Chapter 2: The Power of Love

Anna and Kristoff dragged themselves into their bedroom following a long afternoon meeting with trade negotiators from the neighboring kingdom of Parkgard. They had been asked to sit in for the first half of the meeting, and then close out deliberations at the end on Queen Elsa's behalf, after she departed. The whole thing was really to let the Princess and her husband learn the ropes of royal dealings.

Now in their bedroom, the couple found servants attending to cleaning the sheets and curtains. Kai, Elsa's Chief of Staff, straightened upon seeing them. "Your Highnesses. I trust the meeting went well?"

Anna nodded, glancing to the bassinet at the foot of her and Kristoff's bed. It was empty. "Where's Elsabeth?"

Kai glanced out the window. "Her Majesty stole her," he joked. Through the panes, the group could look down into the gardens in the shadow of the palace. Underneath a tree, Elsa was holding up a year old Elsabeth, pure happiness radiating off her face. The Queen appeared to be making silly faces at her niece, punctuated by a phrase that while not heard, could be decoded to only be "I love you."

Kai shook his head. "She has been around her almost as much as Your Highnesses have. And you're her parents."

Kristoff observed the scene curiously. "Yes... she has," he agreed.

Kai noticed the contemplative tone in Sir Kristoff's voice. "Does that bother His Highness?"

Kristoff flinched at the royal title; he still wasn't used to it yet, even after several years. Beside him, he could feel Anna's eyes on him; unsure whether either potential answer to Kai's question was the right one, he opted to say nothing. He felt Kai's hand on his shoulder.

"Your Highness... I know what the Queen means to you and the Princess, and the baby. But do not let the child became a crutch for Her Majesty. After all, you are the parents."

And he left a tormented Anna and Kristoff to ponder over what he said.

It was late afternoon when Elsa came flitting in to Anna and Kristoff's chambers with Elsabeth. She was trilling out a laugh as her niece reached for her pearl necklace and tried to stick the beads into her mouth. Slowly, Elsa lowered Elsabeth into the bassinet. "There we go, precious..."

"Have a fun day?"

Elsa jumped at her sister's voice, to find Anna and Kristoff standing in the doorway to the bathroom. "Absolutely!" she beamed. "Elsabeth cheered me right up after that meeting."

Anna nodded, silently filing away that comment for later. "Well, see you at dinner."

Elsa blinked at the dismissal. "Can I get a goodnight kiss in first?" And her plea was so sweet, that Anna could not find it within herself to refuse. As Elsa bent over the crib and pressed a kiss to her niece's crown, Kristoff cleared his throat.

"Elsa..." he began delicately. "We wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away," Elsa said happily.

"How many times a day do you see Elsabeth?"

Elsa frowned, thrown by the question. "Four...? Four or five, easily."

Kristoff nodded. "Do you think that's a little... excessive? Especially with your duties as Queen?"

"Kristoff!" Anna hissed admonishingly.

Elsa's eyes went wide; she looked almost mortified. "Oh, I'm sorry! I did not mean to overstep my boundaries. It's just that..."

"Elsa, please just calm down," Anna soothed, shooting a glare at her husband over her shoulder.

"Please don't shut me out again!" Elsa begged, sounding close to tears now. "I never meant to usurp your roles! It's just that I need her!"

That made both Anna and Kristoff take pause; the latter looked sufficiently sheepish over his poor turn of phrasing earlier. Anna latched onto Elsa's strongest statement and attempted to steer the conversation in a more rational direction. "Why do you feel you need Elsabeth?"

"Because... she's the only person who has never been afraid of me, all the way through." And Elsa could not resist a peek back at the crib, with a love in her eyes that rocked Anna to her core. She didn't know of many aunts who would look at their sibling's child that way. "When I'm with her, I'm not the Queen of Arendelle. I'm not the Snow Queen. I'm just... me. With her, I can just... be. You don't know how much I need that, with everything I have going on." Elsa turned back to her family and straightened. "That being said, I would never attempt to interfere with you or Kristoff. You're her parents, not me. So, if you want to set up a system, or ground rules, I understand."

Anna and Kristoff glanced at each other, suddenly feeling ashamed at having ever brought up this conversation. They also realized it was downright hypocritical of them, their behavior, especially considering that they had agreed upon Elsa having an influence on the child rearing when Elsabeth was born.

Anna smiled. "Elsa... we would never shut you out of Elsabeth's life. You may see her as often as you wish. I only ask that you check with us first." Kristoff nodded, latching onto that. It seemed as fine a compromise as any. "Deal?"

Beaming, Elsa hugged them both. "Deal!" Then she ran from the room, only pausing at the door to blow one last kiss to the sleeping infant.