Oh my gosh... This fic has 127 followers. One hundred and twenty seven. I can't even begin to tell you guys how amazing this makes me feel; I love you so much! Thank you all, for following, favouriting (let's pretend it's a word) and taking the time to give me your thoughts on my story. Wow... I'm so excited!

I'm really sorry that this chapter is so dull, I hate time skips so I wanted to condense the time a bit...

Yes, guys, of course I'll tell you when the slash is coming up. Thank you for being so polite even if you're not comfortable with it, it means a lot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or its characters. I do, however, own the original characters who appear in the story, and the plot.

After a week of lessons, Kristoff is able to write 'A' and 'K' without reference. After two weeks, he can write all the numbers by himself, though they sometimes turn out backwards, and he mixes up seven and one. Three weeks on and he can recognise letters and almost read some, but he is no closer to reading words. He is, however, settling into the life in the castle quite well. He has only been brave enough to visit Elsa once more since their first conversation through the door, and he has not yet told Mandoline to go and see her. He gets the feeling Mandoline already has.

By the time Kristoff can write the alphabet in its entirety, he has decided that he's going to write letters to slip under Elsa's door. It's a nice thing to do, he thinks, and it's easier than sneaking down the corridor in the middle of the night to talk to her. After all, he's in a palace, and he's not royal himself. He should stick to the rules – except for the rules involving stealing food from the kitchen. He has to be sure that Sven is getting enough carrots, and he is the only one who knows how many that should be. Still, that doesn't really count as breaking the rules because he's helping someone else who lives in the palace.

With Kristoff's time in the palace comes bonding with Anna, and he's beginning to consider himself an expert when it comes to the princess. He knows exactly what she loves and what she can't stand, her favourite things to do, her favourite hiding places (so he knows where to look for her when she's sulking), and most importantly, how to cheer her up when she's feeling sad. It admittedly isn't difficult, because she's such an excitable child, and usually asking for chocolate after dinner does the trick, if they get it. But he prides himself in knowing all the small things about her, because he doesn't suppose many other people know them.

It's not until about his third month at the palace that Kristoff notices mentions of Elsa slowly fading out, until the people who mention her get odd glances that tell them to be quiet. Anna is soon the only person who talks about her, or at the very least the only person who talks about her while keeping a smile on her face. Along with this he notices the number of staff slowly decreasing, and remembers what the King said about limiting Elsa's contact with people. It's around then that he realises Elsa's situation is more serious than he'd considered, and that Anna doesn't understand it at all but nobody has had the heart to tell her. Because he feels she ought to know, he tries to tell her one day.

They are sitting in their secret clubhouse as Anna talks about what she wants to do for her birthday in two weeks' time when he decides he should say something. Her plans mostly involve Elsa coming out of her room, and he's sensible enough to know that the chances of that happening are slim.

"Anna, I think maybe it would be better if it's just us two on your birthday," he says gently, not looking her in the eye. He's terrified of upsetting her, but he thinks she has a right to know. It's her sister, after all. When he looks up at Anna, she is frowning.

"Why?" she asks. "I always have my party with Elsa. I think you'll like her, she's really fun!"

"I don't mean I won't like her, I just think that maybe she wants to be alone," Kristoff replies. As he says this, he frowns. He doesn't suppose she wants to be alone at all, she just has to be.

"No, she doesn't. I know she wants to come out and play with me." Anna's voice has gotten higher and Kristoff realises he's never had an actual argument with her, nor does he want to.

"She hasn't been out for ages, Anna. Months."

"I know. I was counting. But she's going to come out for my birthday, she has to!" Anna's eyes begin to tear up, and instinctively Kristoff goes to sit beside her and wraps his arm around her shoulders.

"Please don't cry! I just wanted to say because I don't want you to be sad on your birthday," he says with even less confidence than before. Anna pushes his arm away.

"You're wrong. Elsa is going to be there for my birthday."

"Anna -"

"No! You're wrong!" Anna wipes a tear from her cheek and runs towards the castle. Even though he knows where she'll be hiding, Kristoff decides it's best if he leaves her be.

Instead, he goes somewhere he knows he probably shouldn't, and knocks on a white door covered in swirling blue. Although it's too late, he looks around the hallways after he's done so. It's thankfully empty.

"Elsa? Can I talk to you for a minute?" he whispers, hoping she can hear him.

"Of course you can," Elsa answers from behind the door. Kristoff takes a deep breath and then his thoughts come out in a rush.

"Anna was talking about her birthday and how she was going to be with you so I told her that you probably wouldn't come out and then she got really sad and now she's crying somewhere and it's my fault," he gushes. There is silence for a few moments before Elsa speaks again.

"Let her have your dessert as an apology," she suggests, trying to focus on cheering Anna up rather than the fact that she was part of the reason for the upset. Kristoff sighs.

"I will," he says. "I... I actually came here to ask if there was any chance you could come out, maybe, just for that day," he admits nervously.

"I wish I could," Elsa replies sadly. "I really do. But I can't. I - can't put Anna in danger again." Kristoff's heart sinks, and he regrets having brought it up at all.

"I was afraid you'd say that."