Welcome!

If you haven't read the prequel to this story, go check it out! (Price of Freedom)

Here is where I reply to reviews that readers like you (yes you!) leave behind. :D

Prettyprincess45: Thanks! :D

taylorjago: Actually, I totally forgot about that until I read this, so thanks for reminding me! Thank you for the kind words! :D When I was little, I wanted to be a writer. But times change, and dreams do too. "Well that's the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream." (Threw in a bit of Tangled in there.) :)

Asteroth1: Thank you for coming along for the ride! :D I look forward to seeing you around here. :)

psalty: Thanks! I've never really gotten into them, but they seem interesting. :)

T-bone: Alright! :)

Deep Metal: Oh my goodness, thanks so much for the feedback! :D As for the thing with Hans restraining Kristoff, I wanted to show how much shock Kristoff was in. He was so out of it that he just sort of gave up. :\ As for cocky Hans, at that point Hans was sorta going a bit mental. Everything's going wrong for him, and he's falling apart at the seams. Plus, all the adrenaline's probably affecting him too. So Hans wasn't really in the best state of mind at that point, and who can blame him? He pretty much lost it all then. Of course, one could argue that it could've been a last-minute attempt to save face, but I'll leave his actions open for interpretation. :)

Okay, finally, here's the first chapter! Enjoy!

"Princess Anna! Please, slow down!"

With a giggle, Anna urged her horse faster, her skirts flapping wildly about in the breeze. "Sorry, no can do!"

"Princess Anna, if you get hurt again, Her Majesty will kill me!"

"Hah, more like freeze you!"

"Regardless, please slow down!"

"This girl slows down for no one!"

Anna raced along the length of a river, the sunlight glinting off of her strawberry-blonde hair. She laughed and leaned forward, enjoying every minute of her ride on her favorite horse, Espen. Although she had taken lessons when she was younger, time seemed to have ridden her of what she had learned. Kristoff had taught her how to ride, and she had taken to it quickly. Elsa, on the other hand, was still wary and only rode once in a while at an agonizingly slow pace.

As the sound of the horse's steps behind her started to fade away, Anna felt a twinge of guilt. "Elsa just wants to keep me safe. Maybe I should slow down for him."

Anna brought her horse to a halt and turned around, looking for the guard. He soon caught up with her, breathless and face ruddy from exertion. "Hi, Thomas!" she eagerly greeted him.

"Princess Anna," he replied. "Thank you for slowing down."

"No problem! You still think I can't handle myself out here?"

"Queen Elsa said that. And yes, I still do."

Anna scowled. "Thomas, just because she's the Queen doesn't mean you have to agree with her."

"Actually, Princess, I think I do." A hint of a smile appeared on Thomas' face.

"And that too! You don't have to call me Princess. I'm just Anna."

"Princess Anna of Arendelle."

"Repeat after me. Anna. Just Anna. No Princess, nothing. We're friends, right?"

"So now your guard counts as your friend?" Thomas teased.

"Of course! I think we're friends, don't you?" Anna flashed him a beaming grin, her flyaway hair and rosy cheeks only adding to her charm.

Thomas gave her a small smile before responding. "Of course, Princess."

"Anna."

"Princess Anna."

"No! Just, gah!" With a cry of frustration, Anna fixed her gaze on his. "Seriously, just call me Anna. Okay? Otherwise I'll have to make up a name for you."

"Really? Like what?" Thomas wasn't fazed by her threat, after spending a week with the girl, he was used to them. All of them were harmless, simply silly ways of getting back at him.

"Like. . . Royal Guard Sir Thomas the Seventeenth of Arendelle."

"Seventeenth? Impressive lineage. I'll take that as a compliment, thanks."

Anna blinked in surprise. "Wait, what? Okay, then I'll call you. . . Wimpy Guard Sir Thomas of Stinky Barns."

"Stinky barns? Anna, you're not even trying anymore," he jested.

"You did it!" Anna gave an enthusiastic fist-pump. "Hah, there! Now you have to call me Anna!"

Thomas turned bright red. He hadn't meant to step out-of-line. "Wait, that doesn't mean-"

"Nope! Too bad! So, do we have a deal?" Anna held out her hand for him to shake in agreement.

Thomas hesitated, warily eyeing her hand before catching her eye. She silently watched him with hope and kindness. "She really wants me for a friend?" He tentatively brought his hand to meet hers. Anna quickly shook them roughly before letting go.

"There! Now that we're friends, we should share hats."

This strange remark elicited a laugh from Thomas, surprising him. He rarely laughed around anyone other than his family. "Do you really want to wear this?"

"Yep. None of the other guards will let me wear theirs. I've always wanted to try one of them. And now that we're friends, we can share."

"Shouldn't you have a hat for me to wear in exchange?"

"Oh. You're right." Anna bit her lip in thought. "Umm. . . you can. . . I can braid your hair? Since I'm not wearing a hat, I can just give you my hairstyle."

"Anna, my hair's too short for that. It's fine, I don't need a hat. Or braids." Thomas took off his hat and held it out to her.

With the eagerness of a young child, Anna placed the hat on her head. "Ta-da! How do I look?"

Thomas stifled a laugh and cleared his throat before answering. "You look fine."

"Fine? Not strong, or brave like you?"

"You think I'm brave?" Thomas asked, taken aback by her praise.

"Well, yeah. I mean, your job is to protect the royal family of Arendelle. You never know what you'll come up against. Putting someone else's life before yours, yeah, that's pretty brave."

Thomas could only stare at her, mouth hanging open a bit.

"What?!"

"Nothing, nothing. I just. . . you're wiser than I thought you were."

Anna scrutinized him, thinking over this comment. "Thanks. . . I think."

Thomas smiled, but before Anna could smile back, he urged his horse forward. "Come on, Jonas. Let's get Anna back home in time for supper. We don't want her sister to freeze us."

Anna got her horse moving again, and soon the two were riding slowly alongside the river. "Thomas, you know Elsa would never do that, right? Freeze someone for no reason? I mean, with Hans. . . that was a whole 'nother story. You don't have to be afraid of her."

Her voice had gotten quieter, almost timid, now that they had switched to a darker topic. "I know, I was just kidding," Thomas reassured her. "I trust your sister. She's a great Queen, and an even better sister." The story of the twisted thirteenth son of the Southern Isles had become an old legend, a thing of the past. He felt obligated to lighten the mood and keep the princess' perpetual smile on her face.

Anna's vision started to blur. "That's sweet of you. Thanks, Thomas. For saying that and for being the best guard and friend a girl could hope for."

"You've dreamed of having a guard as your best friend?"

"Well, no. But if I had, I'd want him to be like you."

Thomas looked to see Anna watching him with a grateful expression on her face. He felt his neck grow warm from embarrassment. "I. . . thanks, Anna," he stammered out.

"You're welcome," she softly replied.

After some minutes of riding in silence, Anna's chirpy voice reappeared. "Hey, wanna race?"

"You still have energy?" Thomas asked disbelievingly.

"Oh, you should know that by now, Thomas! One, two, three, go!" Anna took off with a squeal, leaving him behind.

It only took him a second to gather his wits before he followed her, wind bringing tears to his eyes. He could see Anna ahead, one hand on the reins and the other holding onto his hat for dear life.

He soon caught up to her, and felt his lips curve upwards into a crooked smile. "Hey there, Princess."

"Oh, you're gonna try and sweet-talk your way into winning?"

"No. I'm gonna win by being faster." He suddenly shot forward, leaving Anna behind.

She stared after him in awe before grinning and fighting to pass him. "We'll see about that!"

Two weeks ago. . .

"Ow, ow, ow. . ."

There was definitely something wrong with her leg. Anna tried to get up by leaning on a tree for support, but gave up halfway.

"Great job, Espen," she muttered.

While riding through the forest, a stray dog had jumped into her path, evidently running away from something. Espen had been spooked and accidentally thrown Anna off, heading back towards the castle. The dog had continued on, leaving Anna alone in the forest as night approached.

"Okay, I can do this. Mama and Papa are gonna be so mad at me for this. Elsa's gonna be mad at me for this. Kristoff's gonna be mad at Espen, and then me for this. Ugh, how am I gonna get home?!"

Anna leaned back against the tree, trying to ignore the discomfort in her ankle. After she had rested, she slowly stood up, careful not to put too much pressure on her right foot. She tentatively put a bit more pressure on it, and when she didn't cry out in pain, she began to walk.

"Ahh. . . I got this. I can walk home. At nine o'clock at night. Aw man, I am gonna be in so much trouble." Anna guessed that from now on, there would be no more nighttime rides without supervision.

She barely made it to the edges of the town before she saw the horses looking for her. Kristoff spotted her on one of the newer horses, Bjørn, and quickly rode over to her.

"Anna, are you okay?" He swiftly dismounted and scooped her up before placing her on Bjørn.

"I'm fine, Kristoff. It's just my ankle, I think I sprained it. Is Espen okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Easiest horse to scare that I've ever met, but yeah, he's fine." He quickly got on behind her and headed back to the castle, calling out to the other guards that had gone searching for her.

"Kristoff, is there a chance that you won't tell my parents or Elsa about this?" she asked in a small voice.

"Too late. You're in big trouble." Kristoff noted her worried expression, and his tone became more gentle. "You didn't tell anyone where you were going."

"Since when do I have to do that?"

"You should tell someone if you're gonna leave your house in the middle of the night."

Anna sighed in defeat. "Okay. I'm sorry."

Her talk with her parents and Elsa hadn't been any better.

"Anna, tell someone next time!" her father exclaimed in frustration.

"I will, Papa, I promise!"

Elsa exhaled. "Anna, you can't keep getting into trouble like this on your own. First it's getting lost for hours, now it's nighttime rides and sprained ankles."

"Okay, actually, I only got lost one time, when I was looking for your ice castle by myself."

The glare from Elsa quickly cut her off. "Anna, things always happen when you go off by yourself. You won't take anyone: not me, or Kristoff, or even Olaf and Sven."

"Because you guys are always busy."

Anna detected a twinge of hurt in Elsa's eye. "Elsa, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, you're right. There's always something that I have to do, and the others aren't always free. I'll try to make more time for you, but I can't make any promises. Until then, I've assigned a guard to accompany you."

"What?! Elsa, I don't need to be babysitted!"

"Babysat," her mother gently corrected, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Babysat! I'm eighteen years old, and you still treat me like I'm five! Mama, Papa, please!"

"I'm sorry, Anna," her father spoke. "But this is what we three have agreed upon."

With a huff, Anna admitted defeat. "Okay, fine. Who's my babysitter gonna be?"

"One of the younger guards, Thomas Stordahl. We figured that if we picked an older one, you would try to outrun him. He's lived in Arendelle his whole life, so he'll be able to guide you, should you get lost," Elsa replied.

"When do I get to meet him?"

"Would you like to meet him right now?"

Anna shrugged. "Sure, might as well get it over with."

Ten minutes later, Thomas stood in front of them, hands folded politely behind his back. "Your Majesty, Princess, Advisors," he greeted them.

"Hello, Thomas." Elsa nodded to Anna. "This is the guard that will be escorting you whenever you decide to leave the castle."

Anna stared at him, eyes narrowed. "Hi, Thomas."

He nodded in return. "Hello, Princess."

He was quite tall, about Kristoff's height, with dark brown hair and soft green eyes. They reminded Anna of grass in springtime, her favorite season. Although he didn't appear as strong as Kristoff, she guessed that he had to be pretty strong to have been selected as one of Arendelle's guards.

She spent the first week on bed rest, alone in her room occasionally with Olaf for company and visits from her family and Kristoff scattered here and there.

The second week, Anna rejoiced in her freedom after the doctor announced that she was good to go back outside. She scampered about town and explored the forests nearby, always with Thomas following her.

Their first few outings had been silent and awkward, with Anna ignoring him as a small act of defiance against her punishment. However, her friendly nature didn't let that last for long. She was soon talking to him about everyday things, hoping that she could get him to crawl out of his introverted shell soon. He rarely spoke of his own accord, always speaking in response to questions that she asked him. It was only until a few days ago when she had managed to coax a snort out of him after telling a bad joke that the two began to converse. He even had some bad jokes of his own to tell.

Maybe having a guard around wasn't so bad after all.

Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! This story will be focused more on Anna, but Elsa and Kristoff will still have their appearances. :)

Due to school starting in a couple of days, updates will be back on a weekly schedule, every Sunday. Have you guys started school yet? I swear, this summer flew by quickly for me.

Until next time!