Elsa

"Elsa!" a voice suddenly whispered into my ear, drawing me out of the wonderful dream I had been having. Darn, I was finally starting to get used to those. Stubbornly, I kept my eyes shut as a hand lightly shook my shoulder. "Come on, Elsa! Everyone's asleep!"

"Including me," I mumbled. "Go back to bed, Anna." I pushed my sister away half-heartedly and pulled the blankets up over my head. This didn't discourage her in the slightest. It never did. She climbed on top of my bed and started jumping up and down, trying to push me out.

"You know I can't!" she whined, tugging on the sheets. I tugged back, causing her to slip and fall off of the mattress. I flinched at the loud thump as she hit the floor, but I still refused to get up. Anna would be fine. She was pretty durable even without powers. She was also very persistent, and before I could try covering my face with the pillows, her face was already in front of mine, grinning in such a way that made her look years younger than she really was. "Do you want to build a snowman?"

I sighed, opened my eyes, and smiled. There would just be no getting rid of her, not that I minded, of course. I threw off my blankets and tip-toed barefoot across our room, Anna having to cover her mouth to contain her squeal of excitement. We shared a room again, now that there was no fear of me freezing her in my sleep. There was really only one downside to our new living arrangements, and those were the late nights we spent together. Some things you just couldn't grow out of, and sneaking out in the middle of the night to play in the snow was one of those things. We wouldn't be going outside, of course; it was actually only late September. Our play always took place in the ballroom.

With a wave of my hand, my magic shot up into the air, exploding into millions of tiny snowflakes that drifted down on top of our heads. We would always spend minutes catching them on our tongues before I stepped hard on the polished floor, making it gleam brighter with a coat of ice. Anna slipped and fell, as always, and I provided her with some skates made out of ice, as well. She stood up shakily, took a wobbly step closer to me, and fell again. I tried to teach her, but she never was the best at skating. Neither was I, really, but I didn't need skates to glide across the ice. Like I did every night, I would change into something a bit more comfortable.

Starting from my feet up, my magic swirled around me, covering up my blue nightgown with sparkling ice and snow, changing it into a dress more beautiful than any I had ever owned. Shoes of perfect, clear ice, a floor length skirt and bodice made of snowflakes, and sleeves and a cape formed entirely of frost. Anna clapped her hands in delight. We both preferred it when I wore my Snow Queen dress, even though lately, I had been experimenting with some different styles. Despite the darker origins of the dress, it would always be my favorite.

We skated around until we got tired of that, and we finally set to work on our snowman. Sure, I could just simply create one with a simple gesture, but I found it far more rewarding when Anna and I took the time to roll the pieces up together. The snowmen always ended up smaller than we would have liked and maybe a bit more crude, but we sat in front of it and admired it all the same, arms around each other's shoulders. The point of it all was that we were together again, and nothing would ever stop that. Not even that mean old Pitch black.

To be perfectly honest, I was waiting for him to come back. I wanted my shot at revenge for how he had taken advantage of me during a weaker time in my life, which was hard to believe had only been a few months ago. Things were so different now. I didn't have to hide anymore. I just had to love. I just had to love my subjects, my sister, and my parents. It kept the curse from taking over my life again.

I stood up and stretched, running my fingers through my wild hair to smooth it back into place only for it to fall back as a snowball hit me on the side of the head. I turned to Anna, who was standing now as well, whistling nonchalantly, and I grinned mischievously. In my hands, a snowball bigger than both of us formed, and she ran squealing with delight while I chased after her. It must have been quite a sight. She slipped on the ice every five seconds, and I wasn't the most graceful while running in a dress and heels. Suddenly, we both heard a laugh, stopping us dead in our tracks.

Anna was hit by a snowball first, causing her to fall back into a snowdrift, and before I could dodge, I was nailed as well, which unfortunately caused me to release my massive snowball. It fell in an overwhelming pile over me and Anna, leaving only our heads sticking out to cough, sputter, and laugh. Dad had caught us. Again. He stood against the frame of the ballroom's double doors, staff over his shoulder. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked, raising a teasing eyebrow. We both knew that he really didn't mind us staying up so late to play with my powers, but he would always joke that dealing with us tired in the morning was never any fun.

"I told you so," I said to Anna, clearing the snow off of me magically. She stuck her tongue out at me, earning her another snowball in the face from me.

"Alright, you two. Just clean up this mess and go to bed before you wake anyone else." We both groaned dramatically but did what he said. There had once been a time when he would have to clean everything up by himself. I hadn't had enough control over my abilities to help with the mess, and I'd usually just make it worse. Now, when I waved my arms, the snow and ice would all fly back up, one snowflake at a time, collecting at some point in the air that I chose, and it would dissipate into nothing again, leaving the ballroom as pristine as it had been before. Although personally, I thought it looked better with an ice decoration or two. It almost reminded me of my ice palace.

Once or twice, I had thought about returning to the top of the mountain for just a visit, but ever since my, ah, incident, I had been far too busy to make the trip without any transportation magic of my own, and besides, I had partially destroyed it after that one time I got mad at Anna. It would take a while to rebuild, even with better control over my powers, and the rebuilding of the kingdom took priority. I still had a lot of forgiveness to earn for the homes that had taken a toll from my storms.

Anna and I hugged Dad goodnight and obediently travelled back up to our room. I'd had enough playtime anyway. It was time to go to sleep for some peaceful rest.

Funny. There had once been a time that I resented going to sleep.

The ice dress melted off of me once I passed through our bedroom door, and I immediately curled up in my bed. Anna still wasn't quite ready to do the same. "Come on, Elsa! We could still play in here!" she insisted, but as she shook my shoulder this time, I could feel how cold her fingers were, and I shivered involuntarily, not that the cold ever bothered me. I just knew that Anna had had enough of my magic for one night. A dark memory passed through my mind, one where I clung to Anna for dear life, her body frozen, cold, and lifeless. I shook it off with her hand and closed my eyes for a more pleasant dream.

"If Dad catches us again, he'll go and fetch Sandy," I warned. This stopped her. We both knew how powerful the Sandman could be when he wanted and that no matter where you were or what you were doing, he could knock you out in a wink. Both of us had woken up before in painful positions, cramped and sore in the morning from laying on cold, hard surfaces for a night. We also both knew that Dad could have carried us back to our room if he wanted, but I think I left us just to get the message across.

Finally, Anna left me alone to my dreams of more precious images. The refreshing wind in my face, Anna, my mother and I all braiding each others hair with...interesting results, and overall good feelings of fun and wonder.

Anna

The sun rising over the Arendelle mountains to shine down upon the kingdom of Corona is quite a sight to see.

Or so I've been told.

I was not, nor would I ever be a morning person. A loud knock finally woke me up late in the morning, and I sat straight up, eyes still closed. I wouldn't be able to see out of them anyway with my wild hair flying about my face the way that it always did. Elsa entered the room, bright and cheerful, having been awake for probably hours before me. "Good morning," she chirped. "Nice bedhead."

I finally rubbed my eyes into wakefulness and pushed my hair back to see. Elsa opened the window to the courtyard, taking in a deep breath of the fresh morning air. I squinted at the sunlight until my tired eyes adjusted, and I saw that she was already dressed, wearing an old, blue dress with a jacket that I remembered her being fond of when we were little. Every time she grew out of it, she had another one just like it made. Her hair hung in its customary braid with any loose strands swept back perfectly. I looked at my own tangled rats' nest of hair and frowned. Hair did not have a right to be that perfect.

"Goo' mornin'," I slurred with a yawn. Elsa laughed.

"If you hurry and get dressed, you might have time to eat brunch with us," she told me. "Then, I was thinking of maybe going out for a while."

I perked up. "Like...out of town?" I asked hopefully. Personally, even though I enjoyed the freedom of now being able to wander the kingdom, I really longed for some new scenery. I could still remember seeing new parts of the world while flying with Dad. It was all so big and so bright! I wanted to explore it all! But at this point, I would just be happy to visit the old ice palace.

"No. Just out of the castle," she answered. I shrugged, expecting her answer. She had promised that she would take me up for an actual tour eventually, but for the moment, she always refused. I wondered why, but since I was just happy with having my sister back all of the time, I didn't try to push her on the few secrets she still kept. Everyone had a few, like my hidden stash of chocolate. Speaking of... "If you go with me, we might make time to stop for chocolate."

"There's always time to stop for chocolate," I teased. "You don't have to make time."

"True," she agreed. "So, are you coming?"

"Definitely." I leapt out of bed, grabbing my casual green dress and boots on my way to the bathroom. After fighting with my hair for a good twenty minutes (the usual morning routine), I made it downstairs as everyone was sitting down to an elaborate brunch. My father Jack Frost, technically the king but nobody knew, always took the head of the table. To his right sat Queen Rapunzel, my mother, her exquisite long hair hanging loose and free, which informed me that she planned on staying inside all day to work. For convenience, she always wore it in a thick braid to go out so that it wouldn't get caught on anything. Across from her sat Elsa, who smiled when she saw that I truly was awake.

I took my seat next to Mother, frowning slightly when I saw that the seat across from me was empty. We usually saved that seat for Kristoff whenever he felt like coming in for meals, but he was busy, and I understood. He would always make time for me when he got back.

I liked coming down for meals now. At a time, it had just been me and Mother sitting in awkward silence next to each other. Elsa would always stay in her room and have meals brought to her (usually by me), and I couldn't see Dad back then. On mornings like these, we were one, strange, happy family.

Elsa was good on her word, and we went out to town right after brunch. It still took some getting used to, though, seeing the sun bounce off of her light hair and ivory skin. It was a sight that I had never thought that I would see in my lifetime. That, or Elsa playing with children. We were favorites throughout the kingdom, the two lovely royal sisters. I loved playing with the kids, despite their parents protesting how they shouldn't bother the princesses. We didn't mind, and I would even offer to babysit my favorites. The kids ran to Elsa for her ice powers, enjoying them just as much as I did. Unfortunately, Elsa made it a point to not use her powers freely throughout the kingdom.

That day, I noticed how she was fidgeting with a pair of white gloves. I frowned. "You don't need them, Elsa. You're not going to hurt anyone," I assured her.

She smiled warmly in response. "I know that, Anna. You know that. But some people don't," she whispered, pointing over to a passer-by who happened to pass by a little faster upon seeing her. I looked around us for similar situations, seeing some parents who appeared to hug their children a little closer or people who shrunk away from their windows slightly. "I wear them just to make other people comfortable." I nodded in understanding as she chose to change the subject. "Where's Kristoff today?"

"Probably halfway up the mountain. He takes his job very seriously."

"So I've heard. Speaking of serious, you two have gotten pretty close, right?" she said with a knowing smile.

I nudged her gently, blushing. "Yeah."

"I mean, Dad hasn't even freaked out in a week or so." We laughed, both of us knowing how over-protective our Father could get, whether it was over my love life or Elsa's powers.

"Oh, he has. You just weren't there a few times. Just last week, we were...heh, never mind." I distracted myself by fiddling with one of my braids.

"Aw, come on. You can tell me."

One look from her told me that I wasn't getting out of this one. She would find out one way or another. "Well, we met in the stables to feed Sven, and we were, well, talking over some pretty serious stuff, and Dad flew right on in when we kissed; he was probably listening the entire time. He told me it was bed-time, and I think he stayed after to bug Kristoff some more when I left. It's been pretty awkward ever since." It was true. Kristoff almost seemed to be avoiding me at times, and when we did see each other, it was usually only a quick conversation and a peck on the cheek.

"Dad will cool down eventually," she joked. "I wonder what they talked about."

"You and me both."

"What did you two talk about?"

I bit my lip, not wanting to say too much. "Oh, you know...stuff."

"Like...marriage and stuff?"

My mouth dropped. "How did you-?"

"Like I said, you two are getting pretty serious. Anyone can see it. He's the one, isn't he?"

I smiled. Elsa always seemed to get me, even when we hadn't known each other for years. "Yeah," I replied. Elsa grinned and almost hugged me. Almost. While physical contact was never a problem for us anymore, she tried to act just a bit more refined out in town. Good impressions and all that. "But we don't want to rush anything. We've talked about the possibility once or twice, but it's not like we're planning anything anytime soon."

"That's good." The conversation seemed to stall. I had grown quiet to think, and Elsa respected that, but after a while, the silence became only a tad awkward, and both of us searched for something to break it. "Oh, look! Chocolate!" Elsa pointed out, taking my hand and leading me over to the line by our favorite stand. Even through the glove, I could feel how cold her hand was, but it didn't really bother me anymore.

Chocolate. Kristoff. A complete family.

My life couldn't get any better.

(Yay! Here's the sequel for everyone who asked for it! Special thanks goes to acts29forchrist, who helped me so much with getting ideas together for this story and who created the cover art for both this and the original. The challenge here was actually creating a story while the original is just a reimagining of the movie, and I just can't wait to type up all that I've got planned! So go out and buy the Frozen DVD, reread the original fanfic if you have to, and get ready to read and review.)