Kristoff was the first to notice that something had changed in the tone of the townspeople that morning.

After all, he was usually awake before Anna, and most of the others in the castle had not yet ventured out to the grounds when he started to feed the reindeer and horses.

The buzz in the air had already caught his attention slightly when one of the stable hands cautiously offered him the day's paper, saying, "I think you should read this."

He never suspected that the odd mood in the town would trace back to him.

Yet, there was the headline, clearer than the morning sky on the cold November day:

Reindeer King: Is Queen Anna's Fiancé Fit to Help Rule?

His cheeks immediately flushed at the headline, and the sentences that stood out in the article helped little.

The practice of royalty marrying into common families is certainly not new, but few stories are as unique as that of Lord Kristoff Bjorgman of Arendelle.

Little is known about Bjorgman's history prior to the start of his courtship with then-Princess Anna, whose ascension to the throne abdicated by her older sister was itself unexpected.

Kristoff Bjorgman had been recognized around town as an ice harvester with a questionably close relationship with his reindeer, Sven. Bjorgman is not known to have had any other family or close connections. After his rescue of Princess Anna during the Great Freeze, he quickly rose to the attention of the kingdom as someone frequently seen with the Royal Family, who seems to reside in the stables and bears the unprecedented title of Ice Master and Deliverer. With a role so unclear and a past so unknown, will Bjorgman be an asset to the throne, or a liability?

The article went on, but Kristoff tossed the paper onto the hay bale next to him, burying his face in his hands.

Though he had never particularly enjoyed public attention, Kristoff was more ashamed for his fiancee than for himself. As well loved as she was, Anna was already trying hard enough to prove herself to the kingdom; she hardly needed a scandal to make her feel even further behind.

After thanking the stable worker for the information and confirming that he could borrow the paper, Kristoff started for the castle.

It was rare for him to feel a sense of dread as he approached-at least, it had been rare since early on in his relationship with Anna. The castle had begun to feel more and more like home, especially as a result of the person who lived there.

Now that Elsa had moved to Northuldra and Anna had the castle to herself, he felt even less like an intruder, and even more like someone who belonged there. In most ways, his marriage to Anna could not possibly come soon enough.

In other ways-ways highlighted by today's newspaper-he felt that the wedding would approach much too quickly, before he could possibly be prepared.

He drew a deep breath as he pushed open the heavy doors to the castle.

The first person he encountered was Gerda.

"Lord Kristoff! You're here early. Queen Anna is still in her chambers. I can notify her that you're here."

"Thanks, Gerda. Actually, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course. What about?"

Kristoff presented the article, and watched her face as she read and tutted.

"Queen Anna certainly won't be happy about this. She was already at the end of her rope with that reporter."

"He's not wrong, though. I have no experience and no idea how to help her run a kingdom. Is there any way...you could help me learn?"

"Learn what?"

"I don't know...to help Anna rule...royal etiquette and such...basically, to be the opposite of me?"

Gerda smiled sadly.

"I can certainly help you with etiquette, but not to be the opposite of yourself. You already possess so many qualities needed to rule-qualities that aren't easily taught, I might add. Let me go inform the queen, and then you and I can talk."

Kristoff nodded as she went off toward Anna's room.

Left to his own devices in the entryway, Kristoff paced and fiddled with the newspaper in his hands as he steeled himself for a difficult conversation. He knew that he could talk to Anna about anything, but he also knew that an attack on those close to her-no matter how reasonable-would send her into a frenzy. He would have to be careful not to get her too worked up before he had time to process everything himself.

"Kristoff!"

At the sight of her at the top of the stairs, with her hair in a regal-looking bun but still in her nightdress, he immediately smiled. It was impossible not to-especially when she glanced at the stairs, then at the banister, and chose to slide down, undeterred by her new role as queen.

Kristoff caught her in a hug before she hit the ground, both giggling like children.

"You're here early!"

With her observation, his heart fell. He would need to explain.

She pulled away from his hug and studied his face, furrowing her eyebrows suddenly as she spotted the rolled newspaper in his hand.

"What's wrong? Is there an insect problem?" She glanced around the entryway as he unrolled the paper.

"No, it's about an article."

"An article? Let me see it!"

He held the newspaper away from her as she instinctively grabbed for it, wanting to get a word in edgewise.

"Before you read it, I want you to take a deep breath and promise not to go after the author. He does have a point, and I have a plan to make this right."

"Kristoff, whatever he said about me, I can-"

"It's about me."

He finally allowed her to snatch the paper and scan the headline, her face becoming more determined and more angry as she read.

"'An asset or a liability'? Oh, I am going to kill-"

"No one, because killing journalists is a bad look for a monarchy," Kristoff finished calmly.

Anna softened as he gently laid his hands on her shoulders.

"Look. I know this is not exactly what we needed right now. But he does have a point. When I proposed to you, I had no idea that I was proposing to the queen-not that it changes anything!" he finished quickly, seeing the familiar spike of fear in her eyes. "I just...didn't expect my life to lead here, you know? I have no idea how any of this works."

"You have some idea! You've been around for the past three years! And what you don't know yet, you can learn!"

"Exactly. I'm going to learn. That's my plan. Anna, whatever you do and wherever you go, I always want to be by your side. Nothing could ever change that. But I can make some changes to be the man that you need."

"Kristoff, you already are."

Her eyes, now soft and loving, looked up at him above a half-smile. She pulled him closer and buried her head in his chest.

Kristoff continued.

"I'm going to talk to Gerda about working with me to learn royal etiquette. You have enough to do right now, and I thought it could be a good opportunity to learn some of the things you learned growing up."

Anna looked up at him with bright, excited eyes. "Ooh, I love that idea! Don't get me wrong, I love you exactly the way you are, but maybe she can help you gain some confidence. She loves you, too. I'm sure she'd be willing to help. And...I wonder if Elsa would have time…" she narrowed her eyes at the mention of her sister, seemingly uncertain. "I'll have Gale send her a message. But no pressure! This will be fun! You can all talk about the wedding, too, when I'm too wrapped up in other details!"

She hugged Kristoff one more time, parting with a kiss as she ran back up the stairs to get dressed.

He chuckled lightly as he watched her go.

Anna, always a brilliant spark of light since she had marched into his life three years prior, had seemed to glow even brighter since her coronation as queen. Kristoff and Elsa had both worried about how she would handle the sudden increase in responsibility, but it came much more naturally to Anna than either one had expected (or so he suspected, judging by the impressed glances he shared with Elsa as Anna resolved one crisis or another in the kingdom).

Shortly after Anna disappeared down the hallway, Gerda returned, descending the stairs with her usual swift decorum.

"Her Majesty seems to have taken the news well."

"Not at first, but we got there. She likes my idea of asking you for advice."

"Good. As do I. But the smile on her face as I passed her in the hall just now...don't minimize your role in that! In terms of supporting the queen, you seem to be doing just fine."

Kristoff couldn't help but smile as she continued.

"Come with me to the kitchens. We'll get some breakfast, and the secondary perk of the kitchen staff's take on the town gossip this morning."

Anna had mentioned to Kristoff that the kitchen was a fantastic place to catch up on the latest news around town, but Kristoff himself had generally used the kitchen for food alone.

As he entered the kitchen with Gerda, the staff paused their busy preparations to greet the two.

"Lord Kristoff! What a pleasant surprise! Have you seen today's article?"

The response was more cheerful than he expected; were they trying to taunt him?

"Y-yes, I have."

"The headline was a tad forward, but we agree with the quotes."

"Quotes?"

Kristoff stared down once again at the now-crumpling paper in his hands, scanning to see what he had missed. At the very bottom was the phrase, "Continued on page 2".

He flipped the page to see the article's conclusion.

Reindeer King, cont.

Though the townspeople knew little about Bjorgman's past, their optimism about his present and future were apparent.

"Kristoff has a good heart. He has supported and protected the kingdom until now-we have no reason to believe he won't continue."

"Some of us were skeptical when a mountain man rode down on a reindeer with the princess in his arms, but we have to admit that he has proven himself a man of integrity."

"He may not exactly resemble Agnarr or Runeard in terms of royal demeanor, but his compassion toward the kingdom is clear."

It's one thing to impress the townspeople as a citizen without a major title. As Prince Consort, who knows what we'll see from Bjorgman? Only time will tell.

"Huh. So not quite as bad as I'd thought," Kristoff mused as Gerda finished reading over his shoulder.

"Not so bad at all! Though, dear," the main chef leaned in to speak to him quietly, "I might recommend spending a little less time in the stables. You know, for the sake of the smell?"

Kristoff could feel himself blushing as she spoke, and a few of the younger kitchen staff giggled together near the back.

"All right, all right! Back to work everyone! Nice to see you, Gerda. And you, Lord Kristoff."

The two took their cue to leave, each carefully selecting a quick breakfast of bread, cheese, and fish from the spread prepared for the staff. Anna would be meeting with dignitaries shortly, sharing a traditional breakfast with them in the dining hall.

Gerda turned to him as they finished their food. "Right. So. A good first step would be to shower daily after leaving the stables."

"Daily?"

"I know it's unusual, but it's common in royal circles-and not all royalty lives and works in the stables. You heard the chef. The reindeer smell could be off-putting for citizens, much less foreign dignitaries. You might want to consider spending a little less time with the reindeer as you spend more time with the queen."

As of now, Kristoff had little interaction with anyone outside of Arendelle-not counting the trolls and the ice harvesters, of course. Shortly after Elsa's coronation, she had sent Kristoff on a diplomatic mission to provide ice to a few neighboring lands as a sign of good will. After all, Kristoff took his role as ice master and deliverer seriously, nepotism or not. At that point, though, he felt no need to look (or smell) like anything other than an ice harvester.

As for Sven, the two were best friends-but he had begun to consider that maybe the two didn't need to be constantly together. Back in Northuldra, Sven had interacted with the other reindeer, which had been good for him. It might help both of them to spend more time with companions of their own respective species.

"Thanks, Gerda. Let me finish up the morning feeding, and then I'll get right on it."

He tossed the rest of his breakfast in his mouth and walked toward the stables with a newfound sense of purpose, both nervous and excited for the future.