Knock-knock-knock. "Hey Elsa!" Silence. "Guess what day it is!" More silence. "It's my BIRTHDAY!"

The last part came out as a screech of delight, and Anna couldn't help but do a little hop in place. She had been waiting for this day for ages, ever since her last birthday, and now it was finally here and she was so excited. "And hey, guess what, guess what!" She had waited so long. "I GOT A BICYCLE!"

A ringing silence filled the hallway, but Anna was too busy being happy and excited and nothing was going to ruin this day to have time to notice.

"And it looks just like yours did, and Papa said that I already lost my two front teeth so he doesn't have to worry any more, and I broke my wrist falling down the stairs two months ago and it's finally healed but that's not what I wanted to tell you… Oh yeah! So you should come out, open your door and come out so that you can see it, and then maybe you can help me ride it because it doesn't have training wheels, I really want to ride it so that we can ride through the halls together like you said – I think you said – and I think I might need help carrying it back downstairs because it was really hard getting it up here, and I had to do it all by myself – "

Anna paused, took a deep breath, listened, and let it out with a whoosh, her fist curling around a piece of paper in her pocket. She went on in a slightly less energetic tone, because plan A hadn't worked.

"But that's okay, because I sort of guessed that you wouldn't want to come out, not yet at least, so… I drew you a picture!"

Kneeling, she slid the crayon drawing under the door, taking care to peek under it as well.

"You really need a mail slot, Elsa, because that's what sophic… phosticate… sophiscratic… what proper people – ELSA I SEE YOU SHOES! OW!"

There was a dull thud as Anna hit her head on the door in her excitement, and a sharp gasp from the other side, accompanied by hurried footsteps moving in the wrong direction.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. Ow. I think I'm gonna have a bruise… Elsa, wait, come back!" Anna held her head, leaning her ear against the door hopefully. "I like your shoes! Are they new?" And then, finally, they had something in common they could talk about. "'Cause listen, Elsa? I got new shoes too! Here, if you peek under the door like I did – except maybe don't hit your head – then you can see them." Anna shuffled forward, pressing the tips of her new felted slippers up against the crack at the bottom of the door. If there were a mail slot, I bet I could shove one through.

There was more silence, and then a creak of a floorboard. Anna held her breath, trying to balance with her body pressed up against the door. Her toes were getting slightly pinched.

And then there was a sigh – it wasn't Anna, Anna was holding her breath – and a quiet voice said, "They're lovely. Why don't you go show them to Gerda?"

Anna was so happy she could have exploded. Elsa had said something. Elsa had said something to her, and it hadn't made her upset. Elsa liked her shoes! Elsa had also asked her a question, and there was nothing in the world that would stop her from answering, because questions were how you started a conversation, and now, for the first time in ages, she and Elsa were having a conversation.

"Gerda said that I wasn't to make another appearance until I'd calmed down, because I was trying to help her pick up the wrapping paper but I was bouncing too much and then I slipped on a purple bit and then she tripped over me, which she wasn't happy about, and she said that I'd had too much sugar and lord help them all, because it was only six thirty in the morning, and it's my birthday so I get to eat whatever I want! And do want to know what I had for breakfast? Chocolate pancakes! With chocolate chips and chocolate syrup and I had some chocolate milk too, and I asked them to save you some because I know you like chocolate too. I don't have it with me, of course, because I was carrying my bicycle, but Mama said that she'd make sure you got it. Did you get it? Your breakfast, I mean."

And now it was Elsa's turn. The silence stretched out, and Anna began hopping from foot to slippered foot. She could do this, she could wait. She doesn't talk much, so she's probably just thinking of what to say. Did I say too much? Maybe she hadn't been loud enough, maybe she'd spoken too fast. Anna opened her mouth, about to ask if maybe she should repeat herself, when the silence was filled for her.

"Anna – "

"YES!" Anna clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes widening. Oops, maybe that had been too soon. "I mean, yes, I'm here, I'm listening. Sorry for interrupting. Nanny says I'm always interrupting, and that I should practice meditation and also maybe not say everything I'm thinking, but then how will people know? But it's your turn now, I'll be quiet. You can say something now, I'm being quiet." And then, just to make sure, she shoved her fist in her mouth.

There was more silence, and Anna wondered if she'd blown her chance at a conversation by interrupting. Of course, Elsa had never minded before, only laughed, but – no, she hasn't changed that much, if she still likes chocolate, she still likes me. Anna had come to this conclusion when she was five, almost half a year since whatever-it-was had happened. Whatever-it-was was the official name she had give that day when she was four. 'Whatever-it-was, I'm sorry!' or 'Please, Elsa, whatever-it-was, just tell me' and then, 'I don't care, Mama! Whatever-it-was, I want to play with Elsa now!'

Anna had a vague memory of Elsa once explaining to her why she had been forgiven for stealing her doll and new crayon set. "You're like chocolate, Anna." Elsa had said. "I can't not love you." And so, when she was five, Anna had run an experiment. She still had no idea what she had done, but if Elsa had forgiven her once, she could surely do it again. And because Elsa still wasn't talking to her, she had to be a little more sneaky. She had surreptitiously hidden her dessert of chocolate candy down her shirt front that evening, and then had run all the way up to Elsa's new room. Once there, she had knocked on the door and tried to get Elsa to come out again. It had failed, of course, but then she had lain her trap. She had placed the slightly melted chocolates on a napkin on the floor, and then ran off down the hall, around the corner. Once there she had waited for what felt like an eternity, before there was the creak of a door and then a small exclamation. Elsa hadn't been expecting chocolate, and Anna felt inexplicably pleased with herself. By the time she had scrambled to her feet and dashed around the corner, her sister had been gone, but so, to her delight, were the chocolates. And if Elsa still liked chocolate, then Elsa still like Anna. It had been one of the best moments of her life.

Now if only she could have another moment just like that, maybe right now, in fact, if only Elsa would say something…

"Happy Birthday, Anna." The words were so quiet she almost didn't hear them. "But, I can't help you with your bicycle. In – in fact, you need to leave. Now. Please."

The silence that followed was like the calm before a storm. Anna drew in a deep breath. She could do this, she could be calm, and reasonable, and Elsa probably had a perfectly reasonable explanation and –

"No! You can't just say that, and it's my birthday, and we were having a conversation, but – okay, fine, you don't have to help me, but I can't hate you and it's not fair, because I like chocolate! And… and I don't actually need your help riding a bicycle anyway, because I only wanted you to, you know, maybe catch me in case I fell, and I think I'll just have to do it by myself now. But I drew you a picture, so maybe you could give me some tips?" There was a scraping sound as she pulled the bicycle up from where it had rested on the floor. "Because wow, um… this looks a little big, and I'm not sure how to get up on it."

Anna's voice had quickly diminished throughout her tirade, because who was she kidding? She could only yell at Elsa for like a second, and even that seemed like too much. Now she just really wanted to ride her bicycle, and maybe she needed to prove to Elsa that she needed help first, and then her sister would finally come out and make sure she didn't fall too badly.

"Okay, I remember how you did it! You sort of pushed off, and then you swung your leg up over the seat. Like this!" Anna pushed, and swung, and the whole thing crashed to the ground.

"I'm okay, I'm okay! The bicycle's okay too, in case you were wondering. So that didn't work. Any other tips?" There was a hopeful pause as Anna looked toward Elsa's door, but only silence met her.

"Alright, fine, I guess I'll try it again. I can't give up on the first try now, can I. You know, it always looks so easy when someone else does it, but I guess it just takes practice. Right? Okay, here I go, Elsa! I'll just swing my foot a little higher this time." Anna gave an almighty push, and swung as hard as she could, and a second later there was a thwack as her head hit the floorboards and she was on the ground again, except this time the bicycle was on top of her instead of her on top of it. She let out a groan.

"It's not working, and I hit my head again!" She untangled herself from the bicycle and stood, hands on hips, glaring at the thing. "The first time, I landed on it, but this time, it landed on me! I think that Papa gave me a size too big, and now I'll have wait again to be able to ride it and it's not fair, because it's my b-birthday – " Anna stopped abruptly, kicking the stupid contraption and giving an angry sniffle. Nothing. Nothing was going to ruin this day, but so help her she was about to start crying in frustration – and also probably a sugar crash, but she would never admit it – and if only Elsa would give her a few pointers, everything would work out just fine!

"You have to swing, then push."

There was a stunned silence, and Anna forgot that she had been about to start crying. "Oh." Well, leave it to Elsa to be the smart one. "Oh! You know, that makes a lot of sense."

Feeling a little ridiculous, and much more like herself, Anna cheerfully righted the bicycle, and then, with her usual enthusiasm, swung her leg over the metal bar in the middle.

"Ow! This is giving me a wedgie, Elsa. But I think it's working! Oh, oh no, my skirt's stuck on the seat. If I just twist a little, maybe I can get it – NO! Aaaah! Okay, okay, I'm okay, just a temporary loss of balance there, nothing to worry about! Elsa? Have I mentioned you're a genius?"

Silence. Of course, this didn't deter Anna in the least.

"Okay, so now I push, right? Right Elsa? Okay, well, here goes everything!"

"Wait, no- ANNA!"

Anna was too busy giving herself the biggest push she could manage with only one foot on the ground to pay Elsa's desperate cry any mind. The bicycle jumped forward, and Anna scrambled to get both her feet on the peddles. She tipped dangerously to the side, and the bicycle swerved before miraculously righting itself. She was a natural!

"I'm doing it, Elsa, look look!" And then her glee turned to horror, and suddenly she was screaming, "THE STAIRS! AAAAAAAAAAAH ELSA ELSA ELSA, AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Anna's hands flew to her face as she squeezed her eyes shut, and who in their right mind puts stairs at the end of a hallway, and then hands were grabbing her out of the freezing air and there was a crashing sound as her bicycle – her poor, brand new bicycle – went tumbling down, and another crash as it collided with a suit of armor stationed at the bottom, and another crash, which was –

"Elsa?"

Papa's alarmed and slightly bemused voice sounded above her head, and Anna opened her eyes, finally realizing that she wasn't going to tumble to her doom and possibly a broken leg, at least not today. Her breath misted in front of her face, and since when had it become so cold? Papa wasn't looking at the daughter now safely in his arms, however, he was looking past her, down the corridor, the fear slowly sliding from his face as a saw – Elsa?

Anna twisted eagerly, and there she was, the door swinging behind her. Her platinum hair hung in a single braid down her back, just like Anna remembered, and she was even wearing a blue headband to match the robe that seemed, in her opinion, just a little too big. A pearly nightgown could be seen beneath it, and there were her slippers too, the ones that had started their conversation. Her hands were covered in the silk gloves that Anna had become slightly jealous of – why couldn't she have silk gloves too, why did she always get the scratchy wool ones, only to be worn in winter? – but something was wrong, something was very wrong… Elsa looked terrified. And okay, that was justifiable, Anna had just nearly fallen to her dea- doom, to her doom, but Elsa wasn't looking at her. Elsa was looking at Papa.

"ELSA! I'm okay! Papa caught me, see? I mean really, who puts stairs right in the way of a corridor, but did you see Elsa, did you see? I was doing it! I was doing really great too, I almost fell, of course, but then I – wait, Elsa, where are you – " Elsa turned without a word and fled, the door slamming shut behind her. "Oh, okay, um… bye Elsa!"

A muffled sound came from the now closed door, but it didn't sound like the good bye Anna was hoping for, no, it sound more like… sobbing. Goosebumps ran up her arms, and Anna shivered.

"Papa, what's – "

"Anna," Papa interrupted, setting her down, "You and I need to have a chat about appropriate places to ride that new bicycle of yours." He smiled down at her, but the moment was ruined when he sent a worried glance in the direction of Elsa's door. "Now run along and tell Kai to help you get the thing outside, where it belongs, and if you're still cold after that put on a sweater."

Anna let out an indignant huff. Yeah, she was cold, but she wasn't that cold, and she wasn't a baby anymore, only babies bundled up in this weather! Besides, if Elsa was only wearing her night clothes, then Anna could do the same, except she wasn't wearing her night clothes, she had shed them earlier in favor of a new dress seamstress Lotta had made her, but that wasn't the point –

Suddenly, something very important, and also very exciting, occurred to her.

"Papa," she said urgently, tugging on his shirt. He had been looking at Elsa's door again. "Papa, does Elsa wear her nightclothes to breakfast, just like me?"

Papa looked down at her, and his frown vanished, like it always did when he looked at her. "Yes, Anna, I do believe she does. Now what did I just tell you?"

"To go get Kai and get my new bicycle outside, and I'm so happy right now I could explode!" Anna jumped in place, and Papa twitched, his arm jerking towards her as she wobbled slightly on the top step. Oops, she was a little closer than she'd thought. "'Cause you know what that means? Elsa's still just like me! And I'm really sorry about whatever-it-was, and I think I just scared her and made her cry, but I'll write an apology letter, a really official one with a wax stamp – " Papa sent her a look, and Anna paused, remembering her last encounter with hot wax. "Well okay, maybe not the wax, but I'll draw on it and make it look really pretty, and then she'll love me because she loves chocolate! Then I'll go practice riding my bicycle outside, and I'll get really good, and then Elsa won't have to worry about me and maybe she'll come out again and we can ride our bicycles together through the halls, and oh! I'd better get started right now, because did you hear what I just said? I have so many things I need to do! Are you coming?"

Papa knelt down and pulled Anna into a hug, a really tight, really rare hug, and said, "Happy birthday, Sunshine. I'll see if I can find you in a little bit, but first I have to check on Elsa. That apology letter sounds like a good idea. Now go find Kai. I believe he's helping your Mama in the library."

He pulled away then, depositing a swift kiss on Anna's head. She beamed at him, and then whirled around, calling out a "Bye!" to her Papa, and a "Bye, Elsa!" to the door, before tearing off down the steps. There was her bicycle, and the suit of armor it had demolished. Fred, she thought giddily, I'll call him Fred. Fred, her knight of shining armor, who had gallantly cushioned the spectacular fall of her bicycle. Introductions could wait, however, she had far more pressing issues to attend to.

She stumbled to a halt in front of her new bicycle, almost tripping over her skirt. She needed to find Kai, and Papa had said that he was in the library, but the library was so far away…

Anna glanced behind her. There was no sign of Papa. She looked at Fred, and whispered, "Promise you won't tell?" Fred winked, and that was all the encouragement she needed.

Anna grabbed the bicycle, set it upright, and pushed it forward so that Fred was no longer in danger of being run over. Alright Anna, you can do this, just like Elsa said, swing and push, that's all it takes!

"Okay Fred, are you watching? Because this is gonna be epic! I'm already a natural, you just swing and push, just like this!"

A second later, there was a shriek of "NO, AUNTIE OLGA, LOOK OU-oomf! No, sorry, I mean, it was nothing personal… Hey, it was the bicycle's fault!" and Anna heaved herself off the floor from where she had just crashed into the portrait of her late great aunt Olga. This whole riding-a-bicycle business might take her a little more getting used to than she had anticipated.