle. But no matter how many times Elsa's tearing up eyes re-read the letter, none of the writing changed.
The monarch slammed her hands angrily onto the table, knowing the temperature in the room was rapidly dropping but refusing to care.
"She left!" Elsa hissed. "She fucking left! After I explicitly told her not to! What in the hell was she thinking?! I can't believe-" she broke off, pounding the table with her fists once again. Gerda simply stared at her, shock apparent in her eyes. And Rapunzel…
Rapunzel didn't look surprised in the slightest.
Furiously, Elsa rounded upon her cousin. "You knew," she breathed, the dots connecting rapidly in her head. "She told you she was going to leave and you fucking let her?!" the Queen demanded.
Instead of backing down as the monarch had expected, Rapunzel's only response was a small nod.
Forget her powers. Elsa wanted to wrangle the Princess's neck with her bare hands. With impossible effort, the Queen restrained herself from throttling her cousin.
"Anna's right," her cousin retorted. "Someone had to look into it, and she was the only one who could. She didn't tell me, but I figured it out and confronted her. Yes, I let her go. Don't worry; I gave her my best horse and enough money to buy a ticket to Valhalla. She'll be back in a few days."
Elsa stood up in rage, her chair skidding back across the floor.
"You're idiots. The both of you! All it takes is an obscure piece of writing from my father to make you think that traipsing across the country in the dead of winter is a good idea?!"
"She could find something that could save your life!" Rapunzel protested.
The Queen fixed her with an icy glare.
"Did either of you even consider the fact that Anna would be more valuable to me here? I was just attacked. I think the odds of someone striking at me again within the next week are far greater than Anna successfully scouring the North Mountain, finding a hidden band of magical trolls who might not be friendly and probably don't even exist, and learning something useful about who is after me. But instead of the most capable warrior in the kingdom being at my side and guarding me, she's riding through the snow on a magical goose chase. Genius, Rapunzel. Fucking genius."
The Princess continued to return her stare, but Elsa could see the uncertainty in her eyes now. Slowly, Rapunzel was catching on to her mistake. It was true that Elsa probably wouldn't have sent Anna even if it was a smart move… the redhead meant too much to her. But even casting her feelings for Anna aside, letting her go was not the decision Elsa would have made, based on practical concerns alone.
"It doesn't matter now," her cousin asserted. "Anna left hours ago… you can't stop her. Do you think she would have stayed if I told her to? All I did was make sure she had a way to get there and wouldn't have to worry about food or shelter," she said defensively.
Elsa's eyes narrowed. "You could have told me. I could have stopped her," she hissed.
"And then what? Would you have locked her up in her room for the rest of her life? Because I can tell you, that is not a fun experience," Rapunzel shot back.
Snow began to fall from the ceiling.
"Are you fucking comparing me to Gothel ?!" Elsa demanded. "I don't want to keep Anna prisoner, she's free to leave the Castle anytime she pleases. All I wanted her not to do was ride across the country into uncivilized territory in the middle of-!"
A firm but comforting hand fell upon her shoulder. Elsa turned to see Gerda standing behind her, a concerned but steadfast look on the head servant's face. She said nothing, but the message was clear.
'You're right. The two of them made a big mistake. But yelling at your cousin isn't going to change anything. They meant well.' She could almost hear Gerda saying the words.
Elsa sighed, trying to regain her usual composure.
"I swear to the gods, Rapunzel. If she's hurt, I'm going to send Corona into an ice age."
"Do what you want to me," the Princess replied. "But go easy on Anna. She only wants what's best for you."
Elsa glared at her cousin. "That's a shame. Because the minute she gets back, I'm turning her into an ice sculpture. I think she'll look nice in the garden."
\
Anna sat alone at a table in the Inn's dining room, mulling over her next move as she ate her breakfast.
The incident last night only strengthened her resolve to continue onward. The attack had proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that whoever wanted to take Elsa's life was still out there. Why she herself had been targeted, Anna didn't know, but she was dead certain that the incidents were connected.
She sighed deeply, thinking of Shadow.
Now that she didn't have a horse, the journey was going to take a lot longer. True, she had been prepared to make the trip on foot, but the prospect of hiking across Arendelle was not an appealing one.
Of course… now that she had money, perhaps she could simply purchase transportation.
Anna made her way into the lobby. The room was empty save for Oaken, manning his counter as always, and a blond man in heavy winter clothing looking through the store's supplies.
"Yoo-hoo! Enjoy your breakfast, Miss Anna?"
The redhead nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! It was great! Uh, I was wondering… is there anywhere in town that I could buy a horse? Or maybe a carriage service or something… I just need transportation."
Oaken smiled. "Going somewhere in a hurry, Miss Anna? Where to?"
"The North Mountain."
"Oh dear… that's far away. What do you need in the North Mountain this time of year?" Oaken asked curiously.
Anna considered how much to tell him. Announcing she was looking for trolls might make her look ridiculous, but there was always a chance that Oaken had helpful information. As an innkeeper, he had probably heard all sorts of rumors over the years.
"I'm looking for a band of… uh… rock trolls? I've heard a rumor that they have magic, and…"
There was a loud clang and a thump behind her. Anna turned to see the blond man staring at her intensely. A heavy metal pickaxe sat at his feet, along with a large sack of carrots.
"You break it you buy it, ya?" Oaken scowled. As Anna stared, the blond man grumpily picked up his items and sauntered over to the counter, placing a handful of coins on the table with visual frustration.
"Do you… uh… know these trolls? Or know of them, I mean?" Anna asked him uncertainly.
The man frowned at her. For some reason, he looked familiar to her. Where have I seen him before?
"Don't be ridiculous. Trolls don't exist," he scoffed at her. Before she could respond, he turned his back to her and walked outside. Anna's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Looking for a horse, ya?" Oaken pulled her out of her thoughts.
Anna swiveled around back to the innkeeper. "Uh… maybe. I'll be right back."
\
"Wait!" Anna called after him, sprinting through the snow.
With a heavy sigh, the blond man turned around. "Can I help you?" he questioned impatiently.
Anna nodded. "These rock trolls… you know something about them, don't you? And if you could tell me, that would be great…'cause I really really need to find them. I've heard they live around the North Mountain, but…"
He crossed his arms, eyeing her suspiciously. "What makes you think I know anything about these… rock trolls?"
The redhead scowled. "Deny it all you want, but I noticed how you reacted when I mentioned them to Oaken. You were pretty startled…"
"Maybe I was just shocked that a grown woman still believes in fairy tales," he interrupted. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything that can help you." He turned away and began to walk down the street.
Anna darted forward, grabbing his shoulder with her right arm and spinning him around.
"What?" he demanded irritably.
"We all know magic exists," she said firmly. "Everyone in the kingdom knows about E- Queen Elsa's powers. If a woman can be capable of making ice shoot from her hands, these trolls could exist as well, and I think you know that. What aren't you telling me?"
She wasn't buying his denial. Whoever this guy was, he seemed far too eager to break off the conversation. Coupled with the way he'd acted in Oaken's, and Anna was almost certain that he had something to hide.
" Please," she begged after he refused to budge. "It's a matter of life and death! I know you can help me!"
For the first time, his gaze seemed to soften, although he raised his eyebrows skeptically at her words.
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe this man actually didn't know anything about those trolls and just assumed she was a crazy young girl, and Anna was so desperate for information that she was reading way too deeply into his earlier reactions…
"I know them," he admitted with a sigh.
Yes!
"Then take me to them!" she squealed happily. "I can pay you!"
The man stepped back, raising his arms as if to ward off her enthusiasm.
"Hold up a second. As long as the rock trolls have lived in Arendelle, there've been a million opportunists trying to exploit them. Some wanted to turn lead into gold. Others wanted a love potion to ensnare a beauty who wouldn't give them the time of day. And even more have just wanted power. Why do you think they keep themselves hidden in the first place?"
Anna stared at him blankly.
"Look. They're happy to help those who actually need it. If your life depends on it, I'll take you to them. But I'm not going to lift a finger to help you if you just want an easy way to get ahead in life. Pabbie is sick of people trying to take advantage of their powers, and I don't blame him. So… what's your emergency?"
For a second, Anna was about to tell him everything, but then she stopped herself. Elsa had taken Anna into her confidence, but the Queen had made it clear that the redhead was to keep the details of the kingdom's running a secret. Telling a man she hardly knew about the investigation into the attempted assassinations probably wasn't something Elsa would have approved of.
"Uh…" Time to lie.
"Okay, maybe it's not a matter of life or death," she admitted. A flash of anger appeared on the man's face before she hurriedly amended, "But it might be!" Think Anna, think. "I… uh… I'm a maid who works in Castle Arendelle. Lately, I've been developing magical abilities… at least I think they're magical. I don't know why, but I'm getting stronger and faster every day. So far, it's been a good thing I guess, but who knows how this is going to end. I was hoping the trolls would have some advice, and maybe a cure if I need it."
The man's eyes narrowed. "I've never heard of anything like that before. You expect me to believe that a Castle maid is suddenly developing superhuman strength for seemingly no reason?"
Anna shrugged. "I can prove it," she offered. "Want to arm wrestle?"
"Fine," he smirked. "At the Winter Festival, I won the weightlifting tournament. If you can beat me, I'll take you to the trolls."
That's where I recognize him from!
The redhead nodded. "What's your name by the way?" she questioned.
"Kristoff."
Anna frowned. "Christopher?" she repeated uncertainly.
" Kristoff," he clarified, irritation leaking back into his voice. "… What's yours?"
"Anna."
\
Ten minutes later, they were walking towards a barn on the edge of town.
"Damn, you're strong," Kristoff admitted, nursing his bruised knuckles.
Anna smirked, but she couldn't help the guilt that was beginning to fester inside her. True, she was lying to Kristoff for a good cause, but Anna still felt bad about deceiving someone who was going out of his way to help her.
They arrived at the barn, and Kristoff threw open the doors. The building was empty save for a few stacks of hay, a large sleigh… and a large brown and gray reindeer snoozing contently next to the wall.
"Wake up, Sven!" Kristoff called. Instantly, the reindeer was alert, rising to his feet. As Anna watched, Kristoff pulled some reins from the sleigh and began to attach its reins to the reindeer.
"Sven?" Anna questioned.
Her companion nodded. "My best friend in the world. My only friend, really. Now come on. It's a two days' ride to the North Mountain." Finishing his work, he climbed into the sleigh and grabbed the reins. Grinning, Anna sat beside him.
"Then let's go!" she said.
\
The bitch could not be allowed to interfere. Not again.
The two of them left the city and walked into the woods. Their target was almost certainly far away by this point, but that was no matter. What was important was that she was alone, in the wilderness, and vulnerable.
Their abilities would take care of the rest.
As they heard the distinctive sounds of howling, both of them knew that their task would soon be complete. In an hour, they would be long out of the woods… and Anna's death would be an inevitability.
It was time to work some magic.