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The rain trickled down the panned windows of the queen’s royal office. The only light in the room came from a candle sitting on the large mahogany desk, illuminating the lone figure sulking behind it.
Anna sighed as she leaned her head back against the red cushiony fabric of her ornate chair, her watery eyes looking over the letter she held in her hands, wrinkled from being unfolded and refolded numerous times. The words had become smudged from all the tears she had shed over it. Her chest heaved with labored breaths as she clutched it close to her heart, praying by some miracle that it would bring home the author who wrote it. The one person she had been longing for most.
Kristoff had only left three weeks ago, but it all had felt like an eternity to Anna
He would be gone for two months. That’s eight weeks without his smile. Sixty days without his sweet kisses. One thousand, four hundred sixty hours without his big bear hugs. Eighty-seven thousand, six hundred minutes without the sound of his voice. Five million, two hundred fifty-six thousand, five seconds with no Kristoff.
Anna’s heart ached as she read over the letter for what must have been the millionth time.
To my Ginger-Sweet Love,
Not a day goes by where I don’t think about you. You’re an addiction my darling, and I cannot stop myself from loving you.
My heavenly Anna, how I can’t wait to get home to you and make love under the stars of the winter moon.
The other ice harvesters tease me and say that ever since I’ve met you I act like a love-sick puppy and all I ever do is rave about how amazing you are. They say it’s annoying, but between you and me, I think they’re just jealous that I get to call the most beautiful woman on the face of the earth my fiancée.
And though the time may seem so far away, please know that I will always return to you.
Take care, my love.
Thinking of you always,
Kristoff
P.S. Sven says he misses you too.
Somehow he always knew how to make her heart melt with the simplest actions. Even though he denies it, Kristoff Bjorgman was the most wonderful, romantic, and thoughtful human being in the entire history…of well…history! The total opposite of the person she had met on the mountain six years ago.
Yes, there were those who would be never willing to accept their courtship. Anna remembers all the meetings Elsa had to have with the council in order for them to finally accept Kristoff as a worthy suitor. They believed that, due to the fact of Kristoff being a commoner, he was trying to take advantage of Anna’s status as princess. Of course, this didn’t sit well with Elsa, and especially Anna , so she gave it all she had to defend Kristoff and prove that there are no men as honorable, hardworking, loyal, and kind as he.
Anna admired her ring as it glimmered in the candlelight, the amber crystal casting warm-toned hues across her desk. Memories of their adventure in the Enchanted Forest flashed through her mind. Even though she abandoned him he forgave her when she returned to the safety of his arms without even a moment's hesitation. And she reminisced on his proposal. The thrill her heart felt as he got down on one knee and said the most enchanting and sweetest things to her, an expression of how much he deeply cared for her. God, she didn’t deserve to call such a magnificent person hers. Tears once again began to swell her eyes; not from sadness like earlier, but from pure utter joy. She pressed a kiss to her ring, “Come back to me. Please, come back safe,” she whispered.
A knock from one of the two grand doors of her office stirred her from her reverie.
“Come in,” she startled.
An all too giddy Olaf came waddling into the room giggling about something he probably just read no doubt. Ever since the magical little snowman learned to read, he found enjoyment in telling people about all the new things he learned. He was maturing, which also meant he was starting to get the ropes on things like how it is always polite to knock on a door and wait for someone to reply. Before, he would enter rooms without any sort of signal that he was coming in, leading him one time to walk in on a…umm… "private moment” her and Kristoff had shared with one another. To be fair, they should have locked the door, but they made sure to give Olaf a long lecture on the politeness of knocking before entering. The embarrassing memory caused Anna to blush.
She shook her head to clear it of all thoughts before turning her attention to Olaf.
“Hey, Anna! You’ll never believe what I just found out-“ he paused when he noticed Anna’s tear-stained cheeks and red puffy eyes. “What’s the matter?”
“Oh nothing Olaf,” she sniffled, wiping away the tears with the sleeve of her dress. “Just missing Kristoff that’s all.”
“Maybe a warm hug will cheer you up? I know that when I’m sad a good hug always makes me feel better,” Olaf said, trying to sound as upbeat as possible in hopes of bringing a smile to the young queen’s face.
“You know what? I think it will.”
With a little hop, Olaf came running the rest of the way towards Anna, who was now on her knees, holding her arms out to him.
They embraced and already Anna was starting to feel an immediate sense of calm wash over her. Somehow the little snowman always knew how to make her feel better. Growing up, Anna was always alone, so in her times of sorrow, there was no one there to help her cope, no one she could confide in and seek comfort in. Elsa pushed her away every time she came knocking at her door. Her parents were more often than not busy dealing with duties of their own. And whenever she tried getting the attention of the castle staff, her mother would berate her, saying that she was distracting them from their work.
Anna cringed at what her life used to be, happy that things had changed for the better. The castle was warm and full of love, instead of cold and dark. And most importantly, she was no longer alone. Losing their parents was hard, but in a span of three years, Anna and Elsa had rebuilt their small broken family.
“What's this?” Olaf said, holding the letter from Kristoff that Anna left on her desk. She didn’t even notice him leaving her side.
“A letter.” She paused as she stood up and made her way over to him.
“Ohhh! A letter?! From who?!” His eyes looked to her full of curiosity and excitement.
“Kristoff,” she smiled as she said his name.
“Oh! So, it’s like a love letter? How romantic!”
“Yes,” Anna giggled and rolled her eyes. “It’s a love letter. Now may I see it, please? Remember what we said about snooping through people’s things,” she sternly shook her finger at him.
“Aw, I know Anna. It’s just that- well you looked so sad, and I wanted to find something that could cheer you up.”
Anna smiled. No matter what the situation, Olaf was always there to lend a helping hand- well twig, to those who were going through a rough patch.
“Hey, Anna. I think I know something else that might cheer you up.”
“Oh,” she raised a curious brow. “And what’s that?”
“Maybe you could write a letter to Kristoff too! Tell him just how much you miss him and that you can’t wait for him to get back. Sometimes it’s good to express what you’re feeling instead of keeping them bottled up inside. Besides, if you think about it's kind of like you’re talking with them…only instead of being right in front of you they are in another destination.”
The redhead tapped her lip as she pondered the idea. To put it frankly, her depressive mood was not a healthy mindset to be in, especially with her role as queen. The last thing she wanted was to instill any kind of worry in the citizens of Arendelle because one day they noticed her aura was somber, during one of her weekly carriage rides through the kingdom. So, the suggestion of writing Kristoff back was actually quite brilliant, and she chastised herself for not thinking of it on her own.
“You know what Olaf,” she replied heartily. “I think that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Not wasting another minute, she plopped back down in her chair, the old springs squeaked and moaned from the quick movement.
Picking up her quill she began scribbling ribbons of words filled with sickeningly sweet sentiments onto the piece of parchment paper embellished with a golden leaf print of the royal Arendelian crocus and ornate castleton green swirls.
My dearest Kristoff,
Thank you so much for your sweet letter. I cherished every word. I love to hear your voice, even if you’re so far away.
The castle has been very lonesome without you and I can not wait until I am back in your arms again.
I hope this letter finds you well. Please stay safe my darling. I could not bear it if anything happened to you. I need you to be whole.
How has the ice been? Autumn has slowly graced into Winter, so though it may be early I hope your harvest is bountiful. In fact, it better be if it must keep you away from me this long. Plus, I know how piqued you can get if the harvest is unsuccessful. I love you to pieces, but having a grouchy Kristoff return home is something I would like to avoid.
Oh before I go, what kind of cake would you like to have at the wedding? While the wedding planning will commence when you get back, I am afraid that this is a question that cannot wait. In fact, I might as well go ahead and ask what flavor of ice cream you would like as well because we can’t have cake without ice cream of course! My vote is to just take the long run and do all chocolate.
Love you for eternity,
Anna
———
Two months later
Anna hiked up the skirt of her gown as she raced down the stairs; taking the steps two at a time.
Today was the day she had been long awaiting, ever since a certain ice harvester left the castle. And as soon as she practically burst through the two main grand doors of the castle, there he stood.
Kristoff was there, standing with a bouquet of sunflowers, her favorite, as he always did when he returned home from a harvest; looking like a blonde angel amongst the towers of ice sitting in his sleigh. Waiting for her with outstretched arms, ready to take in everything that was purely and entirely Anna.
Tears streamed down her freckled cheeks when he spun her in the air, the same way he did when she gifted him his first sled; that, unfortunately, fell off the mountain yet again the Christmas Olaf tried to find the royal sisters a family tradition. He peppered little kisses all over her face and she giggled at the familiar feeling of his warm lips.
Grasping his face in her palms, she leaned her head against his. “Thank you for coming home safely to me.”
Her legs were wrapped around his waist. He hugged her tighter than he already was so he could breathe in her scent because to him she smelt like home. To him, Anna was home . It did not matter where they were; wherever Anna was, that’s where he belonged.
“I’ll always come back to you.” His lips melded with hers then, in the passionate form of love.
A grunting noise came from behind, interrupting the sweet reunion of the queen and her ice harvester. Sven nudged Kristoff and gave him a look.
“Okay, okay buddy, I hear yah. It’s your turn to say hi,” Kristoff chaffed.
The tender reindeer nuzzled against Anna’s side, his own way of saying “hello” when greeting someone.
“I missed you too Sven,” Anna acknowledged, small fingers combing through dove gray fur.
Kristoff took Anna’s hand in his. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his torso, happy to finally be back in his arms where she belonged.
Bending down to pick up the flowers he had dropped when he lifted Anna in the air, his mind was brought back to a certain piece of paper he had in his pocket.
“By the way,” he said as he handed her the bouquet of silky smooth golden petaled flowers. “Thank you for the charming letter by the way. It helped me get through the time I have been away.” He paused to press a kiss to the crown of her head. “I read it whenever I missed you.”
The romantic gesture made Anna smile. “Same here,” she hummed. “Not my letter, of course, I’m referring to the one you sent me. Um-,” she took a deep breath to collect herself before she could continue to ramble on any further. She tucked a red tendril behind her ear, “It was the first thing I did every morning.”
The early frosty winter air sent shivers down their spines, telling them that it was time to go inside and warm up beside a cozy fire with steaming cups of hot cocoa, with extra chocolate drizzle for Anna of course.
With a loving gaze of confirmation from Kristoff Anna took his hand. Together they walked hand in hand as Anna tried to convince him to have the entire catering be chocolate.