Disney But Gayer

Vol. 13: Frozen

//TW: Mention of drowning, agoraphobia, dysphoria, accidental and purposeful dead naming and misgendering, parental neglect, disgust at body horror, and death//
Word Count: 28,134

~Once Upon A Time...~

In 1840s Norway, in a kingdom called Arendelle, a young boy was stowing away on an ice harvesters' sled with his reindeer companion.

"Erik, get the saw, we can't stay out in the dark for too long, let's go."

The harvesters unloaded their sled and set out their supplies. Erik turned back for the last pile of tools. He picked it up, and behind it, there was a child, just sitting in the back of the sled.

"What the- how did you get in there?"

The boy smiled widely and scratched the head of the reindeer sitting beside him. "Sven caught up to your sled as you left the kingdom. He's fast!"

Erik stared at him concernedly. "Ok... why are you in there?"

"I want to be an ice harvester like you guys!" He lifted a small axe and displayed it for Erik proudly.

He raised an eyebrow. "What's your name, kid?"

"I'm Kristoff. And this is Sven, but I already said that."

"Ok, Kristoff, you can stay for today. But once we get back to the kingdom, you're gone, understand?"

He frowned. "Ok..."

Erik tossed the rest of the supplies to the others and walked off onto the ice, keeping a wary eye on the child. He may just be a stowaway, but he didn't want his inattentiveness to be a part in a child drowning tonight.

Kristoff hopped off the edge of the sled and followed Erik, Sven behind him.

He got to work, looking over at Kristoff every once in a while. What was this kid doing alone in the kingdom? He didn't look older than six...

Kristoff was captivated in his work, copying what the other men did around him, but on a smaller scale, unaware he was being watched. He loved ice and only ever wanted to work with and around it. And he was pretty good at it, too... for a young kid. Once he'd slip or lose his grip on an ice block but never got hurt or cracked the ice.

Erik continued with his work, more and more confused about this kid. "Kristoff, how old are you?"

"Six and a half."

He blinked. "Six and a half... what are you doing alone in the kingdom?"

"I was in the orphanage, but I don't like it there. They wouldn't let me keep Sven! So I left, and now I'm gonna become an ice harvester! I like ice."

Erik's eyes widened. "Oh." So he wasn't just dealing with a runaway, this was an orphaned six year old who stowed away on their sled. This was a more worrying situation than he thought.

Evidently uninterested in their conversation, Kristoff pulled a carrot from his pocket and gave it to Sven, loading a small ice block onto his miniature sled.

The reindeer chomped down on half the carrot, almost smiling up at him.

Kristoff laughed and wiped the carrot off on his shirt, eating the rest of it when it was clean while he worked.

Erik stared at him quizzically before going back to his work, shaking his head slightly.

Eventually, they'd gotten enough ice and it had gotten cold enough that they needed to go home. They lit their lanterns, loaded up their ice, and hopped on their sled. Erik made sure they weren't leaving Kristoff stranded on top of a snowy mountain before they were off back to the kingdom.