Author Note: This one-shot is a sequel to "The Unlikely Heroes of Arendelle," in which Kristoff turned out to be a kingdom-saving action hero. He's trying to deal with the changes that fame has brought into his life.

Many thanks to nirnaeth12 for the beautiful cover art! I hope to see more of her work for future stories!

Arendelle and the cast of the movie "Frozen" belong to Disney.

The thing was, being the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer wasn't really a thing, no matter what Elsa and Anna said. What it really meant was that Kristoff delivered ice to the castle, bumping a friend off the route who had been delivering ice to the castle for nearly a decade. If he'd ever tried to act like an Ice Master, there were a dozen ice harvesters who would have dunked him in the lake, if they'd even bothered to notice he was trying to throw his weight around. Ice harvesters didn't have a hierarchy. If someone told you to do something you didn't want to do, you stared at them in disbelief and then walked away.

Kristoff had just given the castle's ice business back to Duff, where it belonged.

"Are you still hauling ice or not?" Duff asked him.

Kristoff shrugged. "I can haul ice sometimes, but not like I used to. I've given away a few other customers already."

Duff grunted at him. "Still in the Castle Guard?"

"Yeah. So far. I haven't really made a permanent decision yet, but they're not pushing for one. They're letting me set my own schedule," Kristoff replied.

"We'll miss you if you quit," Duff said.

Kristoff nodded. He would miss them too. These guys had saved his life and taught him a trade. He owed them a lot. "I never saw any of this coming, Duff," he admitted. "I was headed up the mountain for another load of ice last July when the whole world froze over, and then I met a princess and drove my sled off a cliff. Nothing's been normal since then."

"Glad she met you and not me. I couldn't do what you're doing; make the changes you're making. You're young enough to handle it," Duff said.

"I thought I'd be up on this mountain the rest of my life."

"The world's bigger than one mountain, Kristoff. Don't be a stranger, but don't give up what you've got now either. We brag about knowing you," Duff said.

That made him laugh, but it was an uncomfortable laugh. Kristoff was having a hard time knowing where he fit anymore, and the idea that these men who had taught him so much were bragging about him was strange. It made more sense when they made him peel potatoes and yelled at him for breaking a rope.

"I'll see you around, then," Kristoff said as a farewell.

Duff nodded and that was it.

Kristoff got back in his new sled and shook the reins. Sven trotted off towards the Valley of Living Rock. The waxed runners slid easily across the deep snow.

"You okay with shorter trips up the mountain, buddy?" Kristoff asked Sven.

You mean spending more time on a pile of hay in a warm stable? Suits me, Sven replied.

"You're going soft in your old age," Kristoff told him.

I don't see you sleeping outdoors much anymore either, Sven shot back.

"You got me with that one," Kristoff said. He counted up the years. Sven was about thirteen or fourteen already. The average reindeer only lived about fifteen years. He'd tried to ignore it, but Sven was grizzled around the muzzle, and he was slower than he used to be. No, Sven probably didn't mind taking it easy. Kristoff couldn't imagine hauling ice with anyone but Sven, and Sven's ice hauling career wasn't going to last much longer anyway. He'd probably live longer if he had that pile of hay in a warm stable. Kristoff didn't say anything else as they traveled, lost in thought about the changes in his life.

But no matter how much everything else changed, the trolls were always the same.

"Kristoff's home!" Bulda shouted, and a party started as they all demanded his attention at once.

"Ghiff gave me his kidney stone!"

"I planted a flower on Nixie's head!"

"Where did your hair go?"

"Watch me jump over Sven!"

"I built another Olaf but he won't talk!"

"When can we crash your new sled?"

"Eat this dirt!"

"Did you bring me an ice block?"

"When are you going to earn a fire crystal?"

"Kristoff can't earn a fire crystal. It takes three hundred years, and humans don't live long enough," Vixie said loftily.

"You don't?" Trixie said.

"Yeah, humans only live about eighty years if we're careful. I probably won't make it that long," Kristoff said.

"I told you that already!" Vixie said.

"I don't have to listen to you," Trixie shot back. She plopped down and sniffed. "I didn't know you were that close to dead, Kristoff. How come you can't live longer?"

"It's just not something humans do," Kristoff tried to explain. He had the same question about Sven, actually.

"Can you be a troll instead?" Trixie asked him. "We don't ever die."

Bulda came over and hugged Trixie when Kristoff shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Trixie," Kristoff said. He'd never felt so bad about being a human.

"I miss Punky," Vixie admitted. "He didn't live very long either."

"How come you keep adopting them if they keep dying too soon?" Trixie wailed at Bulda. "It just makes us all sad."

"I can't help it. They need me, so I adopt them," Bulda said. She pulled on Kristoff's trousers until he sat down and then she combed stone fingers through his hair. "I try not to think about how soon they're gone."

Grand Pabbie came rolling up and smiled affectionately at Bulda. "You're the most compassionate one of us all, Bulda."

"Can you find another one like Kristoff?" Trixie asked hopefully, climbing onto Kristoff's lap.

"I'm not gone yet!" Kristoff protested, smoothing Trixie's grass tuft of hair.

"That's why he's marrying Anna," Bulda said smugly. "He's going to make us another Kristoff!"

"Gaaaa!" Kristoff dropped his head into his hands.

"Really?" Trixie said. "Humans make more humans? How does that work?"

"I'm done with this conversation!" Kristoff announced, pushing Trixie off his lap and standing up. "I needed to ask your help for a gift for Anna. It's something human girls need before they'll get married."

"What is it?" Bulda asked, eager to help.

"It's called an engagement ring. It's a gold circle that goes on her finger, and it has a diamond on it," Kristoff explained. "I was wondering if I could have one of the chips that are left over after making a fire crystal. Humans call those chips diamonds, and girls really like them."

"That's all you need? We've got loads of those things. How big of a diamond do you want?" Bulda asked, popping and bouncing with Kristoff up the terraced steps to the opening of a cave. "Are you sure you want gold? Copper is so much prettier."

"The diamond has to be small enough to fit on her finger, not hang around her neck like your fire crystals. And yes, it has to be gold. Copper turns green," Kristoff answered

Grand Pabbie came popping up the terraces with them, Trixie and Vixie tagging along. "Bulda, slow down. You know he doesn't understand fire crystals."

"I don't need a fire crystal, just the leftover chip," Kristoff said.

"Kristoff, do you know where baby trolls come from?" Grand Pabbie asked.

"Do we have to have this conversation?" Kristoff asked with an embarrassed look at Bulda, who was grinning at him in anticipation.

"I'm your mother, Kristoff. Where else are you going to find out these things?" Bulda said as she wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"I'm talking about baby trolls, not baby humans," Grand Pabbie said.

"Ah, no, actually I don't," Kristoff said. He ducked into the cave. The sunshine filtered in dimly, but enough to make the gems sparkle. There were six or seven stone cisterns in the cave, all filled to the brim with the chips left over after the trolls shaped a new fire crystal. Kristoff passed up the cisterns with blue, red and green chips and picked up a double handful of diamonds from the cistern full of white chips. He started sifting through them, looking for one that would be small enough for an engagement ring.

"Baby trolls come from the limestone. When part of the earth's soul gets close enough to the earth's crust, it wakes up a stone that becomes a troll to be its guardian," Grand Pabbie explained. "Put that down and listen."

"Hmm?" Kristoff said. He squinted at a diamond that was big enough to cover his entire thumbnail and tossed it back into the cistern.

"Pay attention," Grand Pabbie said.

"I'm not making a baby troll, Grand Pabbie. Do I really need to know this?"

"If you want to take one of the fire crystal chips for Anna, then yes, you need to know this. Human diamonds come from coal, not from fire crystals," Grand Pabbie said. "These look the same, but they're closer to the earth's soul."

"Diamonds come from coal? Seriously, who's going to believe that?" Kristoff said with a snort.

"Kristoff, you humans only know about the surface of the world where you live and breathe. Trolls come from inside the earth, and that's where our souls come from as well. Beneath the earth's surface is a roiling mass of rock so hot that it's melted together. It's the reason your compasses can point north. Everything is so blended together by the heat and pressure that there's no individuality. The heat goes searching for something cool enough to define it. Heat can't stay away from cold. The heat under the earth's crust is always trying to push up towards the coolness of the surface," Grand Pabbie said.

"Melted rock under the ground is the reason compasses point north? Seriously, who's going to believe that either? And how come caves are cold if it's hot under the earth's surface?" Kristoff challenged him.

"They're not deep enough," Bulda said.

"I dug a tunnel deep enough that it got hot again!" Vixie bragged.

"When a bit of earth fire gets close enough to the earth's surface, it wakes up a troll to be its guardian and soul-keeper. That's where baby trolls come from," Grand Pabbie said.

"You have souls of earth fire?" Kristoff asked.

Grand Pabbie picked up his fire crystal necklace. "Right here. Where do you keep your soul?"

Kristoff scratched his head.

"I'm going to earn my fire crystal before you die, Kristoff," Trixie promised.

"You have to earn your soul?" Kristoff asked.

"Don't you? I know humans can lose their souls," Bulda said. "That means you have to do something to earn your soul."

"We don't lose our souls until we die!" Kristoff protested.

Bulda nodded. "That's what I meant. You die. You lose your soul."

"I don't lose my soul when I die. It's just a soul without a body, but I'm still me," Kristoff objected. Then he thought about what he said and wondered if it made any sense, and why he thought that.

"Kristoff," Grand Pabbie said. He waved a fire crystal at him. "This is where the soul goes. The fire crystal itself is a body for the earth fire, to keep it contained and give it form. Remember the earth fire itself doesn't have any form until it comes to the earth's crust where it can cool. Our purpose as trolls is to serve as guardians for the bits of soul entrusted to us. That purpose influences everything we do. When Trixie earns her fire crystal, it means she's matured enough to put the needs of the earth ahead of her own, so she can have this bit of the earth's soul with her constantly."

"That sounds like the true love Olaf is always talking about. True love is when you put someone else's needs ahead of your own," Kristoff said.

"And that's when we get a soul," Grand Pabbie said. "You do understand!"

"I think it works differently for humans," Kristoff said. "I think everyone has a soul."

"Do you mean every human has a soul, even if they aren't capable of true love?" Bulda asked in awe. "That must be terrible!"

"Actually, yeah, it is pretty terrible," Kristoff said, thinking of Prince Hans. "Humans can do some awful things when they put their own needs ahead of everyone else's. Maybe their souls die before their bodies do. I never thought about it."

"If you want one of these for Anna, you'll have to think about it," Grand Pabbie said, picking up a handful of fire crystal chips.

"So every troll that the earth wakes up eventually gets a soul?" Kristoff asked.

"No, the earth fire doesn't control the troll's choices once they're awake. Some trolls choose not to put the earth's needs ahead of their own," Grand Pabbie said with a sigh of regret.

"Then what happens? They stay kids?" Kristoff asked.

"No, they leave the Valley of Living Rock. One of us adopts their fire crystal in addition to our own," Grand Pabbie said sadly. "The ones that leave become cave trolls. Caves aren't close enough to earth fire to be warm, but the cave trolls keep experimenting with ways to access earth fire without true love. It causes a lot of problems."

"What kind of problems?" Kristoff asked. He'd never heard of cave trolls before, but judging by how many fire crystals each adult rock troll had, the cave trolls had them outnumbered by at least eight to one.

"Magic, strange magic, that harms instead of helps," Grand Pabbie said.

"That's why you don't like strange magic," Kristoff said, figuring something out that he'd wondered about for a long time. "Magic is cheating, isn't it?"

Grand Pabbie nodded. "Yes, the only way to obtain a soul is true love. Anything else is cheating."

"Are there souls in these fire crystal chips? Maybe I'll get Anna a piece of coal instead," Kristoff said. "Anna is capable of true love, but she's already got a soul. I don't want her soul to get mixed up or anything if earth fire tries to move in."

"No, this isn't the soul of earth fire. The fire crystal is just the container for the soul. These chips are about as useful to a fire crystal as toenail clippings are to you," Bulda said.

"Neat. So I can get Anna a diamond that's either a piece of coal, or the toenail clippings of a soul. I don't think I'm ever going to tell her what an engagement ring is really made of," Kristoff said.

"That's probably safest," Grand Pabbie agreed. "The chip might still have some memory of the fire crystal it came from, and a connection to the soul and fire of earth, but it won't make any difference if she doesn't know what it is."

"So is it magic?" Kristoff asked.

Grand Pabbie raised his eyebrows. "It's a soul, Kristoff. It does exactly what your soul does."

"Uh," Kristoff stalled.

Grand Pabbie sighed. "You're so big that sometimes I forget how young you are. Souls are a connection to the infinite, something bigger than any one individual, and even greater than the sum of the parts. That's why true love is so important for a soul. That decision to put others' needs ahead of your own is what makes you part of the infinite community that includes all living things. A healthy soul is always looking out for the needs of others."

"Does that make magic happen?" Kristoff asked.

"You can call it magic. Others call it a miracle. Sometimes it's just called true love. It's definitely a power. When a soul connects with another soul, amazing things happen," Grand Pabbie said.

Kristoff smiled at that, still sifting through diamonds. Grand Pabbie was right about that. His soul had connected with Anna's soul, and it truly was the most amazing thing. He picked up a chip that looked the right size. "How about this one?"

Grand Pabbie held out his hand and Kristoff dropped it in. "What else do you need?"

"It has to be set on a band of gold that fits onto her finger, so about this big around," Kristoff said, pointing to his smallest finger above the second knuckle.

"Copper has such nice red highlights," Bulda said. "It would match her hair!"

"Gold. Girls want gold and diamonds. I'm not messing with tradition," Kristoff said.

Grand Pabbie pushed around some rocks and dirt towards the back of the cave and came back with a sizable chunk of gold. "I'm assuming she wants it shiny?"

"All girls like shiny stuff," Vixie said, leaning in and running her finger along the rough chunk of gold. Where her finger ran, a line of pure polished gold appeared.

Grand Pabbie held the ingot in one hand, silently, while his fire crystal lit up. A musical note rang and echoed in the cave as a piece of gold broke off. He cupped both the gold and the fire crystal chip together in his hand. "Think about what Anna wants, Kristoff."

"I don't know exactly what the ring should look like," Kristoff said.

"That doesn't matter. Think about what Anna wants, and the ring will shape itself," Grand Pabbie replied.

Kristoff nodded and closed his eyes. He couldn't think about rings. Mostly what he thought about was himself, which made him self-conscious. While he hoped Anna wanted him, it felt arrogant to assume she did. Maybe he should think of a prince. Why didn't Anna want a prince? Not all of them could be like Prince Hans. She should find a good prince.

"Kristoff, you're confusing the ring," Grand Pabbie said.

"What?"

"The ring can't form if you're thinking of the wrong things."

"Oh, right, sorry." Kristoff tried again, but the conviction that Anna should want a prince instead of him kept intruding into his thoughts.

Grand Pabbie sighed.

"Did it work?" Kristoff asked.

"No. You don't know what Anna wants, so your soul can't teach the gold and the fire crystal what shape to take."

"Oh," Kristoff said in disappointment.

"Take it with you," Grand Pabbie said, offering him the fire crystal chip and bit of gold. "Perhaps your soul will learn what Anna wants, and then you can form the ring. You have to know what Anna needs before you can put her needs ahead of your own and channel the true love into forming this ring."

Kristoff pulled a small, velvet bag out of his pocket that he'd brought for the ring and put the pieces into it. "Are there magic words or anything I have to say to make it work?"

"Magic words are for magic," Grand Pabbie said with a sniff. "You want a miracle; true love will form the ring as soon as your soul knows what Anna wants."

"When is the wedding?" Bulda demanded.

"Next year some time, and that's only if she says yes to me. I'm going to propose on Christmas Day," Kristoff said.

The trolls rolled down the terrace steps, Kristoff jumping down with them. "Ready to go, Sven?" he asked. "Thanks Bulda! And Grand Pabbie! See you later, guys!"

"Kristoff!" Trixie hissed. She beckoned him to lean down. He leaned down and she whispered in his ear, "If Anna says no, I'll marry you instead, okay?"

"Okay, thanks Trixie," Kristoff said, and ruffled her grass tuft of hair.

She popped up onto the sled seat next to him as he seated himself. She strained up on her toes and planted a stone kiss on Kristoff's cheek. "Come back soon." Then she popped off the sled and went to stand by Vixie. Vixie whispered something, and Trixie hit her.

Sven looked back over his shoulder and snorted a sly question.

"Move, Sven," Kristoff replied.

Sven chuckled and trotted off.

~###~

Kristoff drove his sled to the ice shed in the marketplace instead of the castle stables, where he was hoping for a few minutes alone before anyone noticed he was back. It helped him make the transition from lone ice man to being the person he had to be down here in the village. He pitched some hay for Sven, then looked up as the light darkened. Someone was in the doorway.

"Guardsman Kristoff?"

"That's me."

The man offered him his hand. "Do you remember me? I'm Ulf, the butcher."

"Yeah, I know you. You're on Roark's ice route. How's business?" Kristoff replied.

"Fine, fine. Hey, I was wondering if you remember my daughter, Dannica," Ulf said.

Kristoff stalled, wondering if he'd met Dannica and what he'd done to offend her badly enough that her father would come looking for him.

"She's just turned nineteen. Really a pretty girl, even if I am the one who says so. My wife and I were wondering if you'd be able to join us for dinner sometime this week," Ulf went on when it became obvious that Kristoff didn't know what to say.

Oh. This again. "They've got me really busy at the castle most evenings, Ulf. I'm not even in town as much as they want me to be. I can't set my own schedule at this point," Kristoff said, lying just enough to not be rude in turning down the invitation.

Ulf stuck out his hand. "No problem. Maybe I'll check back with you another time when you aren't so busy."

Kristoff shook his hand, relieved that Ulf wasn't going to push the matter. Others hadn't been as easy to turn down. Ulf left and Kristoff got out his axe and sat down on a hay bale to see how badly he'd nicked the blade when he'd hit that rock in the ice. Sven took another mouthful and chewed contentedly next to him.

"Welcome back, Kristoff."

Kristoff looked up. "Hello?"

"We haven't met, if that's what you're wondering. I'm Marcus. My family has a sheep ranch up the mountain. I'm in town to get some tools repaired," the man explained. His leather jacket was lined with sheepskin, and he had a sheepskin hat pulled down tightly over his ears against the cold. His beard was blonde streaked with gray. Marcus's bay horse leaned in over his shoulder and whinnied at Sven.

Sven regarded him, then raised an eyebrow and snuffled.

"Be nice," Kristoff whispered to Sven. "Nice to meet you," he said to Marcus, and hoped he wasn't here for the same reason Ulf had come by.

"Our ranch is a couple miles north of Farrup Hamlet. I understand you deliver ice there," Marcus went on.

"I have in the past," Kristoff said. "I'm cutting back on ice deliveries though. If you're looking for someone to deliver ice, I can refer a friend."

Marcus chuckled with forced friendliness. "We don't need ice in the winter time. I wanted to invite you to stop by next time you're in the area, though. It's always good to meet someone else who lives and works in the mountains."

"Yeah, if I'm ever up that way and have some extra time, I can swing by," Kristoff said.

Marcus was silent for a few moments. "Would the week after next work out? Winter is a slow time for us. We could put you up for a few days. The thing is, my niece has been staying with us. She's about your age, or a few years younger, good worker, used to life in the mountains. I won't try to make it something it isn't, but she's been played for a fool in love too, and we all thought you'd be able to understand that. Do you like brunettes too?"

"What?!"

Marcus had the gall to look offended at Kristoff's outrage. "Everyone knows the princess is just flirting with you until she finds someone marriageable. You can be realistic about your chances with her now while you've still got some dignity left, or wait until she finds a real prince and sends you packing. Either way, you may as well meet my niece. You're good enough for her, and, well, Princess Anna is a princess and you're not a prince," Marcus said with a shrug.

"Unless you've talked to Princess Anna, you don't get to tell me what she wants," Kristoff said stiffly. "Good evening. I'm leaving now." He strapped the ice axe back into a bundle of tools and left the ice shed.

"Don't let that battle go to your head! You're still a commoner, Kristoff!" Marcus called after him. "You've got a better chance with my niece!"

Kristoff didn't turn around. He seethed to himself and wished he could hit the man, but it wouldn't make him wrong. Marcus had said out loud exactly what Kristoff had thought a thousand times. He strode angrily over the causeway, and was abrupt with his Guard friends when they welcomed him back. He got cleaned up and shaved, changed into his blue shirt and clean pants, and exchanged his ice harvester boots for indoor shoes. Anna kept threatening him with new clothes, but so far nothing had happened besides the shoes.

The velvet bag with the pieces of what he hoped would be an engagement ring went safely inside a chest the Guard had issued to him, tucked back into the corner of his small room in the castle wing where several other Guards bunked too. Then he pulled the bag back out and looked in. The gold and the diamond were still separate, waiting for him to figure out what Anna wanted. All his anticipation at seeing Anna again for the first time in three weeks turned to worry that she was secretly wishing that he would go meet a sheep rancher's niece and let her go find a prince. Maybe he was making a fool out of himself and they were all laughing at him behind his back. He put the bag back and went to find something to eat. Not even eating two plates full of food could cheer him up.

"You're home!" Gerda, the castle headwoman, announced cheerfully when she saw him as he was finishing dinner at the kitchen trestle table.

"Hi, Gerda," Kristoff said, taking his plate to the sink.

"Anna will be so happy to see you," Gerda said. "Go find her."

"She will?" Kristoff asked.

Gerda patted his arm. "Don't tell her I told you, but she's cried a couple times because she's missed you so much. It's hard to see someone as happy as Anna feel sad. I'm so glad you're back! Check the library first."

"Really?" Kristoff said, brightening.

"You know she spends a lot of time in the library, Kristoff. Really," Gerda said.

"Thanks, Gerda." He ran up the servant stairs at the end of the hall, heading for the library.

Anna wasn't in the library. Books were piled on the table, next to a slate and chalk. Kristoff went over and looked at Anna's handwriting on the slate. He sat down and worked out what she'd written. She was taking notes on a royal family of some country. He should know more about things like that, but it seemed like the more he learned, the less he knew. Getting an education was a never-ending task.

It looked like she'd set down the chalk partway through a list. Perhaps she'd be back soon to finish it. He didn't want to go looking for her and risk missing her if he went the wrong way. Besides, the couch by the fire looked so comfortable right now. He was going soft now that he slept indoors more often than not. Yawning, he kicked off his shoes and laid down, stuffing the pillow under his shoulder and letting the world fade out. As his mind relaxed, an idea popped into his head about Anna, a prince, himself and a sheep rancher's niece that almost made sense before he fell asleep and lost it.

Kristoff woke up to the most unusual combination of warmth and softness on his face. Anna was sitting next to him and leaning over to kiss him on the forehead, which put his face in the most wonderfully interesting location it had ever been in. Before he could seize her to keep her there, she'd already pulled back. He propped himself up on an elbow.

"You missed. Kisses go here," he said, tapping his lips.

Anna brushed his lips with hers, then pulled back again before he'd even gotten to do more than register that she was there. He wanted a lot more than that, but he was learning, so instead of trying to take another kiss he sat up and smiled at her.

"I missed you, Anna." He let his eyes wander over her. She was wearing one of her everyday dresses with a bodice and skirt over a blouse with embroidered flowers on it. Her blue eyes were warm and happy. He picked up one of her red braids and rubbed it on his cheek, eyes closed, just to soak in the fragrance of her hair. "Anna," he sighed happily. Her name was a talisman that always made him smile, and now she was here in person.

"I missed you too. I didn't think you'd be gone so long," Anna said. She curled up next to him, her feet tucked in under her. One of her hands started at his waist, but ended up resting on his hip. Kristoff resolved to not move again as long as he lived, or until she moved her hand, whichever came first.

"I cut it short. I was only gone three weeks," he pointed out. Usually he was gone six weeks or more. He'd gotten home as soon as he could, and she still thought he was gone too long. Some of the happiness left her eyes at his answer.

"Did you get a lot done?" she asked.

"Yes. I gave the castle's ice business back to Duff. I gave away some other customers as well. I can't completely quit hauling ice, Anna, but I'm not doing as much as I used to. I want to be here for you more often," he said.

That put the happiness back in her eyes, and that made it all worth it.

"What have you been up to?" he asked her.

"Everything. We're still dealing with the Hamarians. Gustav let me help with the correspondence after they paid reparations. I helped draft letters, Kristoff! Real ones that went to other countries and had my signature on them! And then letters came back addressed to me!" Anna was so proud of herself that she started bouncing, which also meant she moved her hand. "And my history lessons are so much more interesting now that I've been part of history too! We've been so busy, and now there's snow all over the ground and Christmas is coming in a few weeks."

With her hand gone from his hip, Kristoff could move again. He shifted around until it was natural for Anna to fall back against his chest with his arm around her waist. He loved the way she filled up his arms as well as his heart.

"Kristoff, will you be here for Christmas?"

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," he promised. He had plans for Christmas Day, if that ring would ever come together.

"Really? Because once you told me you didn't pay any attention to Christmas," Anna reminded him. She folded her own arms over his.

"Things have changed since then," Kristoff replied. He brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, which was mostly just an excuse to touch her face and then run his fingers down her hair. Her beautiful hair. He pulled her in a bit closer and put his cheek on her hair.

"Have they?" Anna asked archly. "I can't imagine what's different."

"I'll give you a hint," he said. He tipped up her chin and his mouth landed on hers. She was smiling under his kiss, which made it difficult to draw out the kiss for any length of time. He contented himself with a firm press of the lips and then let go.

"So that's what's different!" Anna said with surprise. "I thought it was because you would get to wear your new clothes on Christmas!"

He tickled her and she obligingly folded up over his hands, shrieking with laughter.

"Anna, I'm trying to be around more often. And I'm talking to you about stuff that I've never told anyone. What else do you need from me?" Kristoff asked.

Anna stopped laughing and leaned back against him. "You really want to know?"

"Yep." Olaf said true love was putting someone else's needs ahead of your own, so that's what he was doing.

Anna though about it. "Could you work more on reading and writing? I'm learning so much history, and I know you'd like it too if you ever studied it with me. There's lots of battles and people you would think were really interesting. I could teach you. I like teaching you."

He wanted to brush that off and say it wasn't interesting to him, but he was already practicing telling Anna the truth, so instead he said, "I know I should work harder on that, but when I study with you, sometimes I feel stupid. I'm so far behind, Anna. You've been reading since you were a little kid, and I'm never going to catch up. It's hard."

She took his face in both hands and made him look right at her. She had the most beautiful blue eyes, bluer than a winter sky, framed by delicate eyebrows. Anna didn't think he was stupid, and sometimes he really needed her to say it. "Since when have you ever quit something because it was hard?"

That was not the encouragement he'd been expecting. "What?"

"Name one time you've quit because something was hard. One thing, Kristoff." Those beautiful blue eyes were stern now. It was unbelievably cute.

"Once I was trying to climb a cliff, and I'd underestimated how steep the overhang was, so I didn't try to get all the way up and over it. Instead I just let go."

"You let go of a cliff?"

"Yeah, and another time Zak wanted to see if we could stack another couple lines of ice if we reinforced the runners so they wouldn't splinter under the extra weight and he talked me into trying it on my sled. Then the whole load overbalanced about the same time we hit a downhill straightaway and the ice blocks started coming down on my head so I jumped off the sled and let Sven bring it to a stop."

"You jumped off a moving sled because a tower of ice blocks was about to fall on you?"

"Yeah, and another time I was ice blocking with the trolls and when Vixie hit a sinkhole, I bailed off the block and hit a tree instead."

"Let me restate what you've told me," Anna said. "You quit things once your good judgment tells you that it would be stupid to keep going. In fact, all those examples you've told me show me just how smart you really are. So I'm still waiting for you to tell me about a time when you quit something because it was too hard. You sound so smart, you'll do great at lessons."

Kristoff stared at her and tried to work out what had just happened to the conversation. He'd been trying to freak her out, and she'd just turned it around to proving that he could come to classes with her and do just fine.

Her lips started to tremble. She held it in for a few more seconds and then she burst out laughing. "It worked! Gustav taught me to do that and it worked! I'm a diplomat!"

"What?"

"It's something Gustav taught me. You listen to someone say something you don't want to hear, then restate it to be exactly what you wanted to hear, and then wait and see if they can figure out what you did!" Anna was giggling.

Kristoff tried to come up with something to say and failed. Maybe he ought to start coming to classes with Anna. He was going to have to learn a few things just to keep up with her. For some reason, that idea about a prince and a sheep rancher's niece popped into his head again, suggested that they had something in common, and then fled before he could put it together.

"Oh! And the next thing is the most important. Once you've totally confused the person you're talking to, you give them something you know they want so they stop thinking about trying to argue with you," Anna continued.

Anna propped herself up on her knee so she could reach him, and then she kissed him, soft and slow. She ran her hands up his chest to his shoulders, and then one hand slipped inside the neckline of his shirt and caressed his bare shoulder. He already had one arm around her waist; his other hand went to her neck and her skin that was so soft he could barely feel it under his callused fingers. Anna got both her hands around the back of his head and rubbed her fingers into his tousled, blonde hair, her lips still locked on his. Kristoff put an arm under her and pulled her onto his lap, wondering how to get her even closer without getting slapped.

Anna eventually pulled away, her kisses wandering off towards his ear. He kissed her throat. She inhaled sharply and pushed herself off his lap.

"Should we get back to the conversation?" Anna said.

"Were we talking about something?" Kristoff asked, looping her braid around his hand, so close he could count her freckles.

"Mm-hmm," Anna said, and rubbed her cheek against his. "You were going to come to class with me every day this week."

"That's right, I was," Kristoff agreed, and went back to kissing her.

~###~

Kristoff headed back to his room later that evening. It had somehow worked out that he was going to attend Anna's history class tomorrow after breakfast. Mostly, he wanted to see for himself what Gustav was really teaching about diplomacy, because he didn't think Gustav knew what Anna was doing for homework, not that he was objecting, as long as she only did homework on him. He was going to have something to say about it if Anna thought she was going to lay any diplomacy on a prince or a duke or anyone besides him.

And that brought up the sheep rancher's niece again, along with that prince he kept thinking Anna would prefer to find if he would get out of her way. The truth was, he didn't want Anna kissing anyone besides him. And he didn't want to kiss anyone besides Anna. That sheep rancher's niece was probably nice enough, but he didn't know her and she didn't know him. Her uncle just wanted to pair them up because they were born to the same station in life and could probably find a way to be compatible if they had to make a marriage work. He didn't want a relationship like that.

His footsteps slowed. Neither did Anna. If he stepped out of her life, she would end up with someone trying to pair her up with a prince just because they were born to the same station in life. That imaginary prince wouldn't know Anna any more than the sheep rancher's niece knew him. Their ranks would match, and whether or not they loved each other would be a coincidence.

A prince for Anna. A sheep rancher's niece for him. Kristoff scowled at the idea. He wanted Anna, and he didn't care if she was a princess or not. Something fell into place in his heart, and he realized Anna felt the same way about him. She wanted him, and she didn't care if he was a prince or not. There was a tug, an internal sparkle that made him think of fire crystals.

Kristoff got to his room and lit the lamp on the wall, turning up the gas as far as it would go. He opened the chest and dug into the corner where he'd put the velvet bag and dumped it out into his palm. It was a ring now, just one piece. He held it up and watched it sparkle in the lamplight. Peering closely at the setting, he noticed something strange about the way the gold prongs holding the diamond to the ring were curved. He held it as close to the light as he could, and then started to laugh. Spaced at even intervals around the diamond were tiny, golden ice tongs.

THE END

Next up in this series is a Christmas story that is all fluff'n'romance. If you haven't read "A Touch of True Love," it would help if you read it before the Christmas story because Elsa's new ability comes back up in the Christmas story and gets more explanation and development.