The Snow Queen's Frozen Heart Book 2

Finding Kristoff

I woke up to an annoying pounding at my door. The walls were sound proof. The door...not so much...I could tell it had disturbed Elsai too because he groaned tiredly and rolled over, pulling the blankets higher. Unfortunatly I knew we had to get up. Neither Anna, nor Kristoff knew where our room was and there was no telling where Olaf had wandered off too. It had to either be a guard or maid, both who would know never to wake me up without a damn good reason. I sighed and got up walking over to the door. Tucking a loose, white, lock of hair back into place, I opened it to see a guard and Anna.
"Anna....It's too early for this..." I deadpanned.
"Please, Ingrid...It's Kristoff...He went down to see Sven this morning and hasn't come back...." She told me worriedly.
"He probably just lost track of the time." I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes. "You know how much that man loves his reindeer."
"It was four hours ago..." Anna looked like she was on the brink of tears. Damn my soft spot for that girl...
"What time is it?" I asked the guard.
"9:00, Your Majesty."
I groaned and thought, 'What kind of sane person gets up at 5 o'clock to see a reindeer...?' Naturally, I didn't let Anna know what I was thinking.
"Let me wake up Elsai and get dressed. We'll meet you in the courtyard."
Anna nodded and the guard escorted her away from my room. I sighed and closed the door. Kristoff was sick. The last thing he needed to do would be wandering around an ice covered palace in an ice covered country and 5:00 in the damn morning. I padded over to Elsai's side of the bed and smiled down at my sleeping husband.
His hair was messed up and he was practically squeezing the feathers out of a pillow. There were three things I'd learned about Elsai in bed since I'd married him. Number one was that he was an amazing lover, hence the pregnancy. Number two was that he was a cuddler. He'd been trying to avoid hurting me or the baby in his sleep since my 5th month of pregnancy, so I often woke up to him hugging a pillow. I couldn't wait to have this baby so I could take the pillow's place again. Finally, the third thing I'd learned, was that, much like Anna, Elsai was NOT a morning person. I found out that in the years before he became king, when Anna was trying to coax him out of his room, more than half the time, he hadn't even been awake!
I sat down beside him and pressed a gentle kiss against his temple. He sighed in content, but didn't get up. Glaring at my husband's stubborness, but not giving up, I kissed the side of his throat, right under his jaw. He moaned a little this time but still did not open his eyes. Trying to wake Elsai was like trying to wake a hibernating bear. It was going to happen on his own time or not at all. I was about to get up and just go meet Anna myself when I felt a particularly strong kick from the baby. I gasped in surprise and Elsai shot up with a worried look on his face. Typical!
"Are you alright?" he asked, his eyes shifting from mine to my swollen stomach and back again.
"I'm fine. It was just a kick."
"O...Oh..." he let out a sigh of relief and started laying back down.
"Nope!" I grabbed his elbow and pulled him out of bed. "Anna needs us downstairs. Kristoff's missing."
"Can't the guards find him?" Elsai sighed.
"If they could, we wouldn't be up, now would we? They're made of ice and snow, Elsai. They don't exactly have brains, they just follow orders."
After a little persuasion and about fifteen minutes of getting ready while trying to keep Elsai from going back t bed and taking me with him, we were headed downstairs to the courtyard.

I was wearing a simple long sleeved white maternity gown and a cloak of ice. I'd decided against wearing any jewelry because I was planing to visit Haus Des Teufels after helping Anna, and the last thing I needed to worry about was getting something stolen. Naturally, I didn't tell my over protective husband that his 8 1/2 months pregnant wife, who was carrying her first born, was going to visit a prison that held a country's most dangerous criminals, to search for clues about her missing, crazy, blood thirsty uncle. That wouldn't have gone well.
When we got to the courtyard, Anna was wringing her hands and passing nervously. Not a good look for the normally cheerful princess. Elsai looked like he was about to head back upstairs and go back to sleep. He probably would have if I hadn't had an iron tight grip on his hand. I dragged him over to Anna and placed my free hand on her shoulder, making her jump.
"Ingrid...." she whined and hugged me tightly.
"Okay...Calm down," I told her, hugging her back with my free hand, " We'll find him"
I lead them over to the stables where a thick layer of ice covered the door, preventing it from being opened.
"Well there's your answer. Reindeer Boy did something stupid and triggered the security system." I shrugged.
" 'Reindeer boy' ?!"
"Security system?"
The siblings asked at the same time. I moved my hand over the door, making the ice melt. Anna ran into stables and shrieked in horror. Kristoff was at the far end of the stable, frozen in a block of ice, only a few steps away from a huge iron door. In the room beyond the door, was my one living pet, hence the security system. Any living person that wasn't me, who got too close triggered the system. Kristoff wasn't frozen like Anna had been, though. He was alive, just immobilized.
Sven was in a stall, shifting nervously and Anna was just standing there in silent terror. I left Elsai next to Anna and walked toward Kristoff. He wasn't exactly tired anymore and was watching me in curiosity.
"Is he dead?" he asked.
"No, just frozen. Mind you, if we had waited for a day or two he might have died, but from hypothermia or something like that after he was thawed out."
I trailed a finger lazily over the ice block, cracking it as it melted and setting Kristoff free. The blond fell to the ground cold, slightly damp, and trying to catch his breath. Anna started toward us, but I shot Elsai a warning look before she could move three steps.
"Anna..."He said catching her wrist, "I don't think that's a good idea."
I knelt next to Krisoff, glaring at him. If looks could kill, Anna would be looking for a new lover.
"Never...EVER....Go near North again... Next time, I won't help you. "I growled.
Standing up, I pulled him to his feet and brought him over to Anna who instantly began trying to warm him up. I snapped my fingers and a maid rushed in to the stables and curtsied before me.
"Take Kristoff to the kitchen and make him some hot chocolate. Anna can go with you. Get them warm." I ordered, and she nodded, "And for the love of God, will someone PLEASE find Olaf?!"