Author's Note: This chapter and the next are going to go up at the same time, but both are rather short. I tried SO HARD to get them all as one chapter but my computer just would not cooperate, so now we've got 2 shorter chapters. Tomato, tomahto, right? This one is a bit more lighthearted than the rest have been, but don't worry, the angst comes back in FULL FORCE next chapter. Lol! Just remember, I pinky promise this story will have a happy ending so just hang tight, okay? :) Again, thanks for all the reviews/follows/faves. Makes me so happy. I'll reply to reviews at the end of Chapter 4.

Warnings: Some PTSD flashback stuff but it all turns out okay. Oh, and welcome back, Kristoff!

CHAPTER 3

When Anna floated gently back to consciousness, she had no idea what time it was. When she slept deep like that, she always awoke discombobulated. She could have been asleep for weeks for all she knew. For the first few seconds after waking up, everything was as it should be. Then, like rolling waves, the memories came back. One after another they crashed over her, stealing her breath and causing her body to stiffen.

Her body felt like lead. Her arms and legs appeared to be glued to the bed and opening her eyes seemed impossible. The best thing Anna could liken it to was trying to lift up anvils with her eyelids. A soft groan escaped her lips and she squeezed her eyes closed tighter, trying to will herself back into sleep.

Another soft groan echoed hers and she snapped her eyes open. Turning her head (with a great deal of effort), Anna's eyes lit on the sleeping form of her sister. Queen Elsa. She was laying on her side, facing Anna, her eyelashes resting against the tops of her cheekbones. Her mouth was closed, her perfect cupid's-bow lips pursed slightly as she dreamt. Her long, pale blonde hair was starting to come out of its braid. She really is beautiful, Anna thought, her eyes taking in the sight.

Rolling fully onto her back, Anna contemplated the ceiling. Elsa had always been seen as the prettier of the two of them. It was tough growing up in a family with someone as gorgeous as Elsa. Not that many people had seen Elsa in person between the ages of eight and twenty-one, but Anna had seen her a few times and their parents had commissioned a few paintings of the princesses during Elsa's time of being sequestered, which Anna had seen. So even though Elsa had been something of an enigma all those years, Anna had always known what she looked like.

And she was beautiful. Always had been.

To her parents' credit, though, they had never put a lot of stock in physical beauty. No question, Elsa and Anna's mother was very beautiful. Petite and with a pleasant, kind face, Queen Idunn had been the epitome of beauty to both her girls. But more than that, she was kind, fair, loving and gentle. She had tried her best to help comfort Elsa in her times of fear and had always made time to spend with Anna out in the grounds or lingering over breakfast. She had always been extremely adept at balancing queenly duties with motherhood, at least as much as she could. It had always amazed Anna how their mother could go from helping to establish lucrative trade routes to soothing a scraped knee in a matter of seconds. It was a quality that Anna hoped to one day possess herself.

Anna wished she had known about Elsa's powers before her parents' deaths. She would have very much liked to ask their mother how she felt about the whole thing. After all, it was she who had given birth to Elsa, powers and all. What must that have been like? Was she frightened? Excited? When did they first notice Elsa had powers? Anna tried to imagine baby Elsa accidentally freezing something when she had a tantrum, but the image wouldn't conjure.

"Hey." A soft voice startled Anna out of her reverie, causing her to tense up all over. She jerked her head to the side and saw Elsa looking at her with wide, curious eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"S'fine," Anna mumbled, pressing the heels of her hands into her eye sockets, willing her heart to slow down just a little.

"Are you okay? What are you thinking about?"

"You," Anna answered before she could stop herself.

"Me?" Elsa's eyebrows quirked in surprise. "What about me?"

"I was trying to imagine you as a baby before I was born. I was thinking about Mama and Papa and how it must have been… strange… when you were born with ice powers."

Elsa smiled. "Yes, I'm sure it must have been. I hope I didn't give Mama the chills when she was pregnant with me."

"Did she ever say anything about it?"

Thinking, Elsa pressed her lips together. "Mmm, no, not really. She told me things about after I was born, but not much about before." She propped her head up on her hand, elbow bent against the pillow. "She said I was a calm and sweet baby, but that I definitely had a temper when I became a toddler."

Anna found herself smiling in spite of everything. "Did you have temper tantrums and freeze the castle over?"

Elsa laughed out loud. "No, but I was known to accidentally turn the floor into an ice rink when I was upset."

"You still do that," Anna pointed out.

"Well, it's a lot better than it used to be," Elsa defended herself and Anna had to agree.

Anna rolled over to face Elsa, their faces inches apart. This was the closest Anna had gotten to anyone by choice in a long time. Basking in the warmth of her sister's closeness (Elsa's body temperature was the same as everyone else's despite the rumors that she was cold-blooded) Anna let her eyes drift closed. For one second she could almost forget the terrible things that she had witnessed and endured in the Southern Isles.

Almost.

Again, as had happened when she first awoke, the memories flooded her. One after another they came, relentlessly pounding down any traces of peace she had been feeling. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to ward off the demons.

"Anna?" Elsa's voice was very far away. "Anna! What's happening?"

Blindly, Anna reached for her sister. She could feel her sense of reality slipping away and needed some tangible connection to the real world. "Elsa!" She gasped, groping blindly for her sister. "Help!"

She felt Elsa's hands clasp hers and hold tight, despite their shaking. She's scared too, Anna realized. Memories zoomed past behind her closed lids. Anna whimpered. "Make it stop, Elsa. Please, make it stop." Her chest heaved as she gasped for air.

Faintly, Anna could hear Elsa's voice soothing her, coaching her, reminding her to breathe. Ever so slowly, the fog of panic receded bit by bit. The world around her came back into focus and her breathing started to even out. Her fingers and toes tingled as blood returned to her entire extremities. A cold sweat broke out over her entire body and she trembled from head to toe.

"It's okay, Anna. I'm here. I've got you. You're safe with me." Elsa's words washed over Anna like water, chasing away the darkness that clouded her mind. "Come back to me, Anna."

All Anna wanted was to curl up in a ball and sleep so deeply that dreams couldn't reach her. She didn't ever want to feel like that again. To her horror, she felt a lump lodge in her throat and tears burn the backs of her eyes. I can't do this anymore, her mind screamed. She pulled away from Elsa and rolled onto her back, eyes pressed shut and hands balled into fists at her sides.

Don't touch me, Elsa, she pleaded silently. Please don't touch me. She knew that if Elsa laid a hand on her or, God forbid, said anything at all to her, she'd fall apart. If she started crying now she'd probably never stop. Her grip on sanity was shaky at best.

Mercifully, Elsa held still. Anna focused on her sister's even breathing and tried to shut everything else out. Eventually she felt Elsa's hand slide into her own but by that time she had calmed down enough that it didn't have a catastrophic effect. Even though she had just woken up less than thirty minutes before, she felt that familiar, comforting lightweight feeling invading her body. It didn't take long before she gave in and, safe under Elsa's watchful eye, let the darkness overtake her once again.

"Don't worry, Elsa," Kristoff was saying, doing his very best to reassure the near-frantic queen. "I'll take care of her. It's just a quick carriage ride. We'll only be gone an hour at the most."

Elsa gnawed on her lip. "She gets these horrible panic attacks. What if she gets one while you're out?"

"Then I'll hold her hands and talk her down, just like you showed me. Twenty times. Elsa. It's going to be fine, I promise." Kristoff's hand rested on Elsa's forearm and squeezed once gently. "Promise," he repeated.

"And you'll bring her straight home if anything happens?"

"You have my word."

"And you won't stay out long even if nothing does happen?" Elsa felt like an overprotective parent and shook her head slightly at herself. This was Kristoff. She trusted him.

"Once around the town and back. She said she just wants some fresh air and a change of scenery."

"I know, I know," Elsa sighed. But what if she's not ready… the words were on the tip of Elsa's tongue but she kept them in. She knew that, for one thing, Anna was old enough to make her own choices about how she spent her time. Whether or not Elsa thought it was what was best was irrelevant. Secondly, even if Anna stayed by Elsa's side twenty-four hours a day, it still wouldn't be possible for Elsa to save her from all her demons. The fact that Anna had suffered several panic attacks within feet of Elsa was proof of this. Besides, Kristoff would make sure to bring her home if anything happened.

"Ready," came Anna's soft voice from behind Elsa. She spun around and saw Anna reaching the bottom of the stairs, Lara just behind her. She wore a light green summer dress and her hair was in braids. Except for the dullness of her eyes and the missing ten pounds on her already-slender frame, Anna almost looked like her old self. Lara excused herself and left the three of them in the main castle hallway.

"All right then," Kristoff extended his arm to Anna, who hesitated a moment before gingerly slipping her fingers around the crook of his elbow. Elsa felt a smile tug across her face at how caring Kristoff was with her sister, her lover. Aside from a few of the staff, Kristoff was the only one who knew about her less-than-traditional relationship with her sister.

The two headed for the castle door, outside of which Sven waited, tied to a cart. As they passed Elsa, Kristoff leaned over. "Once around town and we'll be back. I promise you."

And just like that the door closed quietly behind them and Elsa was alone for the first time in many, many days.

"I'm sorry," Anna said quietly as she and Kristoff settled themselves into the carriage.

"Sorry for what?" Kristoff piped. "Go on, Sven." The reindeer took off at a gentle trot and the carriage lurched into motion.

Anna pulled the thin blanket tighter over her lap, even though it was summertime and quite warm outside. "For being so…" So what? Crazy? Ridiculous? Broken? Fragile? "…boring," she finished lamely. Her hands wound together in her lap, giving away her nervousness. This was the first time she'd been alone with a man since — well, a while. This is Kristoff, she reminded herself. You trust him.

"You're not boring, Anna," Kristoff replied gently. "Quieter than usual, maybe, but never boring."

They rode in companionable silence for several minutes. Anna looked at all the flowers. When had those popped up? She couldn't remember seeing any in the Southern Isles, even though she was there during the time that flowers should have been first appearing for the season. She couldn't remember seeing them upon her return to Arendelle, either. She didn't remember much of anything from her return to Arendelle, actually.

"These flowers," she remarked, "they're pretty."

"They are," Kristoff agreed. "Olaf loves them."

A soft chuckle escaped the redhead. "He sure does. Even though he's allergic to them."

"I can't believe that little snow flurry that Elsa conjured up actually lets him exist through the summer heat."

"Well," Anna admitted, "he does melt a little if he's in the sun too long. So he spends a fair amount of time indoors during the hottest parts of the day."

Kristoff laughed jovially. "Who would have thought — a snowman in July!"

"It's only June, Kris."

He scoffed. "You get the idea!" Secretly, Kristoff was delighted that she'd called him 'Kris'. It showed him that she felt at least a little bit comfortable with him. That he felt familiar enough to her to use the nickname. "Speaking of June, your birthday is coming up soon."

Anna sighed. "Don't remind me."

"Why not?"

"Elsa will probably want to… do something for it." Anna stared at her hands in her lap, picking at her right thumbnail.

Kristoff leaned slightly towards the redhead. "She won't if you don't want her to."

Anna squeezed her hands together and looked up at Kristoff in desperation. "How can I say no to her, Kristoff? She's been nothing but kind and patient with me since… well… since I got back. She's put all her royal work on hold to sit with me for hours on end. How can I say no to something that she so obviously wants to—"

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," Kristoff waved his hand in the air. "How do you even know she wants to do anything about your birthday?"

"Because I know my sister. Remember my nineteenth?"

"Yeah, okay, fair enough. But," one hand came up, palm facing out, "to be fair to her, she hasn't said anything, has she?"

Anna's braids flapped back and forth as she shook her head.

"Then you bring it up to her. Tell her you don't want anything special to be done for it." He paused for a moment. "You don't want anything special, do you?"

"Not really. Maybe just have you and Sven and Olaf in for chocolate cake or something. And Kai and Gerda and Lara and Elsa, obviously."

At the mention of his name, Sven snorted and tossed his head. Kristoff smiled. "I think that can be arranged. Except no cake for Sven."

"Aww! But he'll be so sad!" Anna protested, a smile crossing her face.

"Well, then you'd better make it a carrot cake!"

They both chuckled over that and then fell silent for several minutes more. As they rounded the corner along the wooded edge of the city, Kristoff spoke again. "Tell me about your birthdays as a kid. What did you do?"

For a minute, Anna was quiet, thinking, remembering. Finally she said, "I don't remember my first three birthdays but I do remember my fourth. Elsa was seven. Seven and a half, actually. Anyway, Mama and Papa got me these puppets as a gift. They came with this stage thing that I could hide behind and stick my arms up with the puppets on them and put on a puppet show." She demonstrated, making her hand move like a mouth up above her head. "There were a bunch of different ones — a cow, a duck, a man and a woman and a kid. Maybe a horse too, I can't remember for sure.

"And then right after my birthday, I got sick. Elsa entertained me for hours with that stage and those puppets! I couldn't get out of bed and she couldn't come near me, but she set the stage up on the other side of the room and shouted so I could hear the puppets voices." Anna laughed softly at the memory. "She even made the cow say everything like 'moooo', so, like, for example, the cow would say, 'you'd better mooooooove along!'"

Kristoff could not imagine Elsa doing that at seven and a half. It had only been roughly a year later that he had seen Grand Pabbie remove the memories of magic from Anna's head, and a pale, somber eight-year-old Elsa had clung to her father's side in fear. It was hard for him to imagine Elsa and Anna as happy-go-lucky kids. "What about your fifth birthday?"

"Mmm, I remember that one, too," Anna said, smiling. "I helped Lara and Gerda make the biggest chocolate cake in the world. Or at least I was convinced it was the biggest in the world. It had four tiers, like a huge chocolate wedding cake, and Elsa made the tiniest snowmen to decorate it with."

"Does her snow taste like snow?"

Anna looked at Kristoff quizzically. "What do you mean? It's snow."

Kristoff blushed. "I know, but if you eat it, does it taste like normal snow?"

Anna chewed on her lip for a minute. "Yeah, I guess so. It's cold, so it doesn't taste like much. Maybe a little sweeter than regular snow. I don't know!" She barked a quick, unexpected laugh. "I guess I'll have to ask her to hit you in the face with a snowball so you can find out for yourself!"

They pulled up in front of the castle gates, which had been temporarily closed when Anna returned home. The guards saw them coming and hastened to open the heavy wooden doors. As Anna alighted in front of the castle doors, Kristoff stayed seated. Anna had always hated it when he tried to help her in and out of carriages and things like that. She claimed that just because she was a princess didn't mean that she couldn't climb around like anyone else.

"Thanks, Kris," Anna said quietly. "I enjoyed the ride."

"Me too," Kristoff replied.

"Bye, Sven." Lovingly, Anna scratched the underside of the reindeer's chin. He grunted appreciatively and licked at her hand. "Thanks for the ride!"

Anna pulled open the heavy castle door and turned back to smile at Kristoff.

"See you soon, okay? And don't forget to talk to Elsa. I'm sure she'll understand."

"I won't forget," came the soft reply, and then the door clunked closed behind her and she was gone.