Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Disney's Frozen and all the rights of the characters, dialogue etc belong to the Disney Company!

The Ball

"There's a lot of people here." Kristoff mumbled, pulling at his collar. Was it hot in here or was it just him?

"Oh, stop it." Anna swatted his hand away as he threatened to ruin her good work. "You'll be fine. I just have to go get introduced and I'll be right back."

Kristoff gave her a knowing look. "You'll probably get distracted by the food table."

Anna forcefully laughed in an attempt to ignore the truth in his words. She'd been stealing glances at that cheesecake for the last ten minutes and her willpower was starting to diminish. "You're so funny! Anyway, I better go, I'll be right back!"

He groaned as she skipped off, leaning against a nearby column. He was probably wrinkling his suit, but did he care? Nope. He was hot and uncomfortable and whenever he listened in to the conversation around him it was either about politics or money. So not his department. Looking over to the throne he saw Anna and Elsa positioned off to the side, while Kai made his first steps towards the crowd.

Introductions went smoothly, with Elsa looking more friendly and less regal than she normally did. The past month had opened up a lot of connections between the people of Arendelle and their ruler. They loved their new queen and accepted her magic. The ability to forgive and understand was valued within the kingdom. Elsa could do beautiful things with her powers now that she had learned to control them. Now everyone was itching to meet her.

And even though Elsa was a different person now, that still scared her. She had been locked away for so long that she never got to know the people around her. Now it was all too overwhelming, and it was all too easy to tip her over the edge.

"I'm never letting you wear your hair up ever again." Anna spoke up once the crowd in front of them returned to socialising, leaving the sisters some time for themselves.

Elsa smiled her thanks as her fingers trailed over her braid. "Yeah, I kind of like my new look. A lot more... real. Does that make sense?"

"Of course!" Anna linked her arm with Elsa's, sighing contently as she looked out over the crowd. "It's a new beginning Elsa! Look at all these people, you're their queen! But not some snobby, regal, mean Queen, a nice and friendly and beautiful Queen!"

Elsa chuckled at her sister's enthusiasm, not able to take Anna's dreamy tone seriously. "Don't get all sappy on me, we've still got a ball to get through."

"How do you feel about Coronation Ball Part Two so far? Everyone looks pretty excited." Anna was right. The music was happier than last time, the atmosphere a lot more casual. More people were dancing, singing, engaging with each other. Hardly the picture of a royal ball, but that's what the sisters were hoping for. They were going to turn the Kingdom of Arendelle into a family again.

"It looks like it's going well, but I'm not going to jinx it."

"Oh come on," Anna droned, pulling at her sister. "Have a little confidence! It's not like you have any more unknown powers to showcase."

"Now you're going to jinx it!" Elsa pulled at Anna right back. "Just for that comment I'm going to get a power that destroys all the chocolate in the world."

Anna feigned a scream, hands grasping at her face in mock horror. "You wouldn't dare!"

The girls shared a laugh, before something clicked inside Anna's head that made her stop moving altogether. Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Anna?"

"Speaking of chocolate, there's chocolate cake. And cheesecake."

"Oh no."

"I'll be right back.

"Wait, Anna -"

It was too late, Anna was already lost in the crowd on her mission to find the food table. She wasn't surprised really, and she couldn't blame Anna. But now Elsa was on the stage all by herself, looking very alone as she tried to figure out what to do next. Did she go and talk to people? Did she wait for them to talk to her? She wasn't good at this. Anna was the talker, not her! Which was odd, seeing as she was the queen and all. She'd been preparing to be the queen her entire life, yet she still had no idea how to act.

Elsa was about to panic when she saw a familiar figure at the skirts of the crowd. "Kristoff!" She called, grabbing his attention and beckoning him to come talk to her. Kristoff looked confused. Then he looked as if he was about to get in trouble as he timidly made his way up the stage. Elsa sighed inwardly. Of course he would look like that. She was just glad there was someone she knew (using that word loosely) around to keep her from having a nervous breakdown. She'd hardly had the time to bond with her sister's boyfriend, seeing as Anna was usually their medium for conversation.

It made her feel bad. Without this man Anna might have never found Elsa - she could have still been in her ice palace and she didn't even want to think about what could've happened to Anna, on a dangerous mountain all by her clumsy self. She owed this man her sister's life and she'd barely given him the recognition. Arendelle Ice Master hardly did him justice, she thought.

"Your Majesty." Kristoff mumbled, followed by a quick, inexperienced bow. She doubt he'd ever had to bow for someone in his life, and she wasn't about to make that a habit.

"Oh, Kristoff," Elsa sighed, but still reassuring him with a smile. "Please, call me Elsa. I don't ever want to see you bow for me ever again."

Kristoff grinned sheepishly, trying to run a hand through his hair, but getting stuck in the product Anna had put in it. That drew a laugh out of Elsa.

"I'm guessing Anna did that."

"Yeah..." He said, searching for something to wipe his hair-gel-covered hand on. He searched in his pants pocket and luckily found a handkerchief. "I've never had to dress this fancy in my life, so Anna helped."

Elsa nodded in understanding, eyeing him up and down. "Well, you look very sharp."

"Thanks. I mean, thank you." Kristoff coughed. Oh boy.

"I know we haven't talked much, and I'm sorry for that. The last month or so has been a mess of apology letters and trade agreements and it's just been so busy."

"Oh, no, your Majest- um, Elsa, it's really okay, you don't have to explain yourself-" Kristoff didn't seem to know what was going on, so instead of letting him ramble, she interrupted him and got to the point.

"What I mean to say is, I've never gotten the chance to thank you."

"Thank... thank me?" If Kristoff was confused before his expression was now one of bewilderment.

"Yes, thank you." This boy was totally oblivious to the fact that he had given up a lot to protect Anna in her quest to save Arendelle, and he didn't even expect a reward for actions - even confused at a mere 'thank you'. This was the kind of man she wanted Anna to be with. The kind of man who passed off his completely selfless acts as if they were nothing short of natural. "Without you, I wouldn't know what could've become of my sister, or the kingdom. I thank you as much as Anna for the way things are now." She gestured to the happy ballroom before them, and she finally saw Kristoff relax.

"I guess I need to thank you for letting me be a part of this." He sounded genuine - thankful. This boy probably had never had something given to him without having to give in return. "Your ball, your home, one of your stables for Sven - I just can't believe any of its real... So thank you, Elsa."

The two shared a look of understanding. Elsa made an unspoken promise to make this man feel so at home in this castle that he could've lived there since a mere boy. She would enjoy getting to know him.

"Well, now that that's out of the way." Elsa chuckled, clasping her hands behind her back. "How are you liking the party? Tell me honestly."

He returned her chuckle nervously. "Well, if you want honesty... I guess it's not really my thing. But it's something new. That's good enough for me."

"I can tell by the way you're standing that you've never worn a suit before." Elsa smiled as he suddenly became self conscious, pulling at his collar. He was rigid, stiff, as if he couldn't move right. That was something he'd get used to.

"I'm pretty sure everyone can." He replied glumly. "I look like I'm made of wood."

Elsa shrugged, making a sound of indifference. "Like you said, it's something new. You'll be wearing so many suits in the next couple of months it'll become second nature."

"Oh lucky me."

Another laugh, which cued another change in conversation.

"So, where'd Anna run off to?" He asked, scanning the crowd. "I'm gonna take a guess and say... cake."

Elsa nodded, amused. "You really do know my sister, Kristoff. I think we've found her perfect match." She found the sudden reddening of cheeks endearing as she too looked out amongst her sea of guests, trying to pinpoint Anna in the midst of it.

A clatter of silverware, a chorus of gasps, and she honed in on a spot near the food. A rush of red hair and she wouldn't be been surprised if it was Anna that caused the upset. She cast Kristoff a fleeting look before the two of them made their way down the stage stairs and through the party, people making fools of themselves as they rapidly moved out of the Queen's way.

Anna stood in the middle of a small circle, champagne all down the front of her dress - her mother's dress - with a broken glass in her hand. Not only that, but there was a large rip in the material of her skirt, jagged and messy and already fraying. Her mother's dress. One of the few things Elsa had to remember her by, and probably the most important.

She had let Anna wear it because she trusted her to take care of it, trusted her because it had been a month of new beginnings and she thought Anna had felt the same. But no. Anna was still reckless and never looked before she leaped and had ruined enough dresses in her life to not care about the only one that mattered. It wasn't just a dress. She had kept it in the back of her closet for years because she needed to keep it safe, safe like the way her parents had kept her. All the coldness in her life and she felt warm when she looked at that dress. She shared it with Anna because she made Elsa feel warm as well, why not put two and two together? They were the sisters they had always longed to be, it had seemed natural.

Now it was stained and in tatters and Elsa was so furious because she had trusted her. She never trusted anyone with anything, because if there were no expectations then there was no disappointments. Her hands formed into fists at her sides, fingernails piercing painfully into her palms, but she dare not let up because one slip and she could turn the ballroom into an icy prison.

Elsa remembered that was in the middle of her second Coronation Ball, and unless she wanted to let history repeat itself, she needed to get out of the public eye.

"Anna." Elsa's voice was low as it passed through a tight-lipped and very fake smile. "May I speak with you in the hall?"

Anna was already on the verge of tears as she handed a very concerned looking Kristoff the remainder of her broken glass, picked up her skirts (mindful of the tear) and followed her sister through the path the guests had cleared. Elsa closed the ballroom door behind them and settled as she heard the party chatter resumed.

Then Anna started talking a mile a minute. "Elsa, I'm sorry, I'm so so so sorry, I didn't - I didn't mean to - there was this Duke and he was taking up so much space and -"

She hated when Anna went off on tangent like this, so many details that didn't matter and so much repetition it drove her to insanity. There was always something, someone, that caused an accident and it was never just Anna and her own debarment, it could never be, she was just so innocent, bemusing, she didn't know what she was doing. And that's what got her a way with so many things.

"I don't care about how this happened, Anna!" Elsa yelled, voice loud enough to echo down the empty hallway. She felt a pull in her stomach and jagged icicles closed around the column closest to them in one blue burst. Her sister stopped talking immediately, and there was guilt in her eyes as she sank in on herself. Elsa had never yelled at her before, not in anger, not like this.

"Is it possible for you to not ruin something within two hours of touching it, Anna? Is that so much to ask of you? Is it too much for you to be a little more careful, more aware of your surroundings, before you wreck one of the only things Mama shared with me?" Elsa's eyes were flashing and her voice rose and fell with her frustration and she knew the things she was saying were mean but she was too angry.

"Elsa, I -" Anna choked through her tears, which flowed freely down her cheeks. Her lip was quivering and her shoulders were shaking, but Elsa had developed an indifference for tears seeing as she had cried them all out during her years in solitude.

"No, Anna. I don't want to listen to whatever you have to say. I never should have trusted you with this. I don't want you to come back to the ball." Elsa saw Anna's heart break right before her eyes. She hadn't been this angry in a long time. It felt so overwhelming feeling anything at all. It swallowed her whole, even though she didn't want it to, and she couldn't stop herself.

"Just go." Elsa muttered, shaking her head in regret. She didn't turn around to look at her sister as she closed the door to the ballroom. It'd probably remind her of her first Coronation Ball. Anna had done her fair share of yelling, and it looks like this time around it was Elsa. Funny that.

The ball looked just like she had left it. Casual banter and dancing and music. Thankfully, no one had noticed her return. She stood behind a column and composed herself, breathing deeply until the urge to freeze resided in her stomach and she could relax. The anger she felt towards her sister would subside eventually. But for now, she just needed to cool down.

She didn't feel like socialising, as if she did before, so on her way back to the stage she picked up a glass of wine and sunk into her throne, watching the festivities go on. She was tempted to down the whole glass in one go but that was hardly proper etiquette for a queen. Nothing remotely normal ever seemed to be proper etiquette for a queen.

Not that getting blind drunk to forget how angry she was at her little sister was proper in anyone's books, so instead she dramatically sighed in her exasperation and set her glass down on the arm of her throne, bringing her hands up to massage her temples. Rain, rain, go away.

She heard someone approaching her. She felt like it was Kai coming to introduce someone, and she was just about to tell him to get lost when she looked up and found Kristoff instead.

"Oh, it's just you." Elsa said, sounding relieved. But that relief was short-lived because now she was dealing with her sister's boyfriend, the same sister she just kicked out of the ballroom. He mustn't be happy. Well, that makes two.

"Look, I'm sorry Kristoff but Anna isn't coming back to the ball -"

"No, no - that's not why I'm here. Just... I just wanted to know if you were okay." He blurted out, an awkward presence falling over again, obviously not having much experience comforting others. Especially not the Queen of Arendelle. "I know Anna can be pretty clumsy sometimes. I don't blame you, really."

If there was anyone who understood how grating Anna could be on ones nerves, it would be Kristoff. She appreciated the gesture.

"I was just thinking to myself how at the last ball, Anna was doing all the yelling. And now it's me." She said glumly, picking up her glass and taking a small sip. She shouldn't of yelled at her. Anna had been yelled at enough in her life - parents, servants, tutors, all chastising her about the things she wasn't allowed to do, or all the things she was bad at, pushing her to be anyone but herself.

"But that's what sisters do." He reminded her, offering her a sympathetic smile. "Or at least that's what I heard they do. Fight and yell and bicker, right?"

"Right." Elsa didn't particularly feel like engaging in a conversation about the meaning of sisterhood when honestly, she didn't have a clue. Another sip of her wine before she looked up at Kristoff. "Have you ever yelled at her?"

"Oh, you have no idea." He chuckled. She really couldn't imagine. She didn't know much about her sister's relationship, but she knew that Kristoff was a gentle giant. "It always ends in tears, which isn't fun, but she doesn't hold grudges for too long. A lover, not a fighter, I guess."

That did sound a lot like Anna. "I didn't mean to lose my temper, but you give her the slightest bit of responsibility and it's like her initial reaction is to go skydiving with it." She slumped back in her throne, exhausted thinking about Anna. It only made her want to end the party faster. Her sister was probably in her room, buried under pillows and crying her eyes out.

"What I've learnt to do is give her a minimum five minute explanation as to why what I ask of her is so important." He joked, though Elsa felt there was a truth to that statement. He fell back into silence when he received no response, turning to look over the crowd once more.

Elsa realised that without Anna here, he didn't have anything to do. No one to speak to other than Elsa, and even she wasn't very good company.

"Why don't you go and check on her for me?" She told him, letting Kristoff out of his misery. He nodded and said his goodbyes before disappearing into the crowd. This whole ball had been a mess and it wasn't even halfway over.
Elsa finally got the courage to leave her throne and spent the next two hours allowing people to introduce themselves to her. She met Dukes and Lords and people of the Council and she had no idea there were so many titles in the royal word. She started to believe some titles were made up just for people to fluff their ego, and she wouldn't be wrong.

People stopped by her throne to wish her well on their way out, and soon there was no one in the ballroom except herself and the staff rostered to clean. Elsa made a swift exit and headed straight to Anna's room.

It wasn't the night she had planned, that was obvious. Maybe there would forever be a curse against any type of ball the Arendelle sister's threw. Elsa was starting to come to terms with the fact that perfection took more than a month to achieve. As much as she wanted things to be okay between her and Anna, they were both going to have to work for it. Shared laughter and shared dresses won't be enough to fill thirteen years of silence and separation. If they wanted to be the sisters always wanted to be, that meant sacrifice. If that meant giving up a dress Elsa had barely touched in years, so be it. She remembered her mother in more ways than just a dress, and Elsa was sure her mother wouldn't mind if Anna was the last person who ever wore it.

Elsa loved her sister very much, but she hadn't done much to show her that. Things needed to change. Change used to scare Elsa - a lot of things used to scare Elsa - but it was a month of new beginnings, and for the first time in forever she wasn't afraid of the future, because now she finally had her little sister to share it with.

She raised her hand to knock on Anna's door, calling her name as pushed on the handle and made her way inside. All Elsa saw of Anna was a mess of red hair peeking out from under her bed covers, while Kristoff sat on the edge of the bed with a comforting hand on her back. Kristoff offered Elsa a shrug, patting Anna until she rose from under her sheets, face red and tearstained. She didn't look at Elsa.

"I might uh, leave you two for a bit. Go check on Sven or... something..." Kristoff lamely excused himself, casting Anna a reassuring glance. She made an effort to smile back, but as soon as he left she flopped back down on the bed, eliciting a strangled noise.

Elsa breathed out heavily. Either she was mad at Elsa and didn't want her to be here, or she was putting all the blame on herself. She sat on the edge of the bed, closest to where Anna faced away from her. "Hi." She said, keeping her voice soft and soothing. No more yelling.

No response. Anna didn't even move.

"Anna, c'mon. Please turn around." Elsa reached out her hand to lightly rest on Anna's shoulder. "Please?"

Anna rolled over and looked up at Elsa. "I ruin everything." Her voice was shaky and quiet, not something she was used to hearing. "Don't try take it back now because you're right. I ruin everything."

Elsa pushed Anna back enough until there was enough space for her to climb into bed next to her sister, resting her head on the pillow so they were looking into each other's eyes. "Have you ruined me?"

Anna looked confused.

"Have you ruined Kristoff?" Elsa continued, looking at her sister pointedly.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't care how many dresses you tear to bits Anna, because I love you more than any dress there is, or anything there is. I love you more than all the things you've ruined, and I'm sorry I didn't figure that out before I said the things I did."

That made Anna smile, which made Elsa smile, and she brought her arms up around Anna to pull her into a hug. "If only Mama and Papa could see us now." She heard Anna mumbled into Elsa's cloak. Elsa held her tighter.

"Mama would've thought you looked beautiful tonight. She would be so proud, Anna." Chin resting atop her little sister's head, no one but Elsa knew of the tears that brimmed her eyes, the first tears since her little sister almost died on the icy fjord. She didn't want to let her go for fear of almost losing her again.

"So proud of me? More like proud of you, Elsa. Controlling your powers and everything, opening the gates, it's amazing." Anna scooted back to she could look at her sister, and they both smiled through their tears. "And I love you too."

Elsa pulled her in to hug her once more. So this is what sisterhood felt like.

"Do you wanna have a sleepover?" Elsa asked.

Anna was baffled. Never could she imagine those words leaving Elsa's mouth. "Really?" She asked, praying it wasn't a joke.

"Really."

Anna beamed in response, doing a little dance despite her awkward position. "Go get your pajamas!" She squealed, untangling herself from the covers and climbing over her sister. Elsa hadn't noticed until then, but Anna was still wearing her gown. Ripped and all. "I'll go get the choc -" She paused when she saw Elsa looking at her funnily, and then remembered her attire. "Oh no, I'm sorry, I'll go to changed, take it to the tailor -"

Elsa shook her head. Anna never wore her gowns more than she had to. Constricting corsets and itchy petticoats were the bane of her existence and she would throw them off her and across the room as soon as she had the chance. But even ripped and stained and the reason she got kicked out of Elsa's Coronation Ball, Anna still climbed into bed and kept it with her for the better part of two hours. If that wasn't enough to show Elsa that Anna did care about what that dress meant to her, she didn't know what was.

"You keep it on as long as you want."

A/N: Sorry this took a while to update, I'm usually on point trying to update short fics like these every 2-3 days, but this one being a bit longer I thought I'd give myself more time. Gave this one a sweet, sappy ending, because there's been too much hurt for these poor girls! More Kristanna coming soon, I've got lots of fics planned and started for them, some steamy, some fluffy, which do you prefer ;)

What a better time to update this then to the news that Frozenwon two oscars! Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song! I will admit I teared a little bit, so much emotionnn

See you guys soon, leave me your thoughts! :)