Let people make fun of magic all they wanted. He knew it was real.
He’d been raised around magic his whole life.
Not that he’d tell Anna that. Why would he when she was so infuriating? She talked on and on and on, not just to him and Sven—to everyone she met!
She was also impulsive and strong-minded, which was how he’d allowed himself to be talked into taking her to Arendelle in the first place. Feisty-pants thought she could stop an eternal winter even though she had no idea how to find Elsa or what she’d say to make her end the madness.
Kristoff could see the wreck of his sleigh as they approached the bottom of the ravine. He was almost afraid to see how bad the damage was. Instead, he concentrated on Sven. “I’ve decided all people want to do is use you and cheat you.” He used his reindeer voice again: “You’re right. They’re all bad! Except you.”
He rubbed Sven’s snout. “Aww, thanks, buddy. Let’s see what we can salvage here.”
He looked at the sled and sighed. His beloved ride was in a million pieces. His lute was destroyed. His ice ax must have gone flying, because it wasn’t among the wreckage. The little food they’d had had already been scavenged by critters. There wasn’t much to salvage, but Kristoff examined every item to make sure. Finally, he climbed onto Sven.
“Now what do we do, Sven? I didn’t think I could find the valley, but we don’t really have a choice. We have to get you out of this weather too, buddy.” He looked around at the landscape. “We’ve got to be close. We’ll find it.”
Sven wouldn’t budge. He snorted loudly.
“Yes, I’m sure she’s fine. They probably made their way to a cabin. I saw smoke in the distance,” Kristoff told him. “We are not joining them there. Let’s go. Stop worrying.”
Sven gave him a withering look.
“You don’t want to help her anymore?” Kristoff said in his Sven voice.
“Of course I don’t want to help her anymore!” Kristoff pulled on Sven’s reins and they started their ascent up the ravine. “In fact, this whole thing has ruined me for helping anyone ever again.”
As they climbed, an angry snow squall descended, causing almost whiteout conditions. Going home was the wise choice. But that meant he was going to the same place Anna was headed.
Sven snorted again.
“Yes, I know that’s where she’s headed.” Sven gave him a look. “Okay, so maybe I do look like a jerk showing up there now when we could have all gone together.”
Sven snorted louder.
“He wasn’t a total stranger—he’s Elsa’s prince.” Kristoff rolled his eyes. “So of course he did the right thing and agreed to go with her.” He thought for a moment. “Okay, yeah. I was a jerk.”
Sven pranced around while Kristoff stood there feeling guilty.
“So now what? We go find her? Or we get to the valley and apologize?”
Sven looked at him.
“Yeah, we won’t find her again in this. We’ll go to the valley and then I’ll apologize when she arrives, okay? I get it. I screwed up.”
Kristoff spent the entire journey to the valley consumed with self-hatred. Anna was out there in this weather with a total stranger. He’d abandoned her when she’d needed him. No wonder Bulda thought he’d never find a girl.
The snow was falling heavier and wetter than it had earlier, but at least the journey was quiet. Without Anna, there was no one to tell him what to do, or talk incessantly about her favorite food (hers was sandwiches), or almost set him on fire.
Maybe he did miss having company. Even Olaf.
Not that he’d tell Sven that.
It took several hours to get to the Valley of the Living Rock, but Kristoff knew the route like the back of his callused hands. Even under all that snow, he was able to spot the peculiar rock formations that marked the location of his home. When they got closer, Kristoff jumped off Sven and they walked up the path of boulders until they arrived at the valley.
The second they were inside the valley, the snow stopped. The air warmed. The ground smelled like fresh dew and was covered with grassy moss. Kristoff descended the path into the fog and watched the rocks start to roll at the sight of him. Sven pranced eagerly, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. Kristoff tapped his knees, beckoning the rocks closer. A large number of them started to roll