"Come on, Elsa! Everything's packed. Let's go!"

Anna was bouncing off the walls, throwing things into bags and twirling around. I stood at the window, gripping the ledge and breathing deeply. Little veins of ice started curling on the stone. I pressed my hands firmly to my sides.

It's going to be fine. You haven't had any incidents since the coronation affair, and look how well that turned out. Anna tugged on my sleeve.

"Come on, the coach is waiting! It's time for the best vacation ever," she said. She dragged me behind her down the stairs and to the castle entrance. She jumped into the coach and looked expectantly at me.

"All right. Just one moment," I said. I signaled for the head servant.

"All the preparations have been made?" I asked.

"Everything is ready," he assured me.

"The advisors are in place and there's no sign of any trouble?" I asked.

"It will be fine, my queen," he said placidly.

"You know how to reach me if you need me?" I asked.

"You have prepared for every possible contingency. We merely executed your plans," he said, and he smiled. "Do try to have fun." I sighed, smoothed out my dress, and sat down next to Anna. We were on our way.

It had been a year and a half since I assumed leadership of Arendelle. The treasury was full to the brim with proceeds from our thriving exportation of ice. We had treaties in place with nearly the entire continent, and the outliers had made no moves to attack a queen that could freeze them solid if she so desired. Diplomacy was moving more slowly. Any delegates who met me tended to assume I was a cold-hearted tyrant waiting to happen. Those who thought so were more likely to leave me alone, so I allowed them to. Anyone who was really important, like Anna, knew the real me. She was the one who had suggested that we should go on a sisterly bonding trip. And she suggested it and suggested it until I could refuse her no longer.

We reached the ship that would take us to our exotic destination. Anna set off to explore, and I looked over the railing into the water.

Mother and Father died on a ship, I thought. Oh, Elsa, what a way to start a vacation. Nothing like that will happen. Besides, if it does, you can just freeze the waves. So there. Have fun.

I settled myself in the lounge and waited for Anna to return. When she did, she was full of exciting news to report.

"There's so much stuff in here. There's a little nest high up in the sails. You have to come look at it. But not yet. You've probably had enough excitement for one day," she said.

"Don't let me forget," I said. "Now, we have very important business. Have you found all the things we need to see?"

Anna picked up a book off one of the bookshelves on the wall and opened it to a map.

"Here's where we're going. Greece is full of all sorts of old stuff, like temples and statues. There's also a huge mountain and tons of little islands. We're really not bringing any guards?" she asked.

"I thought that would really just make us more of a target. And anybody who tries to harass my baby sister will simply have to learn a lesson," I said. The long trip began.

The winds were in our favor, and the water grew warmer every day. Anna showed me the crow's nest, which was truly an experience. Anna scurried right up the ropes and about gave me a heart attack. I picked my way up after her and she hauled me in when I reached the top. She was delighted to find out I had sent for the finest chocolatier in Arendelle to staff our kitchen, and we ate more chocolate than anyone has a right to. When Anna wasn't coaxing me out to see jumping fish or to sit in the warm sun on the deck, I spent most of my time in my cabin or the lounge, reading books on our destination or just enjoying the silence.

The only time I was ever really nervous was at nights. Sometimes I would toss and turn for hours as she ship swayed. What were you thinking? I would ask myself. You hardly ever left your room for ten years and now you're running off to an entirely new country? What if they find out what you are? Will they chase you away again? Will they think Anna's different too? Why didn't you just stay in your safe and familiar castle? They accept you there. That's your home. My stomach would flutter and I would creep across the room and press my ear against the wall. Anna was in the next cabin over, and as long as I could hear her shifting and moving around, I knew it would be all right. She was my little sister, but she protected me as much as I protected her.

We reached the mainland early in the morning, and Anna shooed me out of bed as the sailors were still placing the gangplank. When I first caught sight of Greece, I didn't even know what to make of it. Arendelle has summer, but not like that. The grass was so green it almost hurt to look at, and the sand on the beaches was as white as snow back home. I wasn't sure about all the open space and rolling fields. It all looked so new and frightful.

"There should be a forest just over that hill," Anna said as she pointed at the horizon. "We can get out of the sun there."

There really wasn't much to unpack. Our plan was to travel light and buy what we needed along the way. Whatever we couldn't carry we'd send back to the ship, which would dock every week. Anna insisted it had to go back out to sea the rest of the time, or else it wouldn't really be just our trip. We each had a light bag filled with a few necessities and some emergency funds. I didn't tell Anna, but mine had a pair of gloves tucked in on the bottom, just in case. We waved the ship off, and our ultimate sister bonding trip officially began.