A Frozen Heart Worth Mining

Several days later...

In the dining hall, Agdar & Idun were already seated with their breakfast in front of them. They were waiting for Anna to join them. This wasn't unusual for them to wait for her since Anna isn't a morning person and would often sleep in. This was common knowledge among her parents and very often either they or send Kai or Gerda to make sure she was awake. They had done the former and were now waiting for their daughter.

The dining hall doors open, with Anna walking in and approached the table.

"Good morning Anna," Agdar greeted

"Morning pa-ah-ACHOO!" A loud sneeze from Anna caused both of her parents to jump in surprise.

"Goodness! Bless you, Anna!" Idun quickly spoke up.

"*sniff* Thanks." Anna wiped her nose as she sat down.

As the rulers observed their daughter, they noticed something unusual features. Anna's nose had redness around it. There was very tired look in her eyes and the not lack of sleep kind of tired. Idun was the first to speak up her concerns.

"Are you alright sweetheart?"

"I'm fine mama. I heard we're having waffles for breakfast. When will they be ready?"

"They're in front of you." Idun pointed to a waffle that was already on a plate in front of Anna.

"Oh."

"Are you sure you're alright Anna?" Agdar asked. "Those waffles are fresh. Surely you could've smelled them from the hallway."

"My nose just feels a little runny. I'm sure it gets better la-" A series of loud coughs came out of Anna's mouth before she could even finish her sentence.

Of course, her parents quickly went to her side during her coughing fit. To confirm their theory, Agdar places his hand on Anna's forehead. Underneath his palm, he could feel Anna's slightly burning skin. That what was all he needed.

"Idun, get the doctor."

30 minutes later...

"Well princess, you are most definitely sick."

"ACHOO!"

The doctor gave a handkerchief to Anna before she blew her nose into it. She had been laying on her bed, letting the doctor examined her while her parents stood not far from her.

"How bad is she, Doctor?" Agdar asked.

"It's nothing serious. Your daughter had caught a simple cold. A few days in bed should help her recover," The doctor had explained.

"A few days? But I'm not that sick. I feel fine. I can handle a little sneezing and-" Another coughing fit had come out of Anna that lasted for several moments. "...coughing."

"I know you're an active person, princess, but the best way to recover is for you to rest. Moving around too much may make you sick longer."

"I understand…"

"Good." The doctor packed up his supplies before getting up and went to the king & queen. "Like a said, a few days in bed should help her recover along with some medicine. I would also recommend to give her healthy food and stay away from treats, including chocolate. Let me know if something out of the ordinary happens."

"Thank you, Doctor Lee," Agdar said.

"It is my duty, your majesty. I wish princess Anna for a good recovery. By the way Queen Idun, my wife says hello."

"Tell Jennifer my shared sentiments," Idun said.

"Will do. Good day, your majesty's, your highness." The doctor respectfully bowed before leaving Anna's bedroom, leaving only the monarchs and a clearly unhappy Princess.

"Do you need anything, sweetheart?" Idun asked.

"To be out of this bed," Anna deadpanned.

"You heard what Doctor Lee said, Anna."

"But I'm not even that sick. I just have a simple cold, not the pla-ah-ah-AHCOO! *sniff*...plague."

"Plague or no plague, you need to rest. And that's final." Agdar gave Anna rather a stern look.

"Fine," Anna replied rather glumly.

The king & queen observed their daughter's behavior. Something about her was...different. In the past when she had gotten sick, Anna would usually complain a bit before giving in. Here, she genuinely sounded desperate to get out of bed. Agdar decided to address this behavior.

"Is everything alright, Anna? You sound really upset. Is there something we should know about?"

"I uh…" Anna stuttered. "I had plans to hang with Kristoff today since he's leaving again tomorrow to go ice harvesting."

That wasn't a lie for Anna did plan to spend some time with Kristoff today. However, that wasn't the reason why she was upset.

"I'm sure he'll understand and wouldn't want you to risk your health," Agdar said.

"I guess." Anna crossed her arms.

"But that doesn't mean you'll deal with this alone. Your mother and I will help you."

"Oh, you guys don't have to. I'm sure you're both must be busy today."

"Nonsense. We can spare a day taking care of you. Family comes before duty," Idun said.

"I should ask Kai to clear our schedule for today," Agdar brought out.

"And I'll make some of my specialty medicine. I'll go make some right now."

"I think I much rather die from the plague than drink that stuff," Anna said as soon Idun left the room, while also making a small gag sound.

"I can agree with you on that," Agdar agreed. "Don't tell your mother I said that."

That statement earned at least a small chuckle from Anna.

Several Hours Later…

Lunch had come around and Anna was finally left alone in her room. Throughout the rest of the morning, her parents had spent nearly every moment taking care of her. While Anna appreciated it, she had been getting a bit annoyed. Once they had been informed that lunch was soon, Anna managed convinced them to take a break. Knowing them, Anna figured at least one of them would bring her food and eat with her. At least she'll get a few moments to herself.

A knock was heard at her door. "Come in."

"Anyone ordered a nice warm bowl of soup for the sick princess?" A familiar male voice entered the room as the door opened. Who opened it wasn't her father or even Kai.

"Kristoff!" Anna beamed before another coughing fit came out.

"Take it easy, feisty pants." Kristoff placed the soup on a nightstand and went to her side. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit."

Kristoff chuckled. "I can imagine."

"What are you doing here?"

"A little birdie told me that you were sick and that you were upset."

"How?"

"Some guards might've come to my cabin to tell me that. Apparently, you had plans to hang with me."

"Oh, mama, papa..." Anna placed her hands on face to hide her embarrassment. "I'm sorry about that, Kristoff."

"It's fine. There were only two guards, not the entire army."

"Still, they don't have to over dramatic about everything. A simple written message would've done the trick."

"Hey, I really don't mind. I think it's a good thing that they didn't do that. Knowing you hate being stuck in one place for too long, I think you could use the company. Besides your parents that is…"

"You're right about that. They've been all over me all morning. I appreciate what they're doing, but geez, let me have time to myself. Not like I'm going anywhere."

"How did you get sick?"

There was no immediate answer from Anna. Instead, she had a look of hesitance.

"Is anyone in the hallway?" Anna asked.

Even though he was a bit confused at that question, Kristoff got up and went to the doorway. He also stuck his head out in the hallway. He gave a simple "No" as his answer.

"Close the door please." Kristoff did what Anna told him and shut the door and went back to her side.

"Any reason for this secrecy?"

"You remember...Elsa, don't you?"

"Y-yes…" Kristoff answered, not expecting that question. Though it had been nearly week since had 'met' Anna's mysterious friend, he never did ask much about her. Aside from the small questions, he would ask the several time he and Anna had hung out in the days afterward.

"The other night I visited her again. When I was walking back home, it started to rain and it poured. I was soaking wet the whole walk home."

"I see."

"Don't tell my parents."

"Hey, I made a promise. My lips are sealed."

Anna gave a smile before she ate her soup for a bit. No word was spoken from Kristoff as he looked in the other direction. Though what did came was something Anna didn't expect.t

"How is...Elsa? She doing fine?"

"She is. The last time I visited, she asked a bit about you."

"Did she?" Anna nodded her head. "Are you going to visit her again soon?"

"I actually had planned today to visit her during the day instead of at night, but I can't do that now. I just hope she'll figure that out and won't get worried." Anna rubbed her hand on her head and through her hair and just thinking. As she did, a sudden idea came into her head. Right as she looked at Kristoff. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" Instead of getting an answer, Anna just stared at him while giving him 'the look.' He immediately understood what she was indicating. "Wait, are you seriously suggesting…?"

"Yes. I just want you to let her know I'm sick. I don't want her to freak out if I don't show up."

"Are you sure she won't mind seeing me? In case you don't remember, it wasn't exactly a pleasant first meeting between me and her."

"It was just a big misunderstanding which we got past. Once you get to know her, Elsa's very nice. You two might some things in common. But if you want, you don't even have to spend time with her. Just go there and let her know I'm sick."

"I…"

"Please, Kristoff." Anna took his hand and squeezed it, a begging look in her eyes.

"Okay. I'll go and check up on her."

With that, Anna pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you."

"Like I said, What are friends for?" Kristoff returned the hug. "Should there be some things I should know about Elsa?"

"Alright. I guess to put it this way, Elsa is a bit...naïve. She's not very familiar with manners and social customs. So if she does something rude or makes you uncomfortable, she probably doesn't know it is. And try not to be harsh on her about it, she tends to be very sensitive. She's also a very eager learner and may bombard you with questions."

"That's a lot to keep note."

"The important thing is that please be patient with her.

"Got it. Patience. Anything else I should know?"

"She doesn't understand expressions, phrases, and idioms as well. Oh, and Elsa really loves food…"

The next day...

The North Mountain is a place many would not consider visiting. Its year-round cold, snowy climate often had people turn away, even during the warmer months. Overall it's just a place no one would like to stick around too. At least that's what Kristoff had believed for quite a long time until several nights ago.

Standing not far from the base of the mountain, Kristoff found himself gazing upon it. He and Sven made their journey to the enormous mountain since earlier today. Had he not spent most of the previous day with Anna, he would've come much sooner. Nervousness was the only feeling he could feel. But he had made a promise to a friend, and friends don't break promises. Sacrificing some time of his ice harvesting expedition to do so wouldn't bring much harm.

"Come on buddy." Kristoff shakes the reins on Sven. "Hya!"

The duo made their way towards and up the mountain. It wasn't long till the sight of ice palace came into their view when they came to a stop.

"Stay with the sleigh, Sven."

Kristoff jumped off the sleigh and patted his companion, who just gave a happy look as he nodded. He then made his way to the base of the stairs while also admiring the ice palace yet again. It was still as beautiful as when he first saw it. He snapped out of his sightseeing and made his way up the stairs and to the doors. Walking up, he was muttering to himself.

"Come on, Kristoff. This is for Anna. You can do this."

Kristoff knocked on the doors. He jumped once he saw them opening on their own. Gathering the courage, Kristoff walked in. There wasn't any sign of anyone in the foyer.

"Hello? Anyone home?" There wasn't a response, but Kristoff still kept on going as he looked around. "I'm not an intruder. I'm just stopping by." He still didn't hear anything. That is until he heard what sounded like a thump. He looked in the direction of the noise but saw nothing. He turned back only to be greeted at the sight of Marshmallow towering over him, which had scared Kristoff and he tripped backward, landing on his bottom.

"Uh, hey, Marshmallow was it? Remember me?"

If Kristoff was trying to hide his uneasiness, he was failing miserably. Marshmallow just continued to stare down at him with a neutral expression.

"Well, I definitely remember you." A nervous chuckle came out of his mouth. His nerves had only risen when Marshmallow over his head much closer to the ice harvester. Kristoff wasn't sure what to do. He didn't even get the chance when a voice broke through the foyer.

"Marshmallow." They both looked to the sound of the voice to see Elsa on the foyer stairs. "Leave us."

With that, Marshmallow removed his gaze on Kristoff. Slowly, the ice creature exits the room, leaving only the ice wielder & harvester. Kristoff watched Elsa go down the foyer stairs. He couldn't help but look at the dress she was wearing. It wasn't like the old blue dress from last time. Instead, this dress was a much lighter blue, and much more beautiful (even though he can't figure out how she wasn't freezing in that dress).

Yet as he looked at her, he noticed something about her face, aside from the scar across her left cheek. This was only the second time Kristoff had seen Elsa, but he couldn't help but think that he saw her somewhere before. But where?

"Are you alright?" Elsa asked as she made it to the bottom, snapping Kristoff out of his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah." Kristoff got up to his feet. "I didn't mean to intrude. I knocked and your door just opened. So I let myself in."

"Elsa, is everything fine?" A voice came out.

"Yes, Olaf. It's only Kristoff."

"Kristoff's here?!" Olaf was in the room within seconds. "Kristoff's here! Do you remember me, Kristoff?"

"I do, Olaf," Kristoff replied.

"Is Sven here too? I wanna see him!"

"He's right outside."

"Thanks!" Olaf quickly waddles out of the room and outside.

"Why are you here?" Elsa spoke up.

"Anna sent me up here. She's not feeling well," Kristoff had answered.

"Why? Is she okay?"

"She just has a simple cold. Nothing bad."

"She's cold?"

"No, she has 'A' cold. It's a sickness that makes her tired, her body colder than normal, and she sneezes a lot. The best way for her to get better if she rests for several days. So...she won't be able to visit you for a while."

"She'll get better, right?"

"Don't worry she will. If all is well, she may be better for several days."

Olaf's cheerful laughter from outside was heard. Deciding to see what was going on, the pair head over to the door. They saw Olaf & Sven jumping around and simply playing together.

"Olaf seems to really like your reindeer. Sven, was it?" Kristoff answered Elsa's question with a nod. "He wouldn't stop talking him since we met."

"Really?" Kristoff asked.

"Yeah. I've never seen him get this close with any other animals I've seen."

"Hi, guys! What are you doing?" Olaf called out to them, while Sven just looked at them.

"Just watching you two." Elsa walked down the stairs, with Kristoff not far behind.

"We're just talking and playing! Right, Sven?" Sven only responded by trying to bite Olaf's nose. "Aw, he still trying to kiss my nose."

Both Elsa & Kristoff looked at each other before giving smile that was a mix of amusement, uneasy, and bewilderment to the snowman.

"Well…" Kristoff cleared his throat. "Me and Sven should probably get going now."

"But you just got here," Olaf added.

"I know, but I'm sure you guys don't want me bothering you."

"You're not bothering us! We're happy to have you here! Right, Elsa?"

"...Its no bother at all." Kristoff took notice of the way Elsa had responded. The tone of her voice indicated that she wasn't bothered, but also sounded she was unsure.

"That's really nice of guys, but even if I could, I can't. I'm kinda in the middle of an expedition. I'm already a day behind schedule."

"What expedition?" Olaf asked.

"I'm an ice harvester. I collect ice from frozen lakes and sell them."

"Do you go to Itch-...The Ice Hole?" Kristoff looked at Elsa questionably. "Anna told me that's where ice harvesters usually go."

"Uh, yeah. That's where I always go."

"It's also far from here. You'll be tired to do much when you get there. Not to mention between here and there, these woods have lots of predators."

"I appreciate your concern, but I think I can deal with it. Unless you happen to have an ice pond around here."

Neither Elsa or Olaf said anything. They just looked at each other for a moment before Elsa spoke.

"Could you follow us?"

Kristoff, along with Sven pulling the sleigh, were following Elsa, and Olaf. They were about a short distance away from the ice palace, and the mountain it resided on was still in their sight.

"Here we are." Elsa gestured Kristoff to look where her arm was pointing. In front of them was a huge ice lake of sorts. "You can take of look if you want."

Taking up her suggestion, Kristoff went on the icy lake and stood on it. "It's sturdy." He then taps his foot on the ice several times. "Hollow, but safe to walk on."

"The ice here is strong enough to hold up Marshmallow, so I think you and Sven will be fine." Elsa brought up.

"We used to ice skate here a lot a while ago!" Olaf brought up as he slides around.

"Will it do for your ice harvesting?"

"I...I think it will."

"Then this place is all yours for you to do whatever."

"Thanks." Kristoff gave a small smile.

"I...I'll leave you to your work now."

"Right. I better get started. See you later, then?"

"Uh, sure. Come on Olaf."

After Olaf managed to get off the ice, both he and Elsa left the ice harvester and reindeer alone. They made their way to the ice palace. They resumed their daily activities. Elsa hid away in her bedroom. There she cleaned around, rearrange items she had in her collection, looks over her homemade map, and practiced her magic for a bit, whatever she did to keep herself occupied. However, none of which had worked to keep her distracted from the nagging feeling in her head.

"Y'know you can go talk to him," A voice interrupted her thoughts, which Elsa soon realize was Olaf's.

"What makes you say that?"

"You have that look on your face." Olaf walked to her side. "The 'I want to do this thing, but I don't want to do that thing' kind of face."

"I do want to talk to him. My problem is that...I'm not sure if I can, or if he wants to. The only reason he's here because Anna asked him too. I didn't exactly make a good first impression by attacking him."

"He didn't seem to sound mad. I'm sure he's forgiven for that. We all make mistakes and I'm sure he knows that."

"Does he really?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to talk to him."

A feeling of deja vu swept over Elsa as Olaf made that statement. That last time he had said that was before Elsa revealed her magic to Anna, and look where that had led her. Perhaps it could be the same for Kristoff.

"I'll think about it," Elsa replied.

"Okay! If you need me I'll be hanging with Marshmallow!"

Olaf exited the room, leaving Elsa to her thoughts once again. She had reflected Olaf's words over and over. She often forgets that he could give good and wise advice. Goodness knows it was very helpful on her first days away from her Master.

After thinking for a while, she decided to go check up on him, just to see if he's alright. She left her bedroom and soon found herself outside of the palace. Several moments later, she had arrived at the ice lake where Kristoff and Sven had been occupied. Elsa did not immediately approach him, but instead, she had hidden and watched him. There was a section in the lake where columns & rows of blocks were seen cut in the ice. A couple of the blocks were seen floating in the water in a section looked to already been cut out, while several individual blocks were on the icy surface. Right now, Kristoff was using some sort of stick to pry another block of the ice. Several attempts later, the block had broken off and went into the water. Elsa watched the process about several more times.

As Kristoff moved onto the next block, Elsa looked over to the side and saw the sleigh he had brought with him. Curiosity seems to get the better of Elsa when she found herself walking to the sleigh and looked in. Several items had occupied in the sleigh. There was some weird looking claw-like contraption, along with something that resembled a saw. Plus an additional small bag of carrots.

Another object Elsa had noticed was weirdly shaped. The small wooden object was round on the bottom and slender on the top. There were also some strings on the object. Elsa put her fingers on one of the strings and stroke it. A 'ting' sound came from the string. Elsa stroke the string several times and she heard the same sound again and again. Finally, she stroked her hand across all the strings which all made the same sound. Elsa liked the sound and played with the strings on the object several more times, giving a small joyous smile as she did.

"Elsa, what are you doing?! Don't touch those!" Kristoff's loud voice made Elsa move away from the sleigh. The tone of his voice made sounded as he was upset, and Elsa knew what happened when she made people upset.

Although he knew he wasn't far from the ice palace, Kristoff wasn't expecting Elsa to come to the ice lake. And he surely didn't expect her to snoop in her sleigh. Instinctively, Kristoff yelled out to her. Once he saw the scared look on her face and remembered what Anna had told him yesterday did he realize what he had done. He didn't get the chance to apologize before she suddenly ran off.

"Wait!" Kristoff shouted, but Elsa was already out of view. He placed his hand on his face. "Ugh, I'm an idiot."

"You're right about that," Sven pointed out.

"Not helping, Sven."

"I know one thing that can help."

A deep sigh came out of Kristoff's mouth. "I know."

Not too long later, Kristoff entered the ice palace. He found Olaf wondering around and asked the snowman about Elsa's whereabouts. Olaf informed him that Elsa went to her bedroom and pointed to the direction it was in. Soon enough, Kristoff found himself in front a door he's never seen before.

He knocked on the door. "Elsa, are you in there?"

Several seconds later, the door slightly opened. Elsa stood in the doorway.

"Hey, Elsa. Listen I just want to apologize."

"For what?" Elsa looked at him in confusion.

"For yelling and scaring you. I shouldn't have done that.

"I was just looking at your stuff. I didn't mean to make you mad."

"I'm not mad. What were you doing there anyway?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. You looked busy and I watched you ice harvest for a while. I saw your sleigh and wanted to look at it. I'm sorry."

The way she had spoken had sounded so sincere. Kristoff could tell that she wanted to be friends with him but isn't sure if she could. He had felt the same way about her. During his time on the frozen lake, he had been thinking about how to approach her. He should at least become acquainted with her, for Anna's sake.

"Listen, I know we both had a shaky start. I admit I had my doubts when I first met you." Elsa looks at Kristoff warily. "When I saw Anna interact with you, I was wrong. I might not fully understand you, and you probably don't understand me as well, but you seem like a very nice girl and I'm willing to try to be friends with you. Or at least get to know you better. Please."

Still standing in her doorway, Elsa just looked at him as his words echoed in her head. He did seem really sure that he wanted to do this. While she knew he was friendly, she just wasn't how friendly. Then again he is Anna's friend. If Anna trusts him then maybe Elsa should do the same.

"Alright. I'll give you a chance."

Kristoff smiled. "Thank you."

"Would...would you like to come in?"

"Sure."

Moving to the side, Elsa let Kristoff walk into her room. The ice harvester looked around the huge room.

"This your bedroom?"

"Yeah."

"It looks nice." Looking around more, Kristoff noticed the table of Elsa's collection of items. "What's this stuff?"

"Just some things I founded over the years. People tend to drop them a lot."

"Including this map? Must've been pretty careless."

"I actually made it."

"Yourself?" Kristoff asked, clearly surprised. Even more so when Elsa nodded. "So you can make ice magic, collect stuff, and make maps."

"And the night sky too." Lifting her arm up, directing Kristoff to look at the ceiling where he saw the many star constellations and moon phases and spots.

"You're a surprising person, Elsa. Not to mention really talented. If I could do any of this stuff I probably wouldn't harvest ice for a living."

"But you're a good ice harvester."

"Well, it helps keep food on the table."

"How does harvesting ice do that?"

Kristoff gave an odd and confused look at Elsa when she said that. Then he remembered Anna mentioning that Elsa doesn't understand expressions. He gave himself another mental slap. While Anna told him of Elsa's naïveity, he didn't expect it to be this bad. Anna was not kidding around.

"I'll explain that later."

Kristoff moved his attention around the room again. This time he noticed something near the window. He walked over to get a closer look. What he saw were two ice figurines, one of which was the lone figurine of Anna. The other figure was a pair that looked to be ice skating. Like the previous one, this figure had Anna along with a figure that resembled Elsa.

"You made these too?" Kristoff asked.

"Yes."

In the corner of this eye, Kristoff noticed a price of cloth that looked to be covering something not far from the ice figurines. "What's this?" He moved his hand near the cloth.

"Wait! Don't! I'm still working on it!" Elsa shouted.

But Kristoff had already removed the cloth and revealed what was underneath it. There were several more ice figurines, but it wasn't Anna or Elsa. One figurine had resembled Kristoff having his right foot standing some sort of block, right hand resting over his leg while the other rested on his hip. The other one looked similar to Sven who tilted his had and gave a big happy smile.

"Is this me and Sven?"

"Y-Yes…" Elsa had answered. "I made them to not long after we've met. I was bored and I don't meet many people. I wanted to remember what you look like to in case I didn't see you again. If you don't like them then I'll get rid of them."

"I do like them. They're really nice."

"You do?" Kristoff nodded. "Did I get everything right?"

"You got me right, but you really nailed it on Sven."

"Thank you."

"I still can't believe the fact that you made all of this yourself."

"Well, it's not just me. There's Olaf, Marshmallow, and The Snowgies. It's just us. One happy family."

A sudden thought came into Kristoff's head once Elsa had said that word. It had reminded him of a certain detail Anna had mentioned to him. He decided to ask her a question.

"What about your real family?"

Elsa looked at him for a moment before looking away. A somber expression grew across her face. Kristoff figure he probably crossed a line.

"Is it difficult to talk about?"

"I really don't know. My parents weren't in my life. Even if they were I don't really remember them."

That made Kristoff raised his eyebrow a bit. How does she not know? Surely there was a reason why they weren't in her life. Then again, Anna did mention Elsa was in the care of other people in her early childhood. The best guess Kristoff could probably make is that Elsa's parents were most likely dead.

All that aside, he felt sympathy for her. For he shares Elsa's feeling. Maybe Anna was right. Perhaps he and Elsa were more similar that he had thought. "I know what that like."

"You do?" Elsa looked at him interestingly.

"My parents died when I was young. After that, I was pretty much alone. Lived the life of a mountain man. Kinda like you, except for the ice magic."

"How am I a 'mountain man'?"

"Mountain woman technically. Basically, you live on a mountain, or generally out in the wild and not among people. That's how I was for while after my parents died."

"What happened to your parents?"

Kristoff took that moment to take a deep breath. "They were ice harvesters, like me. My dad was the best and my mom would help him out. One day, there was an accident while they were harvesting. They didn't make it."

"...I'm really sorry."

"It was a long time ago, and I've moved on, but thank you. I have a new family now, including Sven, and Anna of course."

"How do you know Anna?"

"We've known each other for years. I was about twelve and she was nine when we first met. She got separated from her parents because she wanted some chocolate but got lost. She bumped into me and I offered to help. We got close and we've been friends since. She really made an impact on my life."

"She did?"

"Yeah. After my parents died, I pretty much wanted to be alone. Sure I had Sven and my current family but I still kept to myself. I guess mostly because I was afraid of becoming close to anyone out of fear of being hurt again. When I met Anna she changed that. She taught me that friendship is a very valuable thing and that no one truly wants to be alone."

"Anna sure does has a way with people."

"Oh, you bet," Kristoff said with a chuckle. "Everyone down in Arendelle pretty much loves her."

A smile grew across Elsa's face before she decided to ask Kristoff another question. "Do you miss them. Your old family?"

Kristoff sighed. "I do. I think about them at least once every day."

"How do you cope with it?"

"I just remind myself that while they may be dead, they're not truly gone, as long as we remember them and keep their memory alive."

"Is that why you're an ice harvester? Because you wanted to keep your parent's memory alive?"

"I guess in a way, yeah. I still keep pieces of them close to me."

Elsa's eyes widen suddenly as he made a realization. "That stuff in your sleigh, was it theirs?"

"Most of it."

"And that's why you got upset when I was near them." No answer came out of Kristoff.

"You didn't know and I shouldn't have reacted like that. Its just...that equipment means a lot to me. I know this sounds cheesy but when I have their stuff I feel them watching over me whenever I'm on the ice. In a way, they're still with me."

"Sorry for messing around with them."

"Like I said, its fine and you didn't know. Though for future reference don't go looking through other people's stuff without their permission."

"Is that inappropriate?"

"It's considered rude. And illegal in other cases."

"Illegal?"

"It's like a rule you're not supposed to break. If you do break it, you can get in serious trouble."

"Oh. Okay. I'll remember that."

Neither of them spoke another word to each other. Elsa took a quick glance out of a window and broke the silence. The time had almost come for sundown.

"It's about to get dark soon. Shouldn't you finish your ice harvesting?"

"I probably should. I still have a lot of work to do. Ah well, I suppose there's always tomorrow."

"Why not I help you?"

Kristoff looked at her oddly. "You want to help me ice harvest?"

"I don't see why I can't."

"Ice harvesting is not exactly an easy job."

"From what I saw, you just cut the ice into blocks and take them out of the water. Sounds easy to me. You don't want my help."

"I would like your help, but trust me, Elsa, it's a lot difficult than it looks. And dangerous if you don't know what to do. Not to mention you're not even dressed properly."

"I've climbed high mountains, jumped from cliffs, fought off wild animals, and faced harsher elements. I think I can handle collecting ice. And what's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Now I can see another reason why Anna gets along with Elsa. She's just as stubborn as her!" Kristoff thought.

"Okay, if really want to, I'll let you help out. But your dress…" A pause entered the air. In actual truth, there were LOTS of reasons Kristoff wanted to give for his opposition of her dress, but it seemed Elsa was oblivious to the fact. "...Your dress might be restrictive."

"Restrictive?"

"Ice harvesting requires a lot of leg movement. Your dress might not give that much room for your legs."

Elsa looked away in disappointment. Then her face brightens up as she got a small idea. Moving her hand to her right side, she pointed two fingers and some magic came out of her fingers and gave a twirl. Kristoff watch as the fabric of her skirt begins to split apart a bit, exposing her right leg. Elsa had created a slit on her dress. Once Elsa was done, she looked up back to Kristoff, who looked bewildered.

"How did you do that?"

"This dress is also made out of my ice magic as well." Elsa simply answered. "Now can I help?"

"So what are these things for again?" Elsa held up and looked at ice tongs as she walked alongside Kristoff on the icy lake.

"They're for picking up the ice blocks out of the water," Kristoff answered. "Ice blocks are difficult to pick up and we can't use our hands for that. That's what the ice tongs are for."

"How do get the ice block?"

"I cut a section of the ice lake into small blocks. Once that's done I use this…" Kristoff held out a fork bar. "...to pry the ice off."

"And that's what we're doing?"

"Yep. I pry an ice block off and you lift out of the water. Got it?" Elsa nodded her head. "Then let's get to it."

Both Kristoff and Elsa made it to their positions, with Sven right between them. Kristoff stood to where the ice blocks haven't cut off while Elsa stood not too far from. She watches Kristoff pry the ice block off for several moments before it finally broke free.

"Here it comes!" Kristoff called out.

Elsa stood in place and watch the ice block float to her. When it finally was near enough, she put the tongs on the ice block. As she tried to lift it up, the ice block slipped out of the tongs. She tried it again but it slipped, this time splashing some cold water on her face. Sven was kind enough to lick some of the water off of her face. After several moments of standing in small shock from Sven's lick, Elsa attempted to try again but it had once again slipped from the tongs. Elsa yell in frustration each time this had occurred.

"Fuck! Why can't get this block!"

"Yep, Elsa has defiantly been hanging around Anna a lot," Kristoff thought.

"The blocks are often heavy, so it's always hard to pick up the first few tries." Kristoff walked to her side and attempted to help her. "Maybe I should..."

"Don't touch me!"

"Woah, easy!" Kristoff to jump back and lifted his arms up, while also shocked by Elsa's tone of voice.

"Sorry. I don't like being touched."

"All right." All Kristoff could do was shift his eyes awkwardly. "I'm just trying to help you out."

"Thank you, but I can do this. Let me try again."

Giving Elsa some space, Kristoff watched as she attempted to use the tongs to pick up the block. Unlike previous times, Elsa had finally made some success. A bright smile came across her face and she held the ice block in the tongs.

"You did it!" Kristoff exclaimed.

"I did it! I told you that I could...Oh shit!" The weight of the ice block was pushing against Elsa. This had caused her to stumbled backward. Luckily Sven quickly went behind her and stopped her stumbling. Once she regained her balance, she set the ice block on the ground.

"Nice you job you did. Next time, though, just set the ice on the ground right afterward," Kristoff said.

"I remember that," Elsa agreed. "Should we finish?"

With a nod, the pair resumed back to work. Kristoff would pry the ice blocks off and Elsa would pull them out of the water. Elsa still struggled for a bit but after a while, she managed to pull the ice blocks with a breeze. Within the hour they had finished collecting all the ice blocks from the section. Right when dusk had finally settled.

"Is that all of them?" Elsa asked.

"Yep. All we have to do is load them all on my sleigh."

They both looked over to the many of the ice blocks they both had collected, including some of the ones Kristoff had broken off earlier. An idea popped into Elsa's head.

"I know who can help with that." Elsa then gave a very loud whistle. Several moments later, loud stomps were heard which soon revealed to be Marshmallow. "Could you help us put the ice blocks on Kristoff's sleigh? Carefully, please." Marshmallow gave a nod and he gathered several ice blocks in his hands, with Kristoff and Elsa bringing their own as well, and stacked them in Kristoff's sleigh. In a span of five minutes, all the ice blocks had been loaded.

Night had fallen and the only light seen around The North Mountain was a fireplace at the edge of the frozen lake. Occupying it was Kristoff, who was making dinner, and Elsa. Kristoff had offered Elsa to eat dinner with him. While he was finishing up, she saw Marshmallow watching Sven and Olaf chasing each other on the ice. The snowman was giggling with joy. He had sure grown fond of Kristoff's animal companion.

"Order up."

Kristoff's voice turned Elsa's attention back at him. She saw him pour a mushy, liquid substance, along with some bulky contents, into to bowls. Kristoff then handed the bowl to her.

"What's this stuff called again?" Elsa asked.

"Vegetable stew." Kristoff took a bite.

Elsa used the spoon to scoop the stew. After inspecting the contents for a few moments, she put the spoon in her mouth and ate the food. Or more like stuff every bite she took in her mouth.

"Take it slow now. You'll get sick if you eat too fast."

"Sorry…" Elsa seized her eat frenzy. "This is just really good."

"Thanks. I don't usually consider myself a good cook."

They both resume eating their food, with Elsa eating at the much more slower pace than before. Neither of them utters a word to each other for several moments until Elsa spoke up.

"Are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Since I met my quota, I gotta get back to sell the ice blocks."

"Will Anna be better when you get back?"

"Maybe, but I don't think she's fully better. I'll check on her when I do get back to Arendelle."

"Will you come back? Here?"

"To harvest ice? Most likely since this is a really good place."

"And will you come back to...spend time together as friends?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I...would like that. But do you?"

"...Yes." Kristoff answered after a moment. All Elsa could do was respond with a smile, before Kristoff gave the same thing.

A loud thump was then heard from the ice lake. They both look to see Olaf and Sven chasing the former's carrot nose. The pair were running around the ice while tackling each other as well, fighting for the right to earn that carrot. After Olaf seemingly gotten the upper hand, Sven suddenly slides into the snowman, while breaking him apart in the process. Olaf quickly put himself back together but even so it was too late. Sven had claimed victory and put the carrot in his mouth. Olaf looked down at the ground, wallowing in sadness over the loss of his nose. That until Sven put the carrot right back on Olaf's face. A happy smile came across Olaf's face before he thanks Sven and patted his head. A true friendship had finally formed.

Along with another.

"Seems like they're good friends now," Kristoff pointed out.

"We are all, right?" Elsa asked.

"Right."

Today, Kristoff might've mined many ice blocks. However, none could be more important than the one thing had ultimately mined: Friendship. Like an old song he would often hear other ice harvesters sing, he found a frozen heart worth mining. Needless to say, he's no longer have to worry about things between him and Elsa. Anna would most definitely be happy to hear that.

Oh boy did I have trouble writing this chapter...I would would like to apologize for taking this long to post it. I've always planned a Kristoff/Elsa for this story, but I've struggled a bit on what and how to write it out. It may feel sloppy in some parts and I'm sorry if the ending seemed rushed. Overall, I really hope you guys like the final result of this chapter.

Anywho...We have a Kristoff/Elsa chapter. Nothing wrong with a little IceBros, is there? But if you guys are curious the next chapter will have Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff together.

That small bit with Olaf & Sven fighting over Olaf's nose I got from the first Frozen Teaser trailer. And there should be a reference to a certain someone who was part of the Frozen team. I figure 'why not'?

Thanks for the favs, follows, and reviews. Happy Reading.