Into the Unknown (A Frozen Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty One

ANNA STOOD ON the edge of the tree line, staring into the Northuldra's village. It was dark and the only source of light was from torches and campfires spread throughout, but she watched as the people carried on like nothing had ever happened, even though something major had.

"Are you okay, Anna?"

Her eyes drifted towards the ground as Olaf's voice pulled her away from her thoughts. She smiled, looking down at him. "I'm fine, Olaf." She turned her attention back towards the village. "It's Kristoff I'm worried about."

"He did seem pretty angry," Olaf replied, crossing his stick arms.

Anna let a grin escape. "I'm not worried in that way." She squinted her eyes as she observed Kristoff sitting on a log by himself, his back towards the people with an elbow on his knee and his chin resting in his palm. "I think he's in danger," she finally said.

"What danger?" Olaf asked.

In response, three muscular Northuldra men walked up behind Kristoff with spears in their grasp, the tip facing the sky. Anna couldn't hear their words, but Kristoff flung himself around and shot them a puzzled look. Jumping to his feet, he shook his head and took a couple steps backwards before one of the men aimed the flint spear head at Kristoff's chest. The other two men lowered their spears and quickly grabbed onto Kristoff's biceps, yanking his arms behind his back. Kristoff struggled against them as they shoved him forward.

Anna's heart pounded. "Stay here, Olaf! If the Northuldra have an issue with you then you don't need to be seen."

She dashed out into the open and raced towards the men. "Wait!" she cried. She couldn't reach them in time. She sprinted as fast as she could, but the pain in her side was becoming unbearable and she had to slow down. She watched the three men disappear inside one of the huts, dragging Kristoff along with them.

She raised a hand to push back the fabric that made up the door when one of the men emerged from the hut at the same time and she collided with him. Thankfully, she wasn't thrown to the floor, but she grimaced and doubled over at the agony that shot through her.

"Are you alright?" She felt a gentle hand on her back.

Standing up straight, she sucked in a deep breath and nodded. "I'll be fine." She pressed up against the bandage covering her wound as it burned, tears threatening to pour. "What are you doing with Kristoff?" she asked, trying to get her mind off the pain.

"That's none of your business."

Anna's eyes drifted around the man, and he stepped aside as Yelena stood behind him in the doorway.

Anna narrowed her eyes at the leader. "I know what's going on here," she said, her voice low. "And I won't let you kill him."

"He is Northuldra," Yelena argued. "What we do with our people in order to keep the peace is up to us. You shouldn't get involved."

"What could he have done that's bad enough to deserve death?" Anna raised her voice. "Betray your fifth spirit? Last I heard, she'd turned evil and wanted an extraordinary amount of power to herself. Whatever Kristoff did, I doubt it was in betrayal." She lowered her tone. "He seems like a good man. He doesn't deserve this. He was cursed for thirty-four years. Surely, that would be enough punishment for whatever he did."

Yelena folded her hands behind her back and puffed out her chest. "Not according to Aloni. After she cursed Kristoff and the Enchanted Woods, she warned us that if he was ever to be free of his curse then he was to die, because if not..." She trailed off. "Then we all would perish."

Anna furrowed her brow. "You don't even want to kill him," she said, softly. "You're only doing what you think you have to."

Yelena nodded. "You think I want to kill Kristoff?" She chuckled. "He was one of my closest friends all those years ago. In fact, he saved me from drowning when we were children and I was never able to repay him. Death is not what I wish for Kristoff."