Chapter 2!

The burgundy sedan pulled into the rural Norwegian driveway, brakes squealing slightly as the car slowed to a stop. The driver looked at the house with a smile. This wasn't the same house he had lived in for four years already with his young, beautiful wife. It was different now.

Maybe not literally different, but becoming a father had certainly changed this house forever in the eyes of Agnar. He saw the beauty of his rural home, sure, but he also saw the danger. Pointed sticks in the yard, countless hazards within the house itself. The vow he had made at his daughter's birth was one that he took very seriously. He would keep her safe, no matter the cost.

Agnar turned the key in the ignition, silencing the engine. Stepping out of the car, he quickly jogged around the front of the car, stopping at his wife's door. He opened the door, holding it open as Idunn exited the vehicle, exhaustion on her features. Frankly, he didn't look much better.

Idunn began to make her way to the backseat, but her husband stopped her. Gesturing towards the house, he smiled tiredly, "You go ahead. I'll get Elsa." She smiled and nodded, walking to the front door.

Opening the back car door, Agnar grinned at his sleeping infant daughter. Pulling her bright blue baby blanket over her to provide some protection against the sun and cold, he unbuckled her car seat. Carrying the baby to the house, he quickly pecked his wife's cheek before unlocking the door, letting his family into the house. Removing the baby blanket, Agnar allowed his child to lay eyes upon the house for the first time.

"This is your new home, Elsa."

"What took you so long, Anna?" Rapunzel asked, leaning on the driver-side door of her dark purple Prius. The redhead slowed her run to a fast walk as she approached the car, almost tripping over a stray root in the woodsy area. Pulling the doors open, the two girls climbed into the small car, removing their hats and Rapunzel's coat as they sat in the soft seats. Thankfully the warmers on the seats would be sufficient on this cold Norwegian night.

As the doors closed, Anna grinned at the blonde in the driver's seat. Placing her bag in the back seat of the car, she reached into the front of her shirt and pulled out the new addition to her, admittedly small, jewelry collection. Holding the necklace up between herself and her friend, Anna used her other hand to turn on the light on the rearview mirror. Eyes sparkling, the teen gushed, "I found this! Isn't it beautiful?"

Rapunzel's eyes widened. Reaching a hand out to gently touch the amulet, the blonde gasped as she noticed the gemstones adorning the shiny, cold silver. Her green eyes were drawn to the jewelry like magnets. She looked at her friend after a long, drawn-out minute and inquired, "Where did you find this, Anna? It's amazing!"

Anna's grin intensified before faltering ever-so-slightly. She had never lied to Rapunzel before, but for some reason she didn't feel like telling her about Elsa would be a good idea. After all, the girl had only approached when Anna was alone, and that had only been to retrieve her necklace. This necklace, Anna thought with a mental smile. Elsa was clearly a very shy girl, and who was Anna to infringe upon the poor woman's privacy? Biting her tongue and pushing away the slight guilt of lying to a friend, she answered, "Oh, I, uh, found it. In the graveyard." Shit! "Not like on a grave! I mean, technically the whole place is a grave, but it wasn't like on a tombstone or anything. It was next to the building."

Rapunzel gave Anna a weird look. Tilting her head slightly, the girl mumbled, "I hope you were right to take it. If you disturbed one of the graves it could be awful!" She gasped, "The owner could haunt you!"

Anna couldn't hide her giggle at that thought. Rapunzel looked confused, so Anna decided that perhaps honesty was the best policy. Sighing slightly, she put the necklace back in her shirt. With a bit of nervousness, she explained her giggle to Rapunzel, "Well, I kind of, uh, met the owner. She was a girl named Elsa. She's a little older than me I think. I wasn't going to mention it because she seems really shy, but I don't want you to be afraid I'm being haunted or something." Rapunzel nodded before placing her key in the ignition and turning it. The car engine quietly purred to life as Anna continued her story of the first meeting of her and Elsa. Turning around in the small dirt road, Rapunzel began the drive home, pondering Anna words.

"Wait, so you picked up her extremely valuable necklace and she just let you keep it?" Rapunzel asked dubiously. Anna sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, pay attention! She must have been super grateful for my jacket, because she said the amulet gives me 'an excuse to come back' or something." Anna explained excitedly. She stared questioningly as Rapunzel pulled the car over on the side of the highway they were now driving on. Rapunzel put the car into park and stared at Anna for what felt like forever before smirking.

"You fucking flirt!" Rapunzel's smirk turned into a giggle. What? Anna thought, confused thoroughly.

"I'm not a- wait, why are you giggling?" Anna asked her. Rapunzel's giggle erupted into full-fledged laughter and before long her arms were clutched around her midsection tightly in a futile attempt to block the aural merriment escaping her lips. Tears were beginning to fall down her eyes. Anna crossed her arms with a look of annoyance that one would typically see on someone left out of a particularly funny joke. "What!?" she huffed in exasperation.

Between her fits of laughter, Rapunzel forced out, "Well, we," she laughed, "we went to the graveyard," she laughed again, "to-to-to encounter a spirit," this time her laugh was cut off with a slight snort, "and you… you met a girl! Holy fuck!" Rapunzel exclaimed in pure amusement. Anna indignantly huffed.

"I was not fucking flirting! I let her use my jacket because it's cold and she was wearing a skirt!" A pretty skirt, Anna thought with a smile.

Rapunzel just put the car in drive and continued their journey to her home as her giggles slowly began to die down. The car trip, while only actually being about twenty or thirty minutes, felt like hours due to the teasing Anna endured from her best friend. Eventually Anna just gave in and admitted jokingly to having flirted with Elsa, but Rapunzel continued with her playful teasing.

It was roughly 2:15 am when the purple Prius pulled into the suburban driveway a few miles west of Arendal, Norway. Smiling at Anna, Rapunzel gave a small fist pump of triumph when she noticed the window to her parents' bedroom was dark. Anna sighed in relief. Maybe the two of them wouldn't get in trouble after all. The girls silently slipped out of the car and closed their doors after grabbing their belongings.

Rapunzel fumbled through her key ring to find her house key while Anna shivered. Unlocking the door, she quickly put a finger to her mouth in the universal 'shush' motion. Anna nodded and pushed quietly into the door. Closing the door silently, the girls sneaked through the hallway in pursuit of the stairs. Triumphantly grinning at their destination, the girls froze, each with a single foot on the bottom stair, when they looked to the top of the stairs.

Arianna Corona leaned against the wall, arms crossed, staring at the girls with what appeared to be a silent tsk. Extending her hand, the older brunette gestured to Rapunzel's room. Blushing and fearful of punishments, Rapunzel and Anna sheepishly made their way up the rest of the stairs and into Rapunzel's room. The two girls sat on the pink-decorated bed and prepared for a scolding.

Arianna followed in and closed the door to the small room. Waiting for punishment, the girls were surprised as Arianna stayed silent, looking around the room at the various murals and drawings on the walls. Her gaze traveled along the walls and door until it finally settled on her daughter and her friend. The blonde's mother didn't seem angry, but there was an aura of disappointment. Anna frowned and fought back the urge to cry. Rapunzel's family was basically her family. Her foster parents really didn't care all that much about her, and she almost felt the same for them. She spent more time with the Coronas than amongst them anyway. Arianna was, in every way except legally, Anna's mom, and the same went for Frederic being, essentially, Anna's dad.

Rapunzel shifted on her feet a little, putting her jacket on her bed. Anna did the same with her backpack. Arianna seemed like she would say something several times, but she ultimately decided against it each time as the girls stewed in their own guilt. With her look softening slightly, Arianna put a hand on each girl's shoulder and said the ultimate guilt inducing line for teens.

"Girls, I'm not angry at you. I'm only disappointed." Her accent was nonexistent. Both girls were jealous of this fact, but when Frederic, Rapunzel's father, spoke, it cleared any jealousy. He spoke English, but in a very limited fashion, and his accent was considerably thicker than any of the three. More often than not, Rapunzel reverted to German when speaking to her father just for efficiency.

"Mom, I- "Rapunzel and Anna began together. Arianna interrupted them both with a stern look, before pulling them into a hug.

"Rapunzel, you are my daughter and I love you. Anna, the same goes for you. You may not be my daughter by blood, but I love you just the same. With that being said, you two have seriously messed up tonight." Anna felt tears begin to slide down her eyes. She absolutely hated disappointing her self-appointed mother.

"I'm so sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to disappoint you." Anna whispered into the hug. Arianna pulled away from the hug for a moment.

"Anna, I'm not only disappointed in you, "she glanced at Rapunzel, "You both made the decision to stay out until – " she glanced at the clock on Rapunzel's end table next to her bed, " – two in the morning. Your father was furious in his worried state."

Both girls looked to each other and gulped. While Frederic was kind and loved both girls as his daughter, he was also considerably stricter. He seemed to always be overly obsessed with safety. Especially with Anna. Arianna smiled at the two girls and continued.

"Don't worry. I've persuaded him to forego any drastic punishments." The sisters-by-choice visibly relaxed at that, but the guilt returned tenfold when Arianna continued.

"I understand wanting to go on adventures. I was the same at your age. All I ask for-"she paused and seemed to be fighting back tears of her own, "all I want is a phone call. I was so worried."

This time it was Anna and Rapunzel who initiated the hug. Both girls were crying openly now and, through those tears, promising that they would never do this again without a phone call. After a few minutes of the familial hug, their mother pulled away. She made her way to the door and placed a hand on the knob.

"Also, while I may have persuaded your father to be more lenient than he normally would have, there will be punishment. Tomorrow you two will be mowing and upkeeping the lawn and foliage." She paused, smiling at the two girls, "Good night. I love you both."

Relieved at the simple punishment, the girls smiled widely at their mom.

"Thank you so much, Mom. I love you!" Anna said as she sat down on Rapunzel's bed.

"Vielen dank, Mutti. Ich liebe dich so viel! Gute nacht!" Rapunzel said as she pulled her mother into another, yet briefer, hug.

"Nichts zu danken, Rapunzel. Du weißt es, dass Ich liebe Euch zwei." She kissed Rapunzel on the forehead and made her way out of the shared bedroom. When she was gone, Anna grinned at Rapunzel and pulled her into yet another hug.

"Punz?" Anna muttered gently.

"Yes?" inquired Rapunzel.

"Maybe I should learn German." Anna muttered jokingly.

Rapunzel pulled away and grabbed a pillow from her bed, throwing it at Anna.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

The old-fashioned alarm clock in Rapunzel's room ticked and tocked as the two girls were peacefully asleep; Rapunzel sleeping peacefully in her pinked-out bed, and Anna sleeping peacefully in the air mattress that had been provided for her long ago. At one point, basically being sister, the two girls had simply shared a bed, but age had killed that habit, as when the girls reached the age of fourteen, they deemed themselves too old for such "childish acts" as they had call them when approaching Arianna. The mother/adoptive mother had chuckled at their antics and provided an air mattress, teaching the girls to deploy it as needed.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

All in all, it was a very peaceful night when everything calmed down. The girls had fallen asleep rather quickly. Arianna had been reasonably with the girls, and, really, the two couldn't ask for a better situation. After all, what they had done was terribly insensitive and they should have called. The forgiveness of her chosen parents had done nothing but cause Anna to love them even more.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG!

The alarm caused both girls to jolt awake, Rapunzel infinitely more aware of her surroundings than the still groggy Anna. Regardless of her drowsy state, Anna managed to mutter out a slurred, "Punzie, what time is it?"

Rapunzel groaned and squinted at the alarm clock, "6 a.m.," she exclaimed with another groan of annoyance.

"Why did you set an alarm for 6 am?" Anna complained and rolled back into her pillow as Rapunzel shut it off.

"I didn't- "Rapunzel began but both girls sat up quickly when the door to their room was shoved open. Relaxing slightly when the girls saw that it was just Frederic, the confusion never left their faces. Anna was certainly awake now.

Wearing a simple light green set of pajamas with Joan of Arc in a heroic pose adorning the chest – it had been a gift from Frederic and Arianna after Anna had expressed an interest in the rebellious hero- Anna's face was adorned in a massive poof of red hair. It was more like a silly hat than her actual hair, but that was the hand she had been dealt and she made the most of it.

Rapunzel, by contrast, was wearing a simple pink nightgown and her hair was in a slightly elaborate tied style that prevented her extremely long hair from wrapping around her and getting tangled in the night.

Frederic was wearing a bright smile and he appeared to genuinely be in a good mood. Despite her father-of-sorts wearing a smile that defied all laws of reason this early in the morning, Anna was still surprised when Frederic said, in his thick German accent, "Good morning, girls! How did you sleep? I slept like a log."

It was obvious what he was doing, and, yes, the girls deserved it after the previous night, but those rational thought processes went out the window at 6 a.m. Instead Anna just whined out, "But daaad, it's 6 a.m.!" If anything, Frederic's grin just grew.

"The perfect time for mowing and landscaping! Before the sun is up! Now, get dressed in some old clothes. Breakfast is in ten minutes."

He walked away, whistling an almost mockingly jolly tune as he closed the door. Rapunzel and Anna simply made eye contact and groaned as they began to get ready for what would be a long day.