Chapter 3: Mommy and Auntie and Baby

Anna's screams were loud enough to wake the dead, the night she gave birth.

Liquid streaming down her thighs, she staggered on unsteady legs to her desk and scratched out a message to Elsa, throwing it out the window for Gale to catch and carry away. The wind spirit was swift and sure, telling its human spirit brethren that her sister was bearing a child.

Elsa rode Nokk right into the Queen's private residence, clearing a path of ice for the liquid equestrian as he galloped. The water spirit stood guard as Elsa coaxed Anna through the pangs of labor, holding her hand, the Queen's head in her lap, and looking grim.

"AHHHH! Oh, Arendelle above, help me... Kristoff! KRISTOFF!" Anna screamed and wailed through her tears for her husband, as, with a mighty shout, she slid the baby boy out of her. Nokk's water cleaned the red, squalling thing, and Elsa wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes, bringing it close to its mother's breast.

"Kristoff..." Anna slurred, her eyes unfocused, her throat raw and her voice hoarse. "Kristoff... Kristoff Jr..."

Tearfully, Elsa smiled. Pulling at Anna's arms, she prompted her sister to take her son and nurse him. Exhausted, Anna slowly began to sing the haunting lullaby taught to her and her sister oh so long ago:

"Where the north wind meets the sea, there's a river full of memory... Sleep, my darling, safe and sound. For in this river, all is found... In her waters, deep and true, lie the answers and a path for you. Dive deep down into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned... Where the north wind meets the sea, there's a river full of memory... come, my darling, homeward bound. When all is lost, then all is found..."

Five Years Later

Anna finished hitching up Sven, scratching him behind the ears gratefully. Even after all these years, he still remained loyal to his mistress, his master's spouse. It would be a sad day for Arendelle indeed, when the steadfast reindeer finally passed from old age. The Queen turned to her son.

"Kristoff... ready to go see Auntie?"

The little boy's eyes - his father's eyes, she noted with relief - gleamed. "Yeah!"

The little family rounded up Olaf - a move that Anna regretted less than five minutes into the journey. Between the talking snowman and her son, the white noise and chatter was non-stop.

"Mama? Is it true that Auntie Elsa is the Fifth Spirit? A goddess?"

"Did you know that you can set grapes on fire?" Olaf interrupted.

"Yes, honey, Auntie is the Fifth Spirit," Anna answered her son, while ignoring Olaf. "But a goddess? No, I wouldn't call her that."

"Did you know that some people's sleep patterns follow the Circaidian rhythms?"

"Did you know that baboons wiggle their purple butts to flirt?"

"Did you know that it's nutritious to drink your own pee?"

"Mama?" Kristoff Jr. asked. "Is it true that Auntie made the Snowgies on your birthday because she had a cold?"

"Yes, sweetie, on Mama's 19th Birthday. Auntie was feeling sick and... for Arendelle's sake, Olaf, SHUT UP! Can't a Queen carry on a conversation with her son?" Olaf sat back quietly, looking a little put out. A few minutes of silence passed before Anna patted his head in a silent apology.

The royal family finally reached the crest of the hill just beyond the Enchanted Forest. There, at the treeline, stood Elsa beside Nokk. Kristoff Jr. scrambled down from the cart as Sven slowed to a halt.

"Auntie Elsa!"

"Krissy!" Elsa picked her little nephew up and cuddled him close. Anna disembarked, beckoning to Olaf before rushing to embrace her sister.

"Hi, sis. How is Ahtohallen?"

"All quiet. Nothing to report," Elsa delivered.

Nokk approached and nuzzled Anna's face. "Hey, boy," Anna murmured gently. Little Kristoff was tepidly allowing the Fire Salamander to crawl from his aunt's shoulder and onto his hand.

"He won't bite, sweetie," Elsa assured him. "Or burn you. He's friendly."

Just then, a voice called out. "Elsa? Bonfire's starting soon."

"Just coming, Honeymarin," Elsa sent the Northuldra woman standing at the treeline an affectionate, even deeply tender, smile. And Anna noticed.

"What's that about?"

"Nothing," Elsa replied a little too quickly, as she shifted Kristoff Jr. to her other hip. Her face glowed red and Anna's heart leapt with hope.

"Uh-huh. I'm so convinced by that," Anna volleyed sarcastically, making it clear that this conversation would come up again. "For Arendelle's sake, Elsa, there's a term of endearment built into her name!"

Elsa squirmed, refusing to admit anything, so Anna let the matter drop. The little family headed into the trees. However, at the edge of the forest, Anna glanced back, out to the horizon and the South Sea. Gale whistled through the landscape, and for just a fleeting moment, Anna sensed her husband's presence. A wistful smile grew on her face and as she entered the Enchanted Forest after her sister and son, the Queen of Arendelle sang:

"Where the north wind meets the sea, there's a river full of memory... Sleep, my darling, safe and sound...When all is lost, then all is found..."