Chapter 2

A Quiet Evening

OK, now we go back to everyone's favorite characters from a certain global phenomena!

(Arendelle)

It was sunset, and Anna was walking around the castle stealthily, trying to avoid making noise. She was looking around, as if looking for something. She searhced left and right, under chairs and behind curtains. She was diligently searching for someone who was purposefully trying to evade her.

"Hmm, I wonder where he could be?" she asked playfully, trying to get a response. Hearing the faintest giggle, Anna shifted her eyes to one of the sets of armor standing against the wall.

"Oh, Matthew, Matthew, Matthew" she said in mock disappointment, shaking her head as she walked slowly to the armor. "You see, the key to hide and seek is silence..." she moved her hand to one of the helmets. "And creativity when picking a hiding spot, and you my dear offspring, have chosen the most There he… huh?" she lifted the helmet's face mask to surprise Mathew, but to her surprise, he wasn't there. "Matty? Hello?" she asked, sticking her head into the suit. "Are you in here?" she asked, he voice echoing through the hollow armor.

Beneath her, Mathew was hiding behind one of the legs of the armor, successfully fooling his mother. Unable to contain his laughter, he ran out.

"Can't catch me mo-momma!" he cried as he ran, laughing. Moving her head out with a quick motion, Anna tried to get her head out, only to get the helmet stuck on her head as she yanked it off the armor. Disoriented, Anna accidently pulled the armor down, sending it falling to pieces across the floor, making a commotion of sound.

"What the, where am... yahh!" she screamed as she fell on her butt. Matthew hung around, watching as some of the pieces of armor slid across the floor. Finally, Anna got the helmet off, seeing what she just did. "Oops" she said, cringing her teeth, hoping no one would notice.

Nothing. For a moment, they thought they had gotten away with it.

"What was that?!" called Elsa from down the hall.

"Nothing!" they said in unison.

Anna turned to her three year old son. "You didn't see anything, run!" Anna said, quickly running away.

"But Papa said to alw-ways tell the tru- truth" he asked with a light stutter.

"I'll give you cookies" Anna said, bribing him.

"Deal!" he said almost immediately, running after her.

By the time Elsa made it to the room, Anna and her little accomplice were long gone. String at the mess for a moment, Elsa couldn't help but smile, shaking her head. "Oh, those two. I'll make them clean it up later."

Anna and Mathew raided the cookie stash in the kitchen, sitting at the counter and enjoying it. Kristoff was up in the mountains collecting ice and was expected to be home soon, meaning for now, they could pig reached up in the cabinet and pulled down a small metal container of chocolate chip cookies. Mathew preferred the cookies to pure chocolate, enjoying the crunchy cookies to the fudgy chocolate pieces.

"Where we go Matty!" she said cheerfully, bringing down the metal bin. "For an excellent game of hide and seek!"

"Yay!" he exclaimed, diving into the cookie bin and munching them down.

"Woah!" said Anna. "Easy on the sugar! Trust me, too much at one time is bad for the tummy"

"Sorry Momma" he said, his mouth full of crumbs. "Th-th- they're ju-just so t-t-tas…" Mathew stuttered the last word, struggling to finish.

Anna immediately leant down to his level, gently patting him on the back. "Easy there, don't rush, take your time" she said worryingly.

Mathew took a breath. "T-tasty" he finished. Content with finishing his sentence, he dove back into the cookies. Initially worried, Anna smiled as he covered his face in crumbs, reminding her of herself at his age.

Once Mathew was able to speak sentences, Anna and Kristoff became worried when he began stuttering his words. It was a rough few months after his stuttering became worse, and Anna grew bitter when she couldn't find a solution to it. It wasn't until Kristoff intervened and helped her to accept there son's condition did she finally return to her old self.

Back in the kitchen, Anna was contemplating these things while munching on a cookie. The guilt for how she treated her family during this time would sometimes surface in her thoughts, especially Elsa. But it was their forgiveness that would always bring her peace of mind.

(This backstory is covered in much more detail in my One-shot, "A Mother's Love")

"There you two are" said Elsa walking into the kitchen, breaking Anna from her thoughts.

"It was M-Momma's idea Aunt Elsa!" exclaimed Mathew, knowing the rules about eating sweets this late.

Anna playfully scoffed at Mathew. "Traitor!"

Elsa just laughed. "Don't worry, little one. No harm done… though I see you're eating cookies after dark…"

"Momma s-said I could!"

"Hey, you may be queen, but I'm still "Mom", so, you can't say anything" defended Anna.

Elsa shrugged. "Well, can't argue with that logic."

"So I-I can still eat the-these?" he asked innocently.

"Oh, I think you've had enough" said Anna. "Come, it's time to take a bath and go to bed."

"Aw, but, Ma…"

"No buts, come on, go up-stairs and I'll be right there."

"(Sigh) OK. G-night Aunt Els-a."

"Goodnight sweetie" she said, scuffing his head as he walked by, heading to the bathroom to wait for Anna. When he was gone, Elsa looked to Anna. "How was he today?"

"Oh, he was great!" said Anna cheerfully, cleaning up after Mathews cookie fest. "I didn't have much to do today, and it was raining, so we just played hide and seek most of the day."

Elsa nodded, helping Anna clean up. "Wish I could have joined you, haven't had an excuse to play that in a while."

"Oh, then we'll have to make time. We still have..." Anna counted on her fingers, "seven years of lost childhood to make up."

"Anna, we're adults, and I don't want to take time form your family."

"OK, first of all, we both know I don't meet the minimal requirements for being an adult... minus the, wife and mom stuff. Secondly, you're still my sister, so you're still in my family. So I don't you dare think you're intruding, got it?"

Elsa sighed, smiling at her sister's logic. "Got it."

"Good... Say, how was that day long meeting anyway? Boring?"

"Oh, yeah, same old same old. Politics, trade… oh, we received a letter from Kira in Berglia; Gideon's getting married!"

"Oh really? To who?"

"A noblewoman from Clydesdale. We've been invited to attend in three months."

"That's great! Good for him!" Anna said, struggling to push the cookie container back onto the top shelf. "How's Kira?"

"She said that she was doing great. Nightmares every now and then, but otherwise good."

"Ugh, I know how that feels."

"Yep" said Elsa in a low tone.

Finally, Anna finished cleaning up the kitchen. "Well, done. Phew. Remember when we were the ones causing a mess in here?"

Elsa smiled at the memory. Before the accident, Elsa and Anna would always sneak in here to get at the chocolate, often making a mess.

"Yeah, and now you're cleaning up after the next generation."

Anna shrugs. "Life's funny like that!"

"Yep... Well, I shouldn't be keeping you from Matty's bath time."

"Oh, right! I better hurry before he get's soap in his eyes... you know, again."

Before Elsa could even say goodnight, Anna was off. Elsa sat there to herself for a moment before she went to bed. It has been over three years since anything crazy happened... at least involving magic and global chaos, and she was at ease.

That was, minus one thing... Jase.

They had been friends for three years now, and Elsa was still unsure of herself, now more than ever. There was a time when they were more than friends, but after he had tried to propose to her, she couldn't bring herself to accept, that is, if she even gave him the chance to propose in the first place. They had agreed to stay friends, until Elsa both felt ready for the commitment and had a few more years experience as queen.

Now, Elsa was more than experienced as queen. Arendelle has gone through the motions of trials a ruler could hope to go through: Famines, disease, threats from other countries, even political scandal (Councilman Daniel, as a result, is both off the council and serving a five year sentence for stealing from the treasury). She has proven herself to both accomplished, and competent. Some on the council even consider her to be one of Arendelle's greatest rulers.

But she still felt a flutter in her stomach when she thought of Jase. Deep down, she still loved him, just as much as she did when they were together. But to marry him, that was something she felt unease about. How does one give oneself to someone else? Why was it so hard for her. It was times like these she felt jealous of Anna's positive outlook on life, to not be hindered by such fears and worries.

Elsa simply left the kitchen to bed, not wanting to deal with these thoughts right now. As she did so, she passed the bathroom, hearing Anna scream as Matthew splashed her during his bath. She paused, listening as Ana tried to control her son. Then, Mathew came running out, laughing hysterically as he ran down the halls, naked. Quickly following, Anna burst out, looking ridiculous as she was covered in water and bubbles.

"Matthew Craig Bjorgman! You get your butt back here this instant!" she shouted. Matthew didn't listen, running past Elsa. Anna quickly ran after him. "Why didn't you catch him?" she asked Elsa.

"Hey, I may be queen, but you're still his mom, so I can't say anything" Elsa said mockingly, a mischievous smile on her face.

Anna raised her finger to say something, but decided to chase her son instead. "Oh, never mind, I have a wild boy to capture!" she said as she ran after her son.

Elsa stood back and watched. Was she ready for this? For chasing children through the castle? She still wasn't sure. Boy did she wish she had Anna's mentality.

Man, I hate it when I think I've written so much, only to find out it's less than 2,000 words.

Thanks to all who have already reviewed and favorite thus far.

jj12: Interesting concept about Lionel being emotionally detached when using his powers. I'll have to play around with that.

Well, see you all next chapter.

-Batman