This was not how it was supposed to be.

Anna knew that. The kingdom knew that. Even Elsa had known that. But there was nothing Anna could do now. Fate had played its hand and she had to make the best of what she had been dealt with.

As she sat in her chamber, staring out at the city of Arendelle, the young princess sighed. To think but a month ago Elsa was in her place. She must have been absolutely terrified, but Anna knew she wouldn't give in to such fears. She had nothing to hide or conceal from the world.

Would Elsa have been proud? Anna didn't know, and frankly didn't want to know. Every memory of Elsa made her die a little inside. Even after the initial pain had subsided, Anna knew she would never get over her sister's death.

When their kingdom had been plunged into an eternal winter by the machinations of a prince from the southern isles, Elsa made the ultimate sacrifice to save Arendelle. Anna could only watch as Elsa plunged the icy blade into her own chest, ending her magic once and for all.

Arendelle had been saved, and the kingdom was happy, but Anna... she was heartbroken. The closest friend she had ever had in her entire life, and she was gone.

First her parents, now her sister. It seemed Anna was fated to be alone.

"Elsa don't!"

"I'm sorry Anna this is the only way."

Schink!

"Noooooo!"

Wiping a tear from her eye, Anna took a deep breath, having let herself be lost in such a painful memory. She couldn't let that bother her now. Today was the day she stopped mourning and faced the future. That was what Elsa would have done.

She looked down at the gown she was wearing. It was a copy of Elsa's coronation dress albeit all in black, including the gloves. She wore the colour to remind the world that still mourned her sister, who should have been wearing this dress, not her.

Her hair was tied up and her face was a blank empty expression. It had been too long since a smile had crossed her lips.

As she waited to be called down to the chapel to undergo the ceremony, Anna stared up at a portrait to her side, one of her late father. She had been much closer to her parents than Elsa had been in their later years and their deaths had hurt her just as much as Elsa's.

Stroking a gloved finger along the side of the painting, Anna sighed, before staring at her father's visage.

"Papa," she spoke. "I'm sorry I couldn't save Elsa. I couldn't save her from the curse that was upon her, but I will lead in the way you and her would have wanted. If Elsa is with you... Wherever you are. Tell her... That I miss her so much."

She held back tears after she said those last words, doing her best to not cry. Before she could say anything more to the painting there was a knock on her door.

"Anna?" A familiar voice called to her. "It's almost time for your ceremony."

"Coming!" Anna cheerfully replied, trying her best to sound like her old self. She skipped over to the door and opened it, finding Kristoff waiting for her.

Looking her over, her blonde friend smiled, a smile that reassured her spirits somewhat. Kristoff had gotten quite close to Anna since Elsa's death, although Anna knew she could never love him. She could never love anyone, since there was no one like Elsa.

"You look great," Kristoff told her, honestly. "Do you still wanna go through with this?"

With a heavy heart, Anna knew she had to agree. She was to be the queen now and just like her sister before her, she had to stand tall and firm, ready to accept whatever obstacle came her way. She then looked at Kristoff and nodded.

"Yes," she said. "I'm ready."

Kristoff smiled. "Just making sure. Wouldn't want you to get cold feet on your big day."

The burly ice harvester then escorted Anna down to the castle chapel, where most of the honoured guests had arrived. Anna recognised a few of them of course, like her cousin Rapunzel. She and Anna had bonded over their grief for Elsa as well, so it brought a smile to Anna's face to see her cousin here.

Anna also noticed a delegation from the Southern Isles in attendance as well, no doubt to offer their apologies once more for Hans's actions. The princess didn't blame them. With how charming Hans was, no one really did suspect the sociopath that lay beneath the skin.

Now that the princess was in the chamber, the ceremony could finally begin. As the choir began to sing, Anna took her place before the altar, bowing in respect.

"Dearly beloved, we gather here on this day to witness the coronation of Princess Anna of Arendelle. This day is most unexpected, but we all must be strong. Our kingdom is nothing without a Queen to lead us, and it is time for our fair princess to take up her birthright."

Ironic, since Anna had been raised all her life to not worry about becoming queen and now the responsibility was being placed on her shoulders.

She wouldn't disappoint the people in this room, the people of her kingdom and most of all, she would not disappoint the legacy of her sister.

"Princess Anna... do you swear to rule Arendelle with a gentle hand, to lead her people in prosperity and to protect this land from all those who would do her harm?"

"I..." Anna gulped, feeling very nervous. No, she would take this vow. It was her duty. "I... I swear, with all my heart and soul."

Anna then bent down on one knee as the priest took the golden tiara, one of a similar design to the one Elsa had worn and held it over her head. This was Anna's big moment. There was no turning back now.

The new queen then rose, confidently taking the sceptre and orb in front of her into her hands and turned to face her kingdom. The crowd was clapping in joy and approval, ushering in Anna's reign with happiness.

"All hail Anna... Queen Of Arendelle."

Taking a deep breath, Anna looked on at her adoring public. She was Queen now, a moment she could never have dreamed of actually happening. Clutching her sceptre and orb tighter, Anna made another vow, one more silent and personal.

"I'll make you proud Elsa... I promise."

xXx

Over the next few months, Anna did her best to lead her kingdom. While many called her approach to ruling rather unorthodox, those that were closest to Anna like Kristoff knew she was trying her best and for them, that was more than fine.

While she may have become Queen, Anna tried her best to her usual cheerful self, often showing a positive, optimistic attitude to her work.

This seemed to not only inspire others in the kingdom, but also helped Anna to feel a little more confident with herself and with her role as monarch.

One later November evening, Anna was in her study, working on some documents related to a recent land dispute between some farmers in the northern regions of her kingdom. It was a little tedious, especially since this was the third time she had made a document such as this, but Anna merely brushed it aside. After all, with everything she signed, she knew she was making Arendelle a better place, one step at a time.

As the sun was starting to set and the hours starting growing long, Anna stretched her arms, yawning. While she had been going to bed at more reasonable hours, it was still quite late for her.

Putting her quill away and filing away her documents so she could work on them more in the morning, Anna knew she was due for a lie on her bed. Before she could do that, however, something caught the corner of her eye.

Outside of her window, Anna could see a strange light. It seemed to be coming from the fjord. Was a ship entering the harbour? Possibly, but Anna could see no boats in the water. Instead, she could only see another strange sight.

The Arendelle fjord seemed to be... Frozen.

It was an eerily familiar scene to Anna. The Fjord had been just like that when Elsa had... No, this was possibly just her seeing things. She had been working very hard that day.

But the more Anna looked out at the frozen landscape outside of the castle walls, the young queen knew something had to be up. Part of her wondered if she should call the guards, but she knew that whatever was out there, she could handle it.

Quickly grabbing her cloak, Anna headed out of the castle, down the steps to the outer walls. She remembered this place very well. When Elsa had fled from her coronation party, Anna recalled her sister stopping here before she ran across the fjord to the mountains, freezing the lake with every step.

As Anna walked in the open air, she opened out her palm, feeling a snowflake drop into it. While it was nearly winter, snow rarely ever came down that early in the year.

Nothing seemed to be making sense here. The Fjord suddenly freezing and now snow falling from the sky, it was like some sort of strange message was being conveyed to Anna but from who? And why?

Anna knew she had to find out and she knew she would likely be able to find out by following the strange light at the centre of the frozen fjord. Now that she was closer, she could see it was more like a miniature star, sparkling in the air.

The light seemed to defy all of nature's laws, hovering in place and glowing brighter than the sun.

Covering her eyes, Anna made her way to the edge of the pier, gently tapping her shoe down on the icy surface. The ice was hard, it was okay to walk on. Stepping out onto the fjord, Anna could feel her feet firmly placed onto the ice.

She looked outward, seeing the light directly ahead of her. Anna started to make her way towards the strange light, it's glow slowly starting to fade with every step she took closer to it.

Feeling her chest, Anna could sense her heart was being drawn towards the light, as if she and it were somehow... connected. She could also feel a familiar presence, but Anna was not certain of that.

Finally, Anna had gotten close enough to the light as she possibly could. The light still hung in front of Anna, glowing with radiant brilliance.

Getting a moment to stare in awe, Anna looked closer into the light, trying to make out what was causing such a brilliant glow.

"What is this?" She wondered aloud.

Suddenly, the entire area was bathed in a bright light, making Anna shut her eyes as tight as she could. She felt a strong icy gust blow through her hair before... silence. As Anna opened her eyes again, she was met with a sight she would never have suspected.

The bright white light had now faded and in its place was a cool icy glow. In front of Anna, hovering in the air, was a figure of a beautiful young woman. She had a calm gentle face and from her pack, was a wide pair of icy wings. Her clothes were very familiar to Anna. A sparkling blue dress with a cape that appeared to be made of ice.

Anna couldn't believe her eyes. This shouldn't have been possible. She knew it wasn't possible. But here she was. The woman hovering before Anna... was her sister Elsa.

"Elsa..." Anna spoke. "Is that... Is that really you?"

The being before Anna dropped to the ground, her glow fading and her blue eyes gazing into Anna's, her skin faintly illuminated in the fading sunlight. "Yes... It's me, Anna."

With that one confirmation, Anna ran towards Elsa, jumping into the older woman's arms. She hugged her tightly, her arms wrapped around Elsa. As she let herself relax in the embrace, she let her sadness and pain go and started to cry.

Elsa threaded her fingers through Anna's strawberry blonde locks. She sighed and let her cold body soothe Anna as she shed tears of joy into Elsa's arms.

"How... Is this possible?" Anna wondered. "I... I saw you die. You stabbed your own heart."

"I... I don't really know myself," Elsa admitted. "One moment I was lying on the ice with you... the next I was in this strange place and I had these wings for whatever reason... I... I think I was in heaven Anna."

Anna pulled herself back, stroking Elsa's cheek. "You... you're sure of that?"

Nodding, Elsa continued her explanation. "I was in this white place where I saw so many people. I even saw Mama and Papa there. They seemed... happy. But something wasn't right there. Something was telling me it wasn't my time. So... I was sent back here... to the land of the living."

Wiping tears from her eyes, Anna smiled. "I... I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Elsa responded. "I realise why I was sent back now... Not even god himself would let us be apart. We were meant for one another Anna." She then hugged Anna again, but this time, something beautiful happened. Within seconds, Elsa's lips pressed to Anna's in a soft loving kiss.

Her eyes widened for a few seconds, but Anna gave in, closing her eyes and kissing her sister back. She had missed this most of all, the soft cold touch of Elsa's lips.

Elsa's wings then curled up behind her back, as the older sister kissed her true love passionately and tenderly. This was her duty, her true purpose in life. To be there for Anna, to keep her safe and to watch over her.

As they pulled away, Anna cried again, still blissfully happy that her sister, by some divine miracle had returned to her. "I... I might need a minute."

"Take as much time as you need, dear sister," Elsa replied, stroking her cheek. "I'll be right here and I'll never leave your side."

xXx

Author's note: Yeah, you might need tissues for this. For both the sad and happy bits. Once again, Lorelei lilly Princess made the pic that inspired this fic.