"Kristoff…" Henry murmured in a dazed manner. If this is Kristoff, then that reindeer should be?
"And them?" He gestured towards the child and the reindeer.
A smile broke out on Kristoff's face as he pulled the rope dangling from the Reindeer and gave him a manly hug, "This is my best friend, Sven. Say 'hi' Sven!"
The reindeer seemed to understand Kristoff's words and rolled his eyes like an intelligent being before neighing like a horse.
"Hi to you too, Sven. My name's Henry." Henry cranked up a smile and waved at the animal. Pieces finally started to fall. He knows who these two are.
"How about you?" Henry turned his attention to the little boy. Maybe he knows him too.
The boy grinned and introduced himself, "My name is Casper!"
Henry nodded his head and gave him a brief moment of appreciation, "You must be the one who found me. Thank you."
Casper gained a rosy tinge of red on his cheeks as he embarrassingly rubbed his neck, "Y-You're welcome. My father used to tell me to be kind to others so the others would be kind to me back."
"Your father sounds like a good man." Casper's chest puffed at those words.
Patting his palms, Kristoff crouched back in front of him and placed the prince's entire left arm beneath his neck, "Alright. How about we get you checked out? I'll help you climb on top of Sven."
With the help of Kristoff and Casper, Henry endured the pain in his shoulders and the numbing of his legs and lay on Sven's back with his bare stomach facing down, while his legs were dangling on the left side of the reindeer.
"Let's go, boy!"
———
Entering Arendelle turns out to be easier than he expected. When it comes to the knight guards, Kristoff introduced Henry as a drunk friend he met outside. It's not like Arendelle is the only place in the entire region, behind Arendelle stood several villages and towns, so meeting someone outside the capital isn't unheard of.
On the other hand, Casper the friendly boy from earlier has already gone back to his father's General Goods store, prompting him and Kristoff to visit sometime if they want.
"So what's your story?" Ignoring the looks that the passerbys were giving him as they walked across the Kingdom's main capital, Henry answered Kristoff's curiosity.
"…A shipwreck. I was on my way to Arendelle. Storm hit us, the hull got damaged and before I knew it, I found myself waking up on the beach and stranded here." Henry avoided revealing too much information for now. Kristoff may be a character depicted as a kind man in the film, but in real life who knows what the universe has in store for him?
Kristoff replied with a somber tone, knowing the implications of being in a shipwreck, "I'm sorry for your loss."
Henry simply nodded his head. Even though no one exactly died in the shipwreck itself but someone still died, rather, was killed.
After almost an hour of conversation and getting to know each other, Henry noticed how after crossing several alleyways, their surroundings turned quiet and devoid of life. If he didn't know about Kristoff from the Frozen film, he might've thought that the man was bringing him to an isolated area to do something to him.
Most of the structures around them were empty and abandoned, and only a few animals could be seen roaming around. When Kristoff saw a certain building in the distance, he turned to Henry and informed him, "We're almost there. Can you still keep up?"
Henry chuckled, hiding his nervousness behind a confident smile. Right now, he's not exactly sure if this doctor that Kristoff is talking about is a real one, "Can I keep up? Maybe you should ask your little friend, Sven here instead. He looks like he wants to change direction and charge towards that carrot stand over there."
True to his words, when Kristoff's gaze went down to Sven, he saw the reindeer huffing and puffing while saliva was trickling down from his mouth. Trailing where he's gazing, Sven is indeed staring at a stand with several baskets filled with carrots.
"Come on, Sven. Still hungry? We just ate two carrots this morning. TWO! We normally only share one together!" Pushing the large head of Sven where the reindeer is trying to charm Kristoff with his crystal-like eyes.
With a neigh, Sven pouted and started ignoring his human friend for the rest of the journey.
On the other hand, Henry only watched the two interact with each other like how real friends do. It's quite fascinating how the man and reindeer could kick their friendship off up to this stage.
Eventually, they arrived at a run-down clinic. There is barely a single soul inside. Not only did the windows and concrete walls have a few cracks, but the displayed name of the clinic only had one of its letters left dangling with only one screw left holding it back from falling. It was the letter 'D'. He assumed it stands for the word Doctor.
Seeing this made Henry's lips twitch several times, "Are you sure, I'm in safe hands?"
Kristoff confidently nodded his head, "Don't worry. I trust the doc with my life. One time, Sven got ill from food poisoning. Doc was the one who brought him back to top shape in just a week."
'That doesn't help at all! Are you sure this is a doctor and not a veterinarian?' Henry nervously chukled and nodded his head—he could only swallow his saliva and be brought inside with the help of Kristoff while Sven stayed outside, his eyes still lingering on the carrot stand not far away from the clinic.
———
Cling!
Upon walking inside, Henry was hit with the smell of roses, daisies, lavender, and a different kind of flower scent that assaulted his nostrils all at the same time.
His eyes also caught the sight of a yellow and green coloured parrot stationary on top of a wooden pole situated in the corner of the room, staring at them with a tilted head.
Kristoff, after helping him settle down on one of the couches, happily approached the parrot with a smile on his face, "Hey there, Polynesia. Is the doc around?"
Polynesia flapped her wings a few times before answering, "Of course, Kristoff. He's in the back."
Kristoff smiled and grabbed a few peas from a bowl on the table before feeding them to the parrot named Polynesia.
Henry wasn't surprised. Even back in the modern world, parrots being able to understand and speak human language is not that rare. He just didn't expect to see one capable of it in this era.
Kristoff went back to Henry and sat beside him, grabbing a few more peas from the bowl and eating a few himself.
He assured him, "Don't worry. The doc is a great man. He might be a bit...eccentric but don't let that cloud your vision. Look beyond that and you'll appreciate him the same way I do."
"Hopefully, treating food poisoning isn't the limit of what he can cure." Henry smiled and replied with a passing joke.
"Squawk!" Polynesia, who had been quiet since her interaction with Kristoff earlier, suddenly released a cry and a flap of his wings. As if Henry's words just offended her.
Before Henry could say something, Kristoff beat him to it, "Oh come on, Polynesia. He didn't mean it and besides, it's his first time around here."
"Squawk!" If the parrot were to have a human face right now, Henry might've seen the pout on her.
Kristoff sighed in defeat and turned to Henry with an apologetic tone, "Don't mind her. She's the doc's most devoted fan."
Henry nodded his head in understanding, "I'm surprised you can understand and reply to her. I barely understood the intention behind her squawk."
Kristoff shrugged his shoulders, "Oh you're in for a whole lot of surprise. Wait till you see the doc and his…friends."
Nodding his head, Henry leaned back on the couch and released a sigh of relief. At last, his shoulders could finally relax. The previous few hours have been very eventful and emotional for him.
Old John's death, the shipwreck, getting saved by, and meeting the famous mermaid, Ariel. And last but not the least, getting to know Arendelle's future King. Considering how Anna will become Queen in the future with Kristoff as her husband.
Just as Henry felt himself drifting off to extreme relaxation and even almost falling asleep, he was startled by the explosive sounds coming off from one of the doors behind a desk.
Followed by shouts and yells of a man, "Jip! Didn't I tell you not to chew on my coat!"
Clang! Crash!
"Oh for god's sake, Kevin! Why don't you go fly out there and bring me more lavender, make yourself useful for once!"
"And Chee-Chee. Just keep hanging in there. Literally, since you know. You're a gorilla."
Dialogues came after another and yet all were spoken by a single man. What seemed to be a conversation between two or more people was being handled by only one man, confusing Henry who was eavesdropping.
He assumed that whoever was speaking must be the Doc that Kristoff was talking about. Once again, he delved deep back in his memories, trying to recall any notable doctor characters in the movie Frozen and so far, he can't remember any.
'Maybe this doctor guy appeared in the second movie. I should've cleared my schedule to watch it.' Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Henry was left with no choice but to prepare himself against the unknown.
Finally, after arguing for almost 5 straight minutes nonstop, the door was smacked open. Striding in was a middle-aged man with an extremely messy hair that went past his shoulders. His face is clean-shaven, which is quite rare since having a beard is considered manly during this time and age.
Henry continued his assessment, taking note of the man's tattered blue coat and glasses that were missing their left lens. The man reeked of several smells that Henry couldn't distinguish any except for the smell of cauliflowers and lavender.
Despite the man's weird and eccentric appearance, Henry found himself staring in shock. The man seems familiar to him. He just needs a name to shake his memories.
"Morning, Polynesia. Any patients?" The doctor casually grabbed a single pea from the bowl and threw it towards the parrot who smoothly opened her mouth and caught the pea inside.
She then replied without as much as a chew, "Turn around, John."
The doctor blinked several times before slowly turning around, the slowness of his movement adding more flair and tension in the atmosphere.
When he laid his eyes upon Kristoff, he sighed in relief, "Oh it's just you, Kristoff. Did Sven get food poisoning again? That reckless reindeer." The man clicked his tongue and ate a few nuts he got in his pocket.
Kristoff chuckled before shaking his head, "I'm sorry for disturbing your morning, Doc. But no, Sven is fine. I actually brought a patient to you." Before turning to Henry and patting his shoulder.
"This is Henry and I found him stranded on the beach. He got in a shipwreck and he can't feel his legs. I was hoping you'd be able to help him."
With Kristoff's introduction, the doctor finally laid his eyes on Henry, tilting his head a bit down to see outside his glasses. The doctor's eyes wandered on his face first and then to his legs.
Without as much as saying a word, the doctor grabbed a metallic stick from the corner of the room, one that is typically used in fireplaces.
In a swift motion, the doctor pointed the pointy tip and stabbed it against Henry's legs. At first, Henry was surprised. If only he could feel his legs, he would've jumped out of the way.
Henry felt nothing at first but as the doctor continued to press more, Henry finally felt pain in his legs, "Ow!"
That was the cue. The doctor nodded his head and replied, "It's just muscle numbness. Since you felt pain in your bone, then amputation is out of the window."
Hearing that instantly drained the blood from Henry's face. There's no way he'd want his legs amputated. Thankfully, it only seemed like he overexerted his legs earlier during the shipwreck.
"Let's bring him to a bed. Chee-Chee!" The doctor snapped his fingers.
Just as Henry was confused once again, a large gorilla wearing a black coat suddenly emerged from the same room where the doctor had come out earlier.
"Oh fuck!" For a moment, Henry almost got a grip over his legs again and managed to pull himself back as the gorilla descended towards him.
That's when his eyes went over the tight-fit black coat that the gorilla was wearing and saw the name tag stitched on the chest part.
It reads as [Dr. Dolittle]
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We're officially competing in the rankings by now, so I was hoping to get your support so the book gets more exposure! Power Stones and all that.