Always You

vi. How Could This Get Worse?

Anna

The next morning I was supposed to go get my cake picked out with Elsa, but the feeling in my stomach had gotten worse overnight so I told Elsa what I wanted and sent her on her own. I lay in bed, curled up and wanting nothing more than Kristoff back here, with his strong arms wrapped around me. I was counting the seconds until his return, but they were drawing fewer and he still wasn't home. His absence did nothing for the feeling in my stomach. Around noon, Rapunzel came in.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, setting a cup of cold water on my bedside. I grabbed it and drank half of it in one drink, though it didn't help the way I had hoped it would.

"On a scale of dreadful to deathbed, I'm leaning more toward death." I tried to joke, but I sounded more serious than I intended to. She smiled nonetheless, looking at me with an almost motherly type of concern. 

"Seriously, though, what's wrong?" She asked, nibbling on her bottom lip. I sighed.

"I just have this awful feeling in my stomach.. Like, you know when you're really excited for something and your stomach is full of butterflies?" I asked, and she nodded. "Like that, but to the point where it's painful. And there's this throbbing right behind my eyes. Plus, I'm worried sick about Kristoff. I mean, it's silly, but I always worry about him when he's gone even a second too long." I said, looking into my lap as I spoke. She wrapped an arm around me.

"You just have to believe that it'll be okay. It will, I know it will. It's just... It's times like this when I really hate Eugene for cutting my hair." She almost pouted, looking at me like I was in on a joke. I laughed a little, but I must not have sounded convincing. "Oh, do you... Not know about my hair?" When I shook my head, she went on. "Well, okay, there was this flower that came from a drop of sunlight. Crazy, I know. Anyway, so this crazy old woman sang to this flower and it reversed her aging, bringing her youth back. So, when my mom was pregnant with me, she got really sick and we both almost died, and the whole kingdom went searching for this miracle flower. They mixed it into this water and she drank it. The powers from the flower somehow transferred into my hair and-" I cut her off.

"So, you could heal people and stuff? And that's why that same woman took you from your own crib?" I asked, completely shocked at the story. It seemed... Almost too good to be true, in a way.

"Yeah! I mean, my hair was amazing. It was 80 feet long. Oh, and when you cut it, it turned from golden and magical to dead and brown. So it wouldn't grow back. Like, ever. Wish Eugene had maybe chopped it a little longer." She joked, her green eyes twinkling when she smiled. Even just talking to her seemed to make me feel a little better. 

"Okay, storytime's over. Can I borrow my wife for a minute?" Eugene asked, walking slowly into my room. He wore the same crooked smile that I had seen a million times before; the smile of a man in love. I nodded, and the two of them left, with a little wave from Rapunzel.

Mustering all of my strength, I pulled myself out of bed and walked over to my window. I had an amazing view of the North Mountain from here, and I liked to imagine I could see the lake that Kristoff was working on from here, even though I couldn't. Something about the mountain seemed off, though it was probably just my imagination. I sighed, something I seemed to be doing a lot of lately. If Kristoff were here, he'd probably make a joke about me having enough hot air to melt any eternal winter Elsa could cook up. I could hear him now... I blinked back tears, wondering what was wrong with me that I always imagined the worst of any situation.

I wondered vaguely where Elsa was. She had been gone a lot longer than she usually was, and right now I could really use some sisterly reassurance. Suddenly, my stomach lurched and I found myself rushing to the bathroom and not for the first time. 

When I had finished being sick, I walked over to the gigantic bathtub and turned on the hot water. I added some bubble bath, quickly pulling off my pajamas and walking over to the mirror. I turned to the side, examining my body. Nothing looked different. Surely, if something were wrong, I would look different. I couldn't look completely normal if something was horribly wrong. There would be some sign, some way to tell things were not as they should be. Nothing could be completely normal if it really wasn't. I refused to accept that. Refused to accept that anything could be wrong. Everything was fine, I was just overreacting.

Of course, that was what I had told myself when my parents... No. I couldn't go there. I couldn't allow myself to get sucked into the grief of losing my parents when the stress of being sick and the worry of Kristoff's absence were already demanding my attention. I stuck my foot into the steaming water, slowly sliding my whole body in. The heat and bubbles instantly relaxed my tense muscles, a small sigh escaping my lips as I sank deeper into the tub. This was what I needed, some time on my own to relax and just not think. I needed a moment, I guess. Funny how I know found myself craving alone time when, before, I had hated every second I wasn't around people. 

Kristoff

I knew that I didn't have long before I froze out here. I was lucky the snow falling hadn't broken my neck or my leg or something. Still, the chances of anyone else being out here, thousands of feet up a mountain, were very slim. I hadn't seen any sign of Sven or Olaf, though I really had no idea where they were before the snow fell, either. Idly, I thought of how Anna would react when I told her she'd have to replace yet another sleigh. If I got back, of course.

No. I couldn't afford to think like that. There had to be a way out of this... All I could see was white. I was buried underneath the snow, my head included. I was in an almost igloo type of area, somehow inexplicably packed around me. It didn't seem to make sense. I brought my arm up to the "roof" of my little bubble, the snow packed so tightly I wondered exactly how many feet of snow were piled on top of it. I continued to dig at it, knowing there was more hope if anyone going past could actually see me. 

After what seemed like forever, I broke through the surface, wriggling my head out of the whole. Next, I eased my shoulders and chest out. Once there, it became very clear I wasn't going anywhere else. I knew yelling could only hurt me at this point, but it had become my only option.

"Sven! Olaf! Anyone?" I cried out, my voice dry and breaking. Without food or water, or warmth, or... Well, my situation was almost completely hopeless. The only thing that stopped me from panicking and ruining my chances completely was Anna. She was at home, waiting on me. I knew how she was when I was gone... And judging by the sky, I was already hours late. I should have been home by mid-day and it was already sunset. I would freeze out her overnight. I couldn't die, I couldn't do that to Anna. It seemed selfish, but surely she had convinced Elsa to send someone looking for me, right? She would be pretty worried...

I sighed, trying in vain to get my arms free. At this point, I was ready to do anything to get out. My hands and feet were numb, and I was pretty sure all of my toes were frostbitten. My cheeks were practically frozen, my hat slipping up so that my ears felt like icicles. I was pretty against grown men crying, but this situation was seriously testing my boundaries.

"Sven! Olaf! Someone, please, help me!" I cried out, praying to anyone who would listen that I would live. I just wanted to see Anna again, honestly, it wasn't about me. I couldn't leave her wondering what had happened to me. I needed to get back to Arendelle, even if I was freezing when I got there. The sun was slowly slipping beyond the horizon as I begged invisible forces to spare my life. I was growing hysterical when I heard hooves in the snow. I didn't even think about why someone was out here right now, I was too relieved that salvation was so near.

"Please, help me!" I called out, searching the fading light for the new arrival. A gloved hand reached down to me, and I somehow managed to free my previously stuck arm to grab it. Together, we wrestled my freezing body out of the snow and I looked at my rescuer, fully prepared to offer them anything they wanted. As my eyes met his, I realized I would rather be back in the snow than face this man. 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Duh-duh-DUH. Who could it be? Hehehehe I'm really excited for this part and the new storyline! Oh, and you guys didn't really think I'd hurt our Kristoff, did you? I mean, I'm not insane!! (: Anyway, please vote & comment so I'm quicker to update!! (;