Okay, this story is just going to be a short which will be set in between Frozen Powers II and III, and I'm aiming to get it completed within a month or two. It will probably be around eight or nine chapters long, and it will be based around Anna's second pregnancy, but with other scenes too :) (I'm sure most of you guessed this was coming a few chapters back in the second book, most of my reviews seemed to suggest that you figured it out!). It will also give you guys a bit of an insight into what has happened in between this book and the next, which will be set quite a bit later (well, a few years - oops, spoiler, teehee)

Well, there's no time to waste; I hope you enjoy this little story!

February 22nd

Anna groaned quietly as she lay in bed, staring up at the canopy above her. To her left, she could hear Kristoff's steady breathing, a soothing and rhythmic sound, and she could feel him shifting his arm slightly so that his finger-tips were just touching her side. She felt her heart rate increase slightly at the contact, and quickly turned away before she got too excited.

After a few minutes of staring at the wall, willing her body to just drift off into sleep - she'd realised long before that closing her eyes would account to nothing, - she sighed in irritation and stood up, walking over to the door and slowly pushing it open, her body shivering in complaint as the wave of cold air outside her room blasted her in the face. She cringed slightly and quickly retreated back into the chamber, locating her dressing gown and wrapping it tightly around her body as she braved the harsher, less merciful temperature in the corridor.

Heading down to the kitchens, she stood there, trembling coldly as she desperately made herself a hot drink - for once, she opted for a coffee, rather than her usual hot chocolate order, although she couldn't quite pin point what it was about the extra caffeine that appealed to her. She wasn't tired - she just had a craving for the stronger flavoured drink.

Thanking a young guard who had helped her (after she poured hot water over her hand from her lack of concentration) in a somewhat snappish tone - lack of sleep never helped one's mood, she would later reason, claiming that it was not her fault that she responded to him so ungratefully - she made her way to the library. She had nothing better to do at such a ridiculous hour in the morning, and she figured that if she could find a book, maybe an hour of reading or so would finally convince her body that it shouldn't be awake yet.

Scanning the book shelves, one book stood out from the rest - a newer looking novel, named 'Oliver Twist' which Anna was sure she'd never read before, but she knew she'd heard of it. As far as she could remember, some of the critical reviews of it were very strong; she felt herself grow intrigued as to what made the new story so good, and as she slouched into the arm chair, after lighting the fire to fight away the chilly air, she began reading at once.

The start, she found - to her dismay - was a little slow, and she struggled through the first few pages as she learned to adapt to Dickens' style, especially his annoying habit of writing a whole paragraph in one single sentence. After a little while, though, as she forced herself to keep reading, to give the book a chance, she did find herself getting into it a little more, and it wasn't such a chore to carry on by the end of the third chapter.

Sinking back into the chair a bit as her body began to ache, each of her limbs feeling heavy from a fatigue that her mind seemed unwilling to allow any respite from, she propped up her legs on a pouffe and let the words flow through her mind as she read them silently, the peaceful quietness soothing her pains slightly. She allowed her heavy eyelids to shut as she slumped a little more, not really caring whether anyone found her asleep here rather than in her room, but, alas, fate was still in an unforgiving mood; her eyes jumped open with a start when she shot up, as the grandfather clock struck the hour, chiming too loudly to allow any relaxation, and she groaned.

As she had begun to drift off to sleep, the book had fallen from her grasp, and as she reached down to get it, a small disturbance came out of the corner of her eye and she quickly snapped her head back up in surprise. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the dim light out in the corridor, where a small figure was stood in the doorway, still, silent. The child's bright, platinum blonde hair seemed to reflect the weak moonlight, making her appear to be glowing in contrast with her bleak surroundings; Anna couldn't help but smile at her daughter, who was staring at her with large, shining eyes, filled with both fear, and a slight, almost unnoticeable sliver of hope.

Desperation, even - there was no denying how much Mia wanted to trust her mother. She craved the woman's attention, but she couldn't trust herself enough to get close enough to be given it.

"Mia?" Anna's voice was soft as it floated over to the young girl, who stood in the doorway like a deer in the headlights, looking as if she was fighting against what she was being told by her heart, and by her head. She didn't move, and the older Princess decided to see how much she could push her luck, as she continued. "What are you doing up, Sweetie?" She prompted, but Mia only mumbled incoherently, and Anna understood - from experience - that she couldn't push her any more. If she couldn't form a legible sentence, then it meant that question time was over.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, and then Mia let out a little breath that she'd been holding, as she began to turn away, and Anna felt her heart break as she watched her daughter begin to retreat into the dark corridors. She didn't move for a second, and then she suddenly she lost her control, as she blurted out: "Do you want me to read you a story?" in a loud voice, filled with pleading.

Mia looked startled and she scampered backwards at her mother's outburst, shocked originally, and whimpered, loudly enough for both too hear; Anna's eyes filled with tears when she realised her mistake, and before she knew it, she began to sob.

Her own daughter didn't trust her at all, and it was too overwhelming for her to accept right now.

She shook her head in dismay as she buried her face in her hands - how had she allowed this to happen? How could she have let her own daughter be kidnapped? She should have fought harder to keep her safe, and look how things had turned out as a result of her negligence?

Deep down, she knew there had been nothing that she could do - she had been restrained herself, after all - but she couldn't help feeling guilty. There was also a bitterness in her chest which only fueled her tears, a jealousy of her sister and brother-in-law, with whom Mia seemed to trust, at least a little. Why had she let Elsa go to rescue the girl? She was her daughter, not her sister's daughter - and she should have been her responsibility!

She groaned, but sat up a little straighter, knowing there was nothing she could do now anyway. Mia might have trusted her more if she had been the one to rescue her, but alas - what was done was done, and she couldn't change it now.

Opening her eyes sadly, she noticed a scuffling sound behind her, and she turned around to look, although not really interested at whatever - or whoever - was making the noise at present. Her mind was overwhelmed with her sorrows, but as she glanced behind her, she was surprised to see Mia standing behind her, looking wary, with a small book in her hands.

Tentatively, she stepped forward and placed the work - a collection of short stories about a little cat named 'Puss' - on the arm of the chair, and then scurried backwards quickly, putting a distance five metres between herself and her mother, and then she sat down on the floor. She fidgeted nervously, looking everywhere but at her mother, and yet Anna was thrilled; maybe there was a little hope for their relationship after all.

Picking up the book, she began to read slowly, quietly, in a soft tone which would not worry Mia any more than she already was, and after a few minutes, the child began to calm down a little; when Anna looked up for a few moments, stealing a glance at her daughter, she smiled as she saw the girl's head slowly dropping, as if she was beginning to fall asleep. Her face broke into a grin as she continued to read, and when she finished the first short story, she noticed that Mia had fallen fast asleep on the floor.

Placing the book down, she stood up and walked over to the child, scooping her up gently, wincing as if she thought the gesture would wake the child, but she was in a truly deep slumber, and only murmured.

The poor thing must have been exhausted, Anna thought, although she couldn't understand why Mia had been awake at such a horrid hour anyway. Still, she smiled as she made her way down to her daughter's room, placing her on the bed and tucking her in; as she turned around quietly and began to leave the room, she stole one last look back, savouring the opportunity to look at the girl, without scaring her off, and then she left reluctantly.

As she curled up in her chair in the library again, feeling a little less tired now that she'd had some coffee (caffeine was a wondrous, wondrous drug) she picked up her book again and settled down to read. Ignoring the slight waves - no, ripples - of nausea that were accompanied by a swimming headache when she sat down too fast, she managed to read a few chapters before she finally did doze off, and she was found by her husband in the exact same chair later on in the day, when he awoke.

Okay, this is the first chapter of book 2.5 - I hope you liked it! These chapters will probably be more 'slice of life' than action, so I've given you fair warning if you don't like that.

But I hope you do...

Anyway, last chapter's positive feedback astounded me - thank you to everyone who reviewed, whether you were a new or returning reviewer. Please keep you comments coming for these following chapters; you need only write a few words, even ten seconds could probably cut it!

As for a challenge, what do you want to see in these more relaxed chapters, and I'll try to include some of them!

Also, if anyone would be willing to make some cover art for these stories (any of them) I'd be so grateful! :D

Anyway, I'm tired now - it's half midnight, whoops - so I'm off. See you next chapter!

-SG