(This chapter has been revised 6/18/2024)

Beyond the Hill

February 17th, 1836...

Anna sat on the back of her horse Kjekk as he strolled through the town. She tugged her magenta cape when she felt the sudden cold breeze. It was February, when winter was in its late stages before spring arrived sometime next month, but it was still pretty chilly. Citizens that she had passed gave their greetings & bows to her with her waving back to them. Anna knew they were being polite, but she sometimes wished they didn't always do that. Especially since she started going into town without her parents by her side.

But the cold or the citizens weren't on the 14-year-old's mind. Anna was deep in thought. Her reason for being out at the moment was to clear her mind.

"Hey, Anna!" A male voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Anna turned to see Kristoff waving to her, with Sven by his side. Over the past few years, Kristoff's build had grown bigger and was incredibly strong for a recently turned 18-year-old. Sven had also become a fully grown reindeer, with his antlers more prominent than when Anna first met him.

"Hey Kristoff," Anna got off Kjekk and guided him towards the duo. She put her horse next to Sven before walking to her friend. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Now my question is: What are you doing?"

"Avoiding Papa."

"Oh no. What happened this time?" Kristoff asked in a joking, but mostly serious tone.

"How do I put it?" Anna placed a hand on her hip. "I wake up. The sun shining. Birds are singing on the rooftops. I went to breakfast thinking all was right when Kai came up to me..."

Earlier that morning…

Anna had been summoned to her father's study as soon as she had finished her breakfast. She had noticed her parents' absences during breakfast, which she found odd, considering they always ate all three meals of the day with her unless they were dealing with pressing matters. Then again, they were acting odd the previous day. They both had somewhat somber expressions as if they were remembering something that was once happy but now was nothing but bittersweet. But Anna was used to seeing them act like that on that day this time of the year.

She approached the door leading to the study. Anna was slightly nervous. The only times she was summoned were when something important was going on, or she was in trouble. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Anna entered the study. She saw her father sitting at his desk with her mother beside him. Their faces indicated that they wanted to discuss something with her.

"You wanted to see me?" Anna asked.

"Yes sweetheart," Agdar gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Please sit down."

Anna did so. "Is there something wrong? Is this about what happened last week with the pig and the pie?"

"No, it isn't," Idun replied. "Your father has something important to tell you."

Anna faced her father. "What is it?"

"Anna…" Agdar started. "In a few months, you'll be turning 15. You'll be one step closer to adulthood, which is important for royalty."

"Uh, Okay…" Anna uttered. "Where are you going with this? Because I'm feeling nervous right now."

"We believe it's time for you to learn about being Queen."

Anna wasn't quite expecting this. She thought it would be one of 'those talks' she had received after turning twelve and that other time when she asked how babies were made. But this kind of thing was different—too different.

"Q-Queen? Me?" Anna stuttered.

"Yes," Agdar confirmed. "As the...sole heir to the throne, it is an important task. We believe you're ready to learn. Is there an issue?"

"I um... I'm flattered and maybe feel honored, but also really surprised. I wasn't expecting this. Why now?"

"We want you to be prepared if something happens to me and your mother."

"But you guys are in good health. Unless..." Anna made a slight gasp. "You're not dying are you?"

"What-? No! No one's dying, sweetheart." Idun assuredly lifts her arms. "We only want you to be prepared if something does happen."

"Are you saying that you don't want to be queen?" Agdar asked.

"Of course not!" Anna defended herself. "I just...It's a lot to take, and...Can I have some time to think on this?"

"I-" Agdar was cut off by Iduna grasping his shoulder, giving him a gentle but firm look. Agdar let out a breath, facing back Anna. "You may go, sweetheart."

Within five minutes, Anna was out of the room and decked in her winter gear making her way to Kjekk.

"Your parents want to start training you as queen?" Anna nodded in response to Kristoff's question. "That's great!"

"Yeah…" Anna said quietly, slowly looking away from her friend.

"It sounds like a huge responsibility. You'll be busy learning how to be a queen."

"I guess."

Kristoff noticed Anna's rather somber tone. "You don't sound happy. I'm pretty sure some people in your spot would be thrilled with news like that."

"Well, I'm not like other people." Anna crossed her arms

"What's the matter?" Kristoff asked. Anna didn't respond but Kristoff is not going to let her suffer in silence. "Come on Anna. You can tell me. What's eating you?"

Anna uncrossed her arms. "It's not that I don't want to be queen. I know it's probably a duty I'm going to have to take up one day. It's just that…I don't feel like I'm cut out for the part."

"You're saying that you'll be a bad queen?"

"Sort of, but it's a different kind of feeling. Like...It doesn't belong to me. Like it belongs to...someone else." Anna trailed off as she looked up into the town's hills. She noticed Kristoff's somewhat confused expression from the corner of her eye. "I know it doesn't make any sense."

"Don't worry. I'm used to that from you."

Anna gave a small chuckle. "You are right about that. I just need to clear my head for a few hours to think about this. You know where I'll be if you need me." She glanced at the hills surrounding the town.

"Alright. I'll see you around."

"Thanks. You too." Anna got back on Kjekk and slowly rode off, giving Kristoff another wave as she did.

The ice harvester waved in response before she completely rode out of his view. He turning his attention back to Sven.

"Should we go with her?" Sven asked his human companion.

"Nah. I think it's best if we give her some space."

Kristoff and Sven started walking away. They felt a small but cold, solid wind gust as they did.

"Sheesh, kinda windy today." Kristoff commented with a shiver.

"And chilly too. Brrr! I hope we don't get a snow storm."

Anna had ridden on the top of the hills on the outskirts of town. From her viewpoint, she could oversee the fjord and the kingdom. On the other side lies the deep forest. Agdar told Anna that she was forbidden to enter those woods, claiming they were dangerous. What he didn't know was that Anna had made several trips into those woods anyway.

She took her attention from the town and went down into the woods. When Anna started riding her horse out of town when she was 13, she decided to go beyond the mountain out of sheer curiosity. She didn't go too deep, but nothing terrible happened then. That had continued the other times, so she figured it was safe and continued going into the woods for the past year and a half, with Kristoff being the only one to know this. She made him promise not to tell anyone about her trips, despite his own protests of her going into the woods. This could've been one of her father's exaggerations for all she knew. While Agdar's overprotectiveness wasn't as bad when Anna was a kid, parts of it were still in him, and it still annoyed Anna greatly. She still has no clue why her father is like this.

But her father's habit was the least of her concerns. Anna spent the next several hours just...thinking and asking herself questions. Is she ready to learn the burden of ruling a country? Would she be cut out for the part? Or will she screw up?

"Ugh! Why is this so difficult for me to accept?" Anna exclaimed to herself rather loudly that her voice echoed through the trees.

Kjekk let out a frightened neigh in response. Realizing what she had just done, Anna tried to calm her horse by patting and stroking his neck.

"Sorry about that, boy. I just have a lot on my mind."

Before she apologizes to her horse any further, Anna notices her surroundings. While she was used to going beyond the hill, she had never gone very far. It was then that Anna realized that she had traveled farther than usual.

"Wow. I must've been so deep in thought I wasn't watching where I was going. Better head back before anyone notices we've been gone too long." Anna guided her horse to turn and started walking. Kjekk only managed to get a few feet when he suddenly stopped, jerking his head up. "What's the matter, boy? Something spooked you?"

Her answer came from the sound of a tree branch snapping near their location. Anna looked around, but nothing was seen. Some bushes nearby suddenly rustled. Something in her told her to run, but Anna was very curious. Ultimately, she let the latter take over her and her gaze closer. A small animal leaped out of the bushes. It resembled a dog, though it was different from the dogs Anna usually had seen.

"Oh, it's just a puppy," Anna breathes in relief. "Hey, little guy. What are you doing out here all alone? Aren't your parents worried about you?"

A series of sudden growls spooked Anna and Kjekk. Several wolves emerged from the shadows. They were growling and snarling, baring all of their teeth. Anna gestured for her horse to move back, and her horse compiled but ambled.

"Oh well. I guess that answers my question." Anna spoke rather calmly even though she was clearly afraid. "How 'bout you guys just let me go, and I'll be on my way, huh?"

Instead of getting the answer she hoped for, a wolf pounces in her direction but misses by centimeters. This prompted Anna to command her horse to start running for it. The next several moments were nothing filled with adrenaline and an increasing desire to ride away from the wolf pack. She had no idea where she was going since her focus was escaping with her & her horse's life. No matter how fast Kjekk went, the wolves trailing behind seemed to get closer.

Another wolf attempted to pounce on the duo. The animal snatched Anna's magenta cape with its mouth this time. Anna managed to stay on Kjekk, but the wolf refused to release her from the cape. After several failed attempts to get the wolf to let go, Anna unclipped her cape, and the wolf holding onto it flew back, crashing into several other wolves. Despite that, a good number of wolves were still chasing her.

Just then, another wolf had jumped in front of Kjekk, causing the horse to suddenly stop and lift on his rear legs in fright. Unfortunately, Anna wasn't able to hold on this time. Not only did she fall off, but she also tumbled and rolled down a snowy, steep hill at a high speed. Eventually, she stopped at the bottom when she crashed against the hard surface. Anna heard Kjekk's cries, and the wolf's barking faded until there was no noise.

In a daze, Anna spends several minutes lying face down on the snow-covered ground. Believing the wolves to be long gone, she flipped over to her backside and sat up. Anna rubbed her bare hand on her aching head. She lost her snow bonnet and one of her mittens when she fell down the hill. Something wet had been felt and Anna put her hand in front of her face. On her fingertips were tiny drops of blood.

"Oh dear…" Anna muttered. "I hope it's not bad."

The princess attempted to walk up the hill, but it was too steep for her to walk alone. She climbed on it, but the snow made it even more difficult. She barely got a few feet before sliding down. After several more attempts, Anna gave up.

"Alright. I'll just...find another way out of here. Wherever I am…" Anna started to walk through the woods. As she felt a gust of wind, she wrapped her arms around herself. "Kjekk, I hope you're okay."

The winds grew stronger as the clouds clumped together and darkened as Anna trudged through the snow. Little did Anna know she was going in the opposite direction.

Far from her home.

Agdar and Idun were in the study, waiting for Anna to return. She had been gone for most of the day. Much longer than Agdar's liking.

"Do you think we were too soon? Did we put too much on her? Maybe we should've waited a few more months," Agdar uttered rapidly as he paced in the room. "Perhaps we-"

"Agdar, you're rambling again," Idun spoke calmly to her husband. "Take a few breaths."

The king followed his wife's advice and took several breaths.

"Better dear?" Idun asked.

"For the moment. Do you think we made the right call?"

"Anna is probably taking her time to comprehend things. I'm sure you were the same when your time came."

"You're right. Perhaps I was just overreacting...Again." Agdar said with a deep breath.

Before another word had been spoken, the sound of a horse's neigh coming from outside caught their attention. Glancing out the window that oversaw the bridge leading to the castle, they could see a familiar white horse running at a high speed.

"Looks like Anna's back. Maybe she's ready to talk," Idun concluded.

The king nodded to his wife, and they both left the study. They made their way to the courtyard, intending to greet their daughter. However, as they were getting closer to the doors, a loud commotion from outside caused them to stop. They could hear the shouts of guards and horses' frightened cries. The rulers looked at each other briefly before running to the courtyard.

It was utter chaos in the courtyard, with the same white horse at the center of it all. Guards tried everything to calm the creature down to no avail. Servants watched afar, not wanting to get hurt by the panicking horse. Agdar managed to build up the courage to approach the horse.

"Woah! Woah, boy!" Agdar put his arms in front of him to get the horse to calm down while also grabbing its bridle. "Easy boy! Easy. Easy…"

The horse thankfully managed to calm down. Agdar gently patted the horse's snout and assured those around him that it was safe. Idun slowly approached him. "That's Anna's horse, Kjekk. But I don't see her..."

"Where's Anna?" Agdar asked a nearby guard.

"I don't know, Your Majesty," The guard replied. "This horse just ran on in here and acted crazy!"

"If Anna's not here, then where-" Idun said before more clopping caught their attention.

Everyone turned and saw Kristoff riding on his reindeer towards the courtyard. Much to Agdar & Idun's disappointment, which only made them even more worried, Anna wasn't with him.

"Oh, good. You calmed him down." Kristoff got off and went to the rulers, but some guards blocked him.

"Let him pass. He's a friend," Agdar ordered, and the guards followed. "Sorry about that, Kristoff. Do you know what's going on? Have you seen Anna?"

"Sven and I were just minding our business when I saw Kjekk running through town like a maniac and almost ran into some people. We followed him to get him to stop before anyone got hurt, but it seems you beat me to it. As for Anna, I haven't seen her since this morning. I hoped she wasn't far behind, but I didn't see her."

"Agdar..." Idun spoke softly yet shakily. "I think you should see this."

Agdar saw his wife pointing to Kjekk's rear end. He went to where she was pointing with Kristoff not far behind. On the horse's thigh, several scratch marks were seen. They didn't look too severe, but some scratches did trail blood.

Agdar's heart started to race rapidly as he recognized the marks. "Wolves…"

"How?" Idun wondered. "Wolves don't come this close to Arendelle."

At those words, Kristoff's expression changed. He went from looking concerned to one of realization and guilt. He rubbed his neck as he turned his attention away from the rulers. Idun noticed his change of behavior.

"Kristoff?" Idun spoke to him. "Are you alright?"

"I um…" Kristoff stuttered. Agdar could pick up that he knew something.

"Kristoff, is there something you know?" Agdar spoke calmly, and his tone of authority was heard as well.

Kristoff knew lying was wrong, especially to the king & queen. He knew he had made a promise to his friend, but if Anna was in trouble, he had to say something.

"I'm sorry to do this, Anna. If you're in any danger, I have to tell them."

"I think Anna went beyond the hill," The ice harvester confessed with a deep breath.

"She WHAT?!" Agdar exclaimed loudly, which Kristoff, some guards, and even Sven jerked back in response. "And you knew about this?!"

"I'm sorry. But, Anna's been doing it for over a year and a half with without any-"

"You mean she's been doing something I strictly told her not to FOR OVER A YEAR AND A HALF?!"

Kristoff winced as he heard Agdar's words. Though he was understandably upset, Kristoff plead his case.

"I know it was wrong to keep it to myself and you have every right to be mad, but Anna practically begged me not to tell you. I tried to talk her out of it several times, but she was stubborn and insisted that she could handle herself out there. She always came back unharmed so I figured she was right. Plus, I wouldn't break a promise to her like that unless I knew her life was in serious danger."

Agdar pinched the bridge of his nose, and he calmed himself down and comprehended Kristoff's words. Taking out his frustration on the boy wouldn't help the situation. He realized Kristoff was just keeping a promise to a friend. Something Agdar can understand. But the apologies will have to wait. There were more pressing manners.

"We need to find her," Agdar turns to a man dressed in an Arenedelle Guard uniform with additional gear. "Captain! Gather a search party and look through the woods. I'll join you as soon as everyone's ready!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The Captain saluted.

"Idun, alert the citizens and see if we can get volunteers."

"Of course dear," Idun responded.

"Let me join the search. My sleigh could be useful, and I have experience in the wilderness," Kristoff offered.

"Very well. Go get ready. We leave within the hour." As mad as he was, Agdar knew the ice harvester wasn't at fault. And he knew Kristoff would've come whether or not the king allowed it.

Kristoff went off with Sven to prepare to join the search. Idun had already left to play her part. And Kjekk had been taken back to the stables to be tended. That left the king alone in the courtyard, except for some guards scattering around. Agdar noticed the darkening clouds in the sky and felt the winds increasing speed. One thing was certain.

Anna needed to be found soon.

Anna had no idea how long she had been walking but knew it was several hours. The clouds had gone darker, and winds were blowing even faster. The ever-persisting winds made it difficult for her to walk and deal with the cold. Not to mention harder to see through. While wearing her winter dress, Anna couldn't stand a chance against the cold, especially without her bonnet, the other mitten, and cape.

The lost princess had made another step when she suddenly tripped. It brought a good amount of pain to her right foot. She ended up landing face-first on the snow-covered ground. The winds continued to howl around her as she remained on the ground. A voice in her told her to get up and keep going. But another told me to give up and that it was hopeless.

Anna felt many things going through her as she lay on the ground.

Cold.

Pain.

Exhaustion.

Hunger.

Regret.

And most notably:

Fear.

Anna was never afraid of death, but the concept did frighten her. Not because of what's on their other side as most are. She was scared of what she'd leave behind. Arendelle will be left without an heir. Kristoff and Sven will be left without a friend. The most she was afraid of was leaving her parents the pain of burying their daughter instead of the other way around. The worst part was that she didn't even get to say goodbye to them.

No matter how much she fought, Anna's will to survive decreased as the icy cold winds increased their speeds. And then, that will just...left her. Many thoughts went through her head.

"Goodbye, Kristoff. Thank you for your years of friendship. Goodbye, Kai and Gerda. Thank you for taking care of me when Mama and Papa couldn't. Goodbye, Mama. Thank you for giving me your love. Goodbye, Papa...I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

"I'm so sorry guys…"

Anna succumbed to her exhaustion and let fate play out the rest. A lone tear came from her eye as this occurred. She was completely out cold.

A figure covered in a dark blue cloak emerged from the shadows through the icy winds and walked to the nearly frozen unconscious girl. A vast white bulky object slowly emerged behind as the figure kneeled down next to her and gently rolled the girl on her backside. The cloaked figure placed a tender scarred hand on the girl's face.

Well...that was quite an ending for this chapter.

Will Anna survive? And the most important question: Who is the figure? What intentions does (s)he have for our dear princess?

Here's a fun fact, the novel A Frozen Heart stated that Anna's horse was name Kjekk (The same horse that ditched her in the movie). Just thought I point that out.

I headcannoned that Kristoff was born in January.

Anna mention of a pig pie is a reference to a deleted scene from Frozen.