Frozen Heart (Kristanna & Elsamaren)

Chapter 20 • Elsa/Anna

Elsa's POV:

It's freezing. I have no idea what made Anna decide to disappear in this kind of weather. Kristoff is in the front of the wagon, scanning every inch of the woods around the trail as we move quickly.

"Any sign of her?" I ask Kristoff.

"Nothing. Keep an eye out for fires, smoke, or footprints," Kristoff says. He doesn't bother look back at me. I'm not surprised. Between his anger towards me right now and his fear of Anna being hurt, I understand.

Another hour passes on our journey and I'm shivering, huddled up beside Honeymaren for warmth.

"What if we don't find her?" I ask.

"We will," Honey said, putting a hand over mine.

"And if we don't? Or what if she's dead when we find her?" I ask.

"Well...we'll deal with that when or if it happens. Just calm down," Honey says. But she doesn't say it patronizingly. She says it soothingly. I nod and lean on her shoulder.

"Hey, over there!" She says suddenly. She points to the right of the wagon, where she sees Anna's horse tied to a tree. Kristoff pulls on the reigns and they come to a quick stop. He hops off the wagon and runs towards the horse. Behind the horse is a small wooden shelter.

"Kristoff?" I ask, crossing my arms to keep warm and walking up behind him.

"It's Anna!" He shouts suddenly. He's crouched over next to someone inside the little shelter. Honeymaren and I sprint over and he sits her up and leans the back of her head against his chest. He presses his fingers to her wrist.

"She still has a pulse. It's faint though. We need to get her back as quick as possible or she'll die!" He says. He scoops her up and carries her to the wagon, Honey and I taking care of the horse and putting it next to Sven in front of the wagon. Kristoff lays Anna in the back and Honeymaren and I cover her up with the blankets we brought and put her mittens on her. We take off our cloaks and toss them over her, trying to get her warm.

"She's probably not going to wake up until we get her body temperature way back up. She's probably in some sort of hyper sleep," Kristoff says. He sounds like he's being tough, but I can tell he's scared as hell.

"It doesn't matter. Let's just get her home and save her life," I say. Kristoff nods in agreement and makes Sven and the horse run faster to get us home.

When we get back to the castle, Kristoff carries Anna up through the gates and through the doors while I get help. He carries her to the closest bedroom and I pull back the covers. He slides her under them and tucks them around her body, throwing every extra blanket he can get on top of her.

"What happened?" The doctor asks. He reveals a thermometer and takes her body temperature.

"Her body temperature is 94. We need to get her warmed up immediately or she will die," The doctor says. Kristoff starts a fire in the fireplace and they light the lanterns on either side of her bed.

"Anna please wake up..." I plead. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have even considered leaving the kingdom. Kristoff sits on the side of the bed, holding her hand. He's always been good at keeping it together. But, again, I know he's trying hard not to cry and panic.

•••••

It's hours later and we're still sitting beside her on her bed, making sure she's warming up and keeping the fire stoked.

"She's going to die, isn't she," I ask Kristoff. Being an ice harvester, he's very knowledgeable about hypothermia and the symptoms.

"I...I really don't know..." he says. But suddenly, we hear her draw in a deep breath and she stirs a bit.

"Anna?"

Anna's POV:

"Anna?" A familiar voice speaks. I feel like I'm floating, searching for the source of the voice in an ice cold void. My eyes flick back and forth, but I'm struggling to open them. My eyelids feel like heavy lead.

"Kristoff...Elsa..." I mutter. I can feel both of my hands being held, and I assume it's them. I finally find the strength to open my eyes and I flinch at the brightness.

"Where am I..." I mutter.

"You're in the castle. Are you warm enough?" Kristoff asks softly. I nod and suddenly become hyper aware of how much I'm actually sweating.

"Can we...take some of these blankets off?" I ask, reaching up and wiping sweat from my face.

"Oh yea, sorry," Elsa says. Honeymaren pulls two of the blankets off while Elsa and Kristoff help me sit up and get her some water.

"What happened..." I ask, pressing my palm to my temple. I suddenly have a headache, maybe from almost dying.

"We were hoping you could answer that question for us. Anna, I came into your room yesterday morning to talk to you and you were gone. We searched the whole kingdom for you. Found you in the woods with hypothermia and nearly dead," Elsa says. I look away from her and over at Kristoff, who looks himself like he's going to cry.

"I..." I start, but there's nothing to say. I'm not happy. At least, not about Elsa trying to run away from her duties as queen and make me take over them. She knows I'm not ready. I can't handle that.

"Elsa...I can't do it..." I choke.

"Do what?" She asks. Is she serious?

"Be queen. I...can't handle that. And I don't want you to leave..." I say. Elsa sighs.

"Anna...I wasn't made to be queen. You...you're so good with the people," Elsa says.

"I don't care! I can't handle a whole kingdom!"

"Yes you can!"

"Please get out. Just leave me alone for now..." I say. Elsa's eyes get wide. She isn't used to me telling her to leave me alone.

"Okay...um...I'll be back to check on you later," Elsa says. She stands up and walks out of the room with her head bowed and her hands folded in front of her. Honeymaren glances at me and then follows Elsa out.

"Don't even. I'll talk to her later. Now will you lay with me please..." I say. Kristoff nods and lays beside me, holding me in his arms. He's so warm and I just want to curl up with him forever.

"I don't want to be queen..." I whisper.

"Well talk about that later. Right now, just focus on getting better. You can't do anything until you are," Kristoff says. I nod, but I can't help but feel...angry. With him, with Elsa, with everyone. I can never catch a break.

My eyelids feel heavy again, and sleep is my only escape. So I bury my face into Kristoff's chest and close my eyes and let myself drift off, trying to think of another way out.