It was the day of Elsa's return. Much to her surprise, the Kingdom of Arendelle had welcomed her return, mysterious powers and all. It had pained the citizens that they had not only lost their former king and queen, but when Queen Elsa had vanished it was heartbreaking.
Anna could not be happier. It crushed her when her sister had fled into the night the evening of her coronation. After years of Elsa shutting herself away from the world, surrounding herself with a cloak of loneliness to protect others from her powers, Anna finally had her chance to reunite. Of course, she had no idea that Elsa really had done it out of fear of hurting her again. As she stood by her sister, she couldn't help but feel giddy with anticipation of their future together, side by side.
Catching Anna's gaze from the corner of her eye, Elsa smiled softly, "Something on your mind?"
"Uh," Anna began, "no, well...you see" she paused, a slight blush creeping across her face. "It's just that I'm glad you're back. And look, everyone is so happy to be here!"
"You're such a dork," the queen smirked as the strawberry blonde pouted. She turned her gaze back to the crowd as they skated merrily around the courtyard she had iced over. "I missed you too," Elsa spoke softly, never breaking her gaze from the skaters as she fidgeted with her hands. She truly felt her heart could burst.
The younger sister could see Elsa twisting her hands, sensing her anxiety. "Come on!" Anna beamed as she grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her down the steps toward the ice, both their hearts beating faster.
As the two reached the frozen rink, the blonde took the first step onto the ice with ease as she was in her element. She had always admired Anna's enthusiasm, but knew full well that any slick surfaces would usually result in disaster when the two met.
"Hold still," Elsa smiled, conjuring a pair of icy blades under Anna's delicate feet.
Bursting with excitement, the younger girl danced uneasily in place as she admired the crafted beauty of her skates. "Oh Elsa," she beamed as she stepped onto the ice, "they're so beauti-" Her words were cut off as she began to fall.
With firm but gentle hands, Elsa took hold of her sister's hips to steady her. A pair of green eyes met her gaze, and she noticed for the first time that her sister had filled out and was not a child any longer. 'Wait, what?' she thought. The queen struggled to conceal the sudden emotion that surged through her at the sudden, unexpected realization.
"Guess I'm still not as graceful as you, oh Queen of Arendelle," Anna giggled as she bowed her head slightly. "Thanks for the save."
The younger girl placed her hands on her sister's shoulders in an attempt to right herself. She looked up at the taller girl, noticing how she whipped her head away.
"Are you okay?" the strawberry blonde inquired. She braced herself as Elsa began to slowly skate backward.
Keeping her head over her shoulder to ensure they did not run into anyone, but mostly to ensure Anna could not see her face, the queen finally spoke, "I'm fine." She absentmindedly ran her hands up her younger sister's sides to her arms, eliciting a slight shiver from her, and taking her hands from her own shoulders. "Y-You've grown up," Elsa uttered hesitantly as she pulled Anna along, "I guess I never fully noticed until now."
'Conceal, don't feel. Wait, conceal what? And why?' the blonde thought to herself.
Chuckling, Anna spoke, "I guess time flies when you've locked yourself up in your room." She immediately regretted her words. "I mean," she stammered, "it was a long time. And you filled out nicely." 'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' she groaned internally.
Elsa knew her sister meant no harm with her first remark, but it was the second that caught her off guard and flustered her. Her powers, having a will of their own based on her emotions, created a small chunk of ice behind her. Upon contact, the heel of her shoe fractured and broke, leaving her unbalanced and toppling to the ground, pulling her sister with her. A hush fell over the crowd as they all stared at the royal siblings.
"Anna, are you okay?" Elsa groaned, fearful that she had hurt the younger girl.
"I should be asking you that," Anna chortled. The queen sighed, relieved that Anna was okay. "However, maybe I am just as graceful as the queen," she quipped, her breath hot against Elsa's face.
Drawing in a quick breath, the blonde swallowed hard and tried to control her emotions. She could feel her heart fluttering against, against... quickly shifting her line of vision down.
"M-Maybe we should get up now," Elsa stammered, feeling Anna's hand against her chest.
The younger girl removed her hand, perhaps lingering a little too long, and rolled off of her sister. The queen got to her feet and held her outstretched hand to her sister, helping her up.
"Oh no!" Anna exclaimed, having noticed Elsa's broken heel.
Elsa rolled her eyes slightly. Of course, her sister would be worried over something easily fixed. She wove her hand gracefully through the air, easily mending her icy shoe. Smiling warmly at her Anna, she spoke, "Not a big deal. Ice powers, remember?"
"You're so cool!" Anna chirped excitedly before realizing she had made a joke, only to cause more laughter to erupt from within.
The older girl couldn't help but watch in amazement as her sister laughed. She truly was beautiful, especially when she smiled and laughed. "Come on you," Elsa laughed.
The two skated over to the steps once more before Elsa dispersed Anna's blades into tiny snowflakes. Gracefully ascending the stairs, the Queen of Arendelle made her way inside, leaving her sister to mingle with the crowd.