Chapter 1

Happenchance- a fluke or a coincidental event.

Anna's stomach had turned itself over in knots. She rinsed her mouth out with cold water and leant her hands on the sink, looking up at her pale, dishevelled reflection in the foggy glass.

"Anna, are you alright in there?" Kristoff was calling her, but she really didn't have the strength to speak to him right now.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Must have just been something I ate. All better now." She tried to sound as convincing as possible, but her voice just came out in this horrible high pitched squeak. Totally unconvincing.

"Can I come in?" He sounded more urgent. Of course he wasn't going to believe that. He was her closest friend.

"There's no need. I'm fine…really."

"Anna?" His voice was softer now. "Please, just tell me what happened. You seemed alright just a few minutes ago."

"I said I'm fine."

"Was it something I did?"

"No, no…it wasn't. Please…just go. I need to be alone." Anna could hardly manage to speak as she leant against the wall of the bathroom and let herself sink down to the floor, burying her head in her hands.

"Alright, I'll let you be. But please, just don't shut me out. This isn't like you."

Eventually, she heard Kristoff's footsteps receding.

She was too shocked to even cry.

Earlier that evening Anna went crashing through the door of her apartment and tripped on the threshold, flying through the air and landing face first on the hard floor.

"Oh, shit!"

She winced as she managed to pull herself up and drag herself over to the couch, flopping onto her back and kicking off her heels. She lay there rubbing her sore nose, wondering if she could force herself to get up and change, or find something to eat. She decided that would likely be a negative, as she groaned and rolled over onto her side.

She probably would have fallen asleep there and then if it wasn't for the loud rapping at the door. She ignored it.

The knocking continued.

"Hey, open up." A familiar voice boomed through the door.

"Kristoff!"

In a sudden burst of energy, she leapt up and ran to the door, opening it wide. Strong arms reached down and wrapped around her waist, lifting her up and spinning her around. Anna buried her face in his chest, smelling the familiar scent of her friend's aftershave.

When she was finally released she looked up at a grinning Kristoff, a smile beginning to tug at her own lips, lighting up her eyes.

"You're early!"

"Yeah, I ended up getting seat on a different flight. Thought I'd give you a surprise." He shrugged, still grinning.

"Well you certainly did. Surprise me, I mean. But it's a good surprise, of course," she babbled.

"Wanna come over? I thought we could maybe order a pizza and catch up."

She nodded. "I'd like that."

Kristoff's apartment was on the same floor as hers; just a short walk down the hallway. That's how they had originally met, as neighbours. Two years ago when Anna had just moved in, Kristoff found her drunk and outside her locked door in the middle of the night, having lost her keys. He took her back to his place and had her sleep in his bedroom, while he camped out on the sofa.

However, ever conscientious Kristoff gave her a severe reprimanding the next morning.

"What if somebody else found you, and took advantage of you in that state!" he cried.

Safe to say, Anna didn't let it happen again and over time the two had become firm friends. She didn't really go out anymore anyway, spending most of her time in her own or Kristoff's apartment after a hard day at work.

"What's all this stuff?" Anna referred to several papers strewn on the coffee table as she plonked herself comfortably down on the couch.

"Oh, it's just newspapers and stuff from Norway," he called out from the kitchen. "I like bringing part of home back with me, if that makes any sense. Drink?"

"Mm, got any chocolate milk?"

Anna knew he'd be smirking, even with his back turned to her. "Yeah, of course. I'd be in trouble if I didn't right?"

"Yeah you would. I wouldn't ever be able speak to you again." It was good to be able to joke around with her friend.

Kristoff was Norwegian and had just been back to visit his family for two months. Two very long months for Anna.

He returned with the drinks and sat down next to her, picking up one of the newspapers.

"This is really interesting actually." He pointed to an article with a large colour photo of a castle ruin. "They're starting this major project to restore this castle that has been in ruins since the 1800's, and they're going to turn it into this massive tourist attraction."

Anna wasn't all that interested in history stuff, but she loved seeing her friend so animated. She took the paper from him to have a better look at the picture. Upon closer look she could see an important looking woman standing in the foreground. 'Is-slottet Associates CEO- Ms N. E. Snøfnugg,' the caption read.

Anna found herself staring at the photo. The woman seemed familiar somehow. Really, achingly familiar.

She looked different, but there could be no mistaking who it was.

Anna's eyes stung as she threw the paper down and rushed out of the room.

"Sorry Kristoff," she whispered, slamming the door of the bathroom behind her.

Anna didn't know how long she'd been in there when she finally brought herself to step out of the bathroom, attempting to straighten out her skirt. Kristoff was sitting straight backed at on the edge of his seat, a half-eaten pepperoni pizza in front of him on the table.

"Pizza?"

She nodded slightly and went over to sit next to him, taking a slice. It was really tasty but still couldn't fill the empty pit she felt in her stomach.

Kristoff remained silent, giving her time to be ready to talk. She really couldn't have asked for a better friend right now.

"The CEO in that picture," she began, voice hoarse and scratchy. "It's Elsa."

"Elsa? Your sister Elsa? You're sure?"

"Yeah," she whispered, edging over to him and burying her head in his shoulder.

Anna hadn't seen her sister in ten years, since they were teenagers and Elsa had left for college. For the four years Elsa was in college she never once visited home. And then she had disappeared. Her parents never let on to Anna if they knew where she was or not. Elsa hadn't come to their funeral. Anna wasn't even sure if she knew if they were still alive. She had just cut herself off altogether.

"I wanna go see her Kristoff."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? She might not want to see you."

"I know, but all these years I have had no idea where she was and I'd given up hope of ever finding her. But now I've been given this completely random opportunity to see her. I mean, what are the chances of that happening? I think I'm just going to have to take that risk."

If only to hear her voice again.

Thanks for reading!

~Katt930