Thirteen years before Frozen. Somewhere in England.

A few leaves shuffled with the gentle breeze that was slowly caressing the land. The sun's rays would still have to wait for a few hours before starting to shower on the still slumbering forest. The same could be said about the little town that neared it, whose inhabitants would not emerge from sleep before dawn. Years back, everyone would already be out, working the hardwood they had chopped the day before, cutting and polishing every piece, earning their living through the veins of the material they bent to their will and transformed for decades. But the recent industrial prowess had sent a shameless surge of laziness throughout the entire country, and save for a few grumpy old men who fondly recalled the good ole' days during which every living soul was awake before even the Sun was, the people were quite happy with it.

Indeed, why wake up at four in the morning and cut down trees when the brand new railway allowed the merchandise to be delivered directly to the shop, at a much more comfortable hour? Many had practically jumped out of joy when the train station had finally been inaugurated.

However, sometimes in the middle of the night, a single silhouette usually found its way out of one of the little cozy houses, seemingly very careful not to make the tiniest noise that would, very unfortunately, draw the attention of the sleeping family inside. And this was one of those nights.

The shadowy figure, not standing at more than five feet, slowly closed the door and swiftly took a look at the village's main plaza, scanning the area for any early birds. The old veteran that lived several houses further had proved himself to be quite the nostalgic type after all. Seeing that the way was entirely free, the silhouette slipped out of town as fast as it could, and disappeared in the heavy obscurity the trees were protecting from the dim moonlight.

Tiny footsteps troubled the silence that had befallen the majestic forest since lights had died out, their little plops only being heard by a few squirrels. Not too long after they were accompanied by heavy breathing, in which one could also feel a certain tinge of excitement. The tiny figure stopped every once in a while to scan the area it was in with narrowed eyes. The obscurity would have prevented anyone from following it unless they were literally clinging to its back, but it absolutely wanted to make sure that no one actually did.

When it felt it had finally reached its destination, the silhouette slowly came to a halt and quickly hid in a bush overlooking a small square surrounded by thirty-feet high pines. Allowing its eyes to slowly adapt to whatever light they managed to perceive, it waited a few moments before coming out of its hiding place, hardly managing to contain an excited grin.

The shadow stood near the square's center, and after a last check – better safe than sorry after all – completely focused its gaze on its closed hand. And it stayed there, completely motionless. The weather was growing colder by the second, but the small figure wasn't bothered.

After several minutes, a very faint light seemed to emerge from the tips of its fingers. The fidgety glimmer slowly grew to cover the whole tiny fist that was holding it, its moderate yet pure brilliance enveloping more and more of the surroundings with each second passing. It eventually grew large enough to fully light the silhouette's lower face, revealing very rosy cheeks and a wide smile. Then, slowly, it illuminated a little pointy nose, then slightly green but very opened eyes, and finally the entire visage of a young boy that couldn't be older than ten, whose traits were literally as bright from sheer thrill as the light he was apparently producing.

When the child felt that he could get comfortable, he very carefully untightened his fist, muttering a little 'Wow' when he saw what it held.

In the palm of his hand lay the microscopic statue of a wolf completely made of crystal ice, no bigger than a penny and very rough on the edges, but still large and pretty enough to make the little boy bounce up and down in glee right where he stood as soon as the shock dissipated enough for him to be able to move.

It was the first time he had managed to create something so sophisticated, something that could actually be associated with another description than 'little ice thingy'. His sculptures had until then been as plain as tiny balls or triangles, as much plain as sculpting with ice summoned from thin air could get.

This time he was truly seeing what his countless tries had brought up in him, what his frequent voyages were able to let him achieve. It wasn't really much, but to a child, the sensation of pride and accomplishment he was feeling was like no other.

He was the only one to know about his escapades, he hadn't talked about it with anyone. Only his mother was aware he even had those abilities. Truth be told, he wasn't himself until he reached his fifth spring when he had noticed a thick layer of frost covering his fork. The way he had screamed had already not been very reassuring, and he later guessed his panicked look when he threw the utensil to his feet while violently standing up in the middle of a meal probably hadn't been of great help. He had shakily cried for a few hours in his mom's arms after that as she gently rocked him before she made him promise not to divulge his particularity to anyone, and especially not to his father.

He had always kept his promise, but as time passed, he had grown to find his abilities quite intriguing, and certainly very pleasing to look at. Interestingly enough, snow was quite a rare sight in that part of the land and having a personal little factory had provided him with some sense of wonder at times. He finally couldn't stop himself from escaping his house a few nights a week to learn more about his powers and how to control them. He even tried his hand at sculpture at one point and just continued practicing from then on.

And that night, he had finally made something as complicated as a wolf with his own little fingers.

Not bothering to keep his joy in check, he delicately put the absolutely magnificent work of exquisite art – at least it was to him – on the ground, and shot a sparkly furrow of snowflakes in the air, letting it bathe his face in its oddly comfortable and tingly warmth. He then expanded his arms on both sides and began running around with a happy laugh, the icy trails his hands left as they passed slowly making their way to the ground. His victorious grin only widened when he managed to inscribe his own name on a tree nearby with his natural frozen ink. He stopped there for a moment, contemplating it, and then took a look at his fingers, spinning them around and marveling at how glittering steam escaped from their tips, unhindered and thick like never before. He then approached his small wolf and put his hands forward while closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he was greeted by the sight of a snowy blanket.

Letting himself fall down with a laugh, he then crossed his legs, ran a hand through his deep red and swept-back hair, and observed the little icy footsteps that were now scattered around and the microscopic icicles that were nearly imperceptibly sticking out from the ground.

His icicles. Made from his ice.

He let his shoulders slump with a satisfied sigh. He was very quickly adjusting to having those powers, and he couldn't be happier about it.

Fun time was nearly over though, but still, he had a moment to make one or two more statues before heading back home. As he began to concentrate once again, however, a chill ran down his spine when he suddenly heard the subtle shuffle of bushes a few meters behind and the last voice he expected or wanted to hear at that time calling him in a shocked whisper. He slowly turned around, his eyes wide and hands steaming. A deadly silence lingered on, and eventually, the intruder ushered a few words.

"What… What is that?"

The boy's heart was pounding so loud that he was sure the sound was resonating with the trees around, and he felt his arms weaken.

"You …You did all of this?"

The boy's head dropped. He struggled a bit but managed to make his face take a more composed expression.

No sense in hiding it anymore.

He spoke in a shaky voice.

"Yes… Father."

One year after Frozen. A few miles away from Arendelle.

Summer had never been an institution for Anna. Spending her entire time inside the castle, she didn't really bother to check if it was hot enough to go out. But ever since the gates had been opened, she just discovered that she actually loved summer. The heat was quite insufferable at times, but the sound of the seagulls coming back North and the special 'smell' of summer -that only she could detect of course- had given the season a special place in her heart. Or maybe it was because summer was the time of the year that had witnessed both her and Elsa getting out of an alienating isolation and her meeting Kristoff.

Still, she loved her new freedom to explore her kingdom and took every opportunity available to travel around in order for her to snatch glimpses of the land at all possible times and drag Arendelle's official Ice Deliverer along with her.

And he wasn't happy about that.

"…and why did you need me?" Kristoff huffed as they both walked through the now green and grassy wood they had crawled through a year before.

"You're telling me you don't want to see the castle when there's no snow around? I know that's not true," Anna answered with a strangely effective mix of a pout and a glare.

"I do, Anna, BUT I have work to do. Don't appoint me as Ice Deliverer if you're not letting me work when I have to… Can't we do this another day, when, you know, I'll have the time?"

Anna lifted her chin and squared her shoulders in her best impression of a regal manner. She then raised a finger as she spoke.

"I, for one, did not appoint you to be anything, Sir Kristoff. Elsa did. Besides, it is an honorary post. And two," she raised a second finger at that. "I want you to accompany me, and so it will be. I am a Princess and you shall heed my commands. You should thank me for the honor I am bestowing upon you by my mere presence."

Kristoff smiled, catching her playful tone. "No, I won't."

"But you must."

"And what's going to make sure I do?"

"I will."

Kristoff narrowed his eyes and smirked as he ever so slightly tilted his body towards Anna. "Oh, how ominous. Her Highness knows that I could very well just take her on my shoulder and flee far, far away from the kingdom. She and I would completely vanish, never to be found again. And she would be begging for my mercy."

The princess dramatically brought her palm to her mouth and exaggeratedly gasped. "Oh my... It is true that I am defenseless… However, you're forgetting that the Queen would never let her sister disappear. She would track you down and punish you for your crimes!"

"I wonder what the ransom for you would be", the man said with a pensive look.

"I'll take a cupcake", Anna said a bit too quickly.

That got them to stop in their tracks. They both looked at each other awkwardly for a split second before Kristoff erupted in loud fits of laughter and Anna felt heat coming up to her face.

"Hey! It … just came ou- I'm hungry okay?" she managed to mutter through her embarrassment as Kristoff bent over and tears began to form in his eyes.

"Oh, Anna… You're the best, you know that?" he blustered between a few ragged breaths.

After a while, he finally managed to calm himself and envelop Anna in a hug. "I'm sorry, it was just too much for me not to laugh," he said with a few chuckles.

Anna smiled and put her own arms across his back. She knew he had held no will to mock her. He never did. But it didn't mean that she couldn't use of such a situation. "So are you coming with me? To make amends?" she said with a just-detached-enough tone, suppressing a laugh as she felt him stiffen.

"All right… But just this time," he finally said with a sigh.

The ice palace Elsa had built in her liberating rush had become a renowned sight around the kingdom and the few neighboring lands. The strength of Elsa's emotions when erecting it apparently made it so that it wouldn't melt even in the most heated days of summer, and it still stood proudly, perched on the North Mountain's side. The sun's rays reflecting in the crystal clear construction gave it an aura it lacked during snow days, and their reverberation created a halo that seemed to swallow the entire building in its rainbow-like shine.

Anna sighed contentedly as she gazed from under the stairs upon the construction that her sister had –in her words- built in around seventy seconds and that every architect in the world would be completely unable to reproduce. A fact that Arendelle's queen drew no small amount of pride from.

"It is really something, huh," she heard Kristoff say.

"Yeah…" she answered in a dreamy voice.

They both took a seat on a rock nearby that allowed them to look down on the entire fjord and the valley at its East. They silently marveled at the sight and scooped closer to each other, Anna nuzzling her cheek against Kristoff's right shoulder as he leaned back on one hand.

"Regret coming here?" she asked with a smug grin after a few minutes of silent contemplation.

He responded by absentmindedly playing with a few of her crimson locks. "Not as much as I should."

A few hours passed as they talked about whatever crossed their minds –how Kristoff's hair was getting a bit too long for Anna's taste, or how Elsa had hilariously sent back home the first and thus far only suitor a few days earlier- and when the sun had already begun setting, they decided it was time to go back.

The wood was not as dark as they expected it to be, even though the sun was on the verge of disappearing under the horizon. Kristoff remained vigilant nonetheless, throwing glances here and there with every step while holding Anna's hand as she walked beside him, her eyes no less alert than his.

"I'm sorry I kept us there much longer than I should have…" she whispered.

He gently ran his thumb over the back of her hand. "Don't apologize, I enjoyed it too. You actually saved me from a very boring day, so thank you," he answered while throwing a tender smile towards her. She mirrored the gesture with a light blush.

"No prob…"

The words died out in her throat as she saw a cold metal piece hover before her and felt a hand cover her mouth. She was about to scream to Kristoff for help when she saw with horrified eyes that two masked figures had already surrounded him and that he wasn't in a much better position than her.

"You cry, you both die," a rough voice hissed into her ear.

They were brought down on their knees and forcefully gagged as a man walked out from behind a tree.

"What do we have here?" he calmly said. His mouth was contorted into a toothless grin.

He approached Anna and bent down. The princess leaned away as much as she could while Kristoff began to shift on his spot, seemingly trying to reach for her, some muffled grunts escaping from the tissue obstructing his mouth while his captors struggled to keep him in place.

The man who seemingly was the leader carefully examined Anna, and motioned for his men to search Kristoff. After a few moments, he straightened his back with a sickening smile and clasped his hands. "Okay boys, it looks like we have found a very interesting piece right here."

Anna's already fast pulse seemed to quicken even more.

What did THAT mean?

"What about the guy?" one of Kristoff's captors asked.

"We'll take him too. Might bring some coin if sold to the right person."

Anna shot a panicked look at her companion, who only responded with a shallow gaze. He couldn't move and neither could she. And it was becoming increasingly difficult to control the dizziness she felt in her head. They were both brutally thrown against a nearby tree while their four kidnappers discussed among themselves.

Kristoff tirelessly tried to untie his hands while Anna continued to search for something, or hopefully someone, that could help them. But everything had gone so fast, she was very doubtful what was happening could even be noticed by anyone who wasn't spending his evenings in the woods. And if, somehow, they managed to free themselves, there was four of them to deal with. She was quickly growing desperate.

However, right at that moment, she caught a blue flash crossing the forest's obscurity with unbelievable speed. A few muffled footsteps made their way to her ear, but they were too fast to be registered by the talking men in front of her.

"Alright, we should hit the road. This is the royal family we're talking about. They may begin to search for her way too early for my taste," the leader loudly said while rubbing his chin. Two of his henchmen nodded and began walking back to where they had left the couple.

As soon as they neared their latest prey, an arrow an arrow whistled right between them, severing Kristoff's ties before sticking itself in the tree's bark. While the two assailants froze in surprise, Kristoff got his bearings rapidly and brought his fist to the first's face. He then immediately blocked the dagger that the second had unsheathed and swung at him, and pushed as far from the tree as possible.

Anna couldn't do much but watch. And she was hardly believing what she did.

She was witnessing the very strange sight of a red-haired man that had appeared out of nowhere in a simple traveler's garb flipping one of their aggressors over with a sweep of his legs while throwing his elbow at the leader's face, knocking him out with lightning speed before he even had time to react. The other bandit tried to stand back up but was only able to get on his knees before he felt an unusually heavy foot violently twist his head in a very wrong direction. Crouching to dodge the third henchman's sword strike, the stranger brought his fist to his opponent's liver, knocking the wind out him and throwing his weapon from his hands from the sheer force of the blow. The following hook landed on his left jaw and brought the man down, unconscious.

The newcomer then almost casually jogged towards where Kristoff struggled against his opponent. Fighting unarmed was a huge drawback and the former was already visibly going to have his stamina drop after a few dodges. Kristoff had already suffered a slight cut on his forearm but had a fiery determination in his eyes. He brought his knuckles up in an offensive stance and was about to rush into his enemy's range when he was suddenly interrupted by a calm voice with a strange accent.

"Over here, mate."

Before either of them had time to process the sentence, the stranger grabbed the last bandit from his shirt's collar and brutally slammed him to the ground while his target screeched. He then bent down and silenced the grunts with a frighteningly fast punch that landed with a horrifying crack. Kristoff let his tightened fists fall down to his sides and almost dozed off. However, he immediately seemed to snap back to reality.

"Anna!"

Running back to where she was still sitting, Kristoff hurriedly untied her and with shaking hands returned the hug that she gave him as soon as she was free. "Thank the spirits…" he managed to mutter as they fiercely clung to each other.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked in a small voice.

"Nothing major," he immediately answered while connecting his forehead to hers and putting a chaste kiss on her cheek.

After a few minutes of simply rejoicing they still had each other, they suddenly remembered that they owed their safety to the red-headed stranger. They both turned around to see said man examining the bandits he had put down one by one, taking away any sharp instrument they held before tying them together as tightly as he could with the rope they used on Kristoff and Anna and pinning them to another tree.

When he got back up on his feet, he dusted his hands with a satisfied smile and turned to check up on the two travelers he had saved, only to find them walking towards him with their hands intertwined. They finally could have a good look at him, and he seemed in his mid-twenties. Light green eyes really stood out from his face along with a pointy nose. He swept back-hair allowed a single bang to cover a part of his tired-looking but fine visage, with relatively low cheekbones. Of a seemingly lean but sturdy build, he was wearing a fur cloak on top of a plain white shirt and deep brown wide trousers that were held by a blue belt extending quite far up his lower abdomen.

"Are you two in one piece?" he asked with the most caring tone he could manage.

"Entirely," Kristoff answered with a warm smile.

"I don't know how we could ever thank you…" Anna said through teary eyes.

The stranger simply waved it off.

"Ah don't worry about that princess. What matters is that you're safe and sound. I couldn't just pass by and leave you both into those bastards' hands now, could I?"

Kristoff and Anna exchanged knowing glances. "Would you care to follow us to our kingdom? We can see that you are appropriately rewarded. We'll also have to send a detachment to bring back those snakes," Anna said, the adrenaline in her blood now depleted.

The stranger lightly tipped his head. "Appreciate it, but I was already headed towards Arendelle. And please, don't feel obliged to reward me. I did what I had to do, nothing more."

The glances exchanged were now a little more confused. "Umm... Well, it's..." Kristoff began.

"Uh… this… This is Arendelle…" Anna awkwardly finished while pointing to the ground.

The stranger's eyes slightly widened. He then seemed to talk to himself. "…this much?"

"What?"

"Oh no, never mind. I just hadn't realized I was already where I wanted to go. In that case, I'd gladly accompany you. And I must stress again that I will not be asking for anything."

"Nonsense," Anna snorted.

She then dragged both Kristoff and their savior, grabbing his right hand in a hurry. Apart from feeling oddly cold, she noticed that it was slightly shaking, but didn't pay much attention to it on the spot.

As they got away from the attack's site, no one noticed the little water pool that had formed under a tree.

"So I see that you already know me," Anna chirped a few minutes later. "In any case, this is…"

"Umm…" The stranger lifted his hands apologetically. "I don't know why you said that or if we already met, but I'm sorry, I actually don't know either of you…" He winced. The young woman raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"But you called me 'Princess' earlier…"

The man lightly flushed in embarrassment. "Oh… I didn't… That's just… the way I talk...Wait." He paused. "You're an actual princess?" he loudly asked. Anna giggled and Kristoff smirked.

"Anna, First Princess of Arendelle," she introduced herself while tugging at her dress in a semi-formal bow.

The stranger didn't really know how to react, so he nervously just settled for a light curtesy bow as well. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Highness."

"Oh drop the titles already," she chided with a flick of her wrist and an embarrassed look. "Call me Anna."

"As you wish… And how should I call Sir Prince of Arendelle?"

Kristoff and Anna both heavily blushed at that. The latter cast her gaze down while the former stuttered an answer. "Uh… Well… It's… I…"

The stranger chuckled lightly. "I see… Not official yet, huh? I think I'll just call you prince already."

"Or Kristoff. Probably Kristoff. Please call me Kristoff…" He whispered that last part. Anna visibly pouted.

"Hey! What does that mean?"

The stranger heartily laughed. He seemed a lot younger to the other two when he did.

"And what about you?" Kristoff asked.

"Oh." The stranger pondered his answer for a moment.

"You can call me Garret."

First of all, thanks for checking this story out!

I started writing this a long time ago, and just got caught up with life and all -which basically means I lost everything I had written- but now with the release of Frozen II (which will be integrated to the storyline, I want to respect canon as much as possible) and me having some free time again, I will continue what I started in a similar but nonetheless different direction.

For those already familiar with these chapters, I rewrote some passages and basically did a more thorough "cleaning", so it's worth checking too.

Warning now! I don't know if I'll ever cross the M rating barrier, but this story will explore some heavy themes not usually associated with Disney, but I'll be more specific once we delve into it more.

Please consider reviewing, you can't imagine how helpful reviews can be :)

Peace,

CalAm.