Friction

Elsa slipped down off Frost and brushed her hair that had been blown free by the wind out of her face. "Your Majesty," the portly servant named Kai panted, jogging up to the group. "You've only just made it back; the committee is here!"

"Oh dear! I'd better hurry, Anna wi- "

"I'll put Frost away," Kristoff smiled, slinging the sack of picnic litter over his back. "You two girls go get washed up."

"I'm not invited to the meeting," Anna pouted surly.

"Oh hush, you'd be bored anyway. Make yourself useful and sort through the stack of papers on my desk, that should keep you sufficiently busy while I'm gone." Elsa grinned and kissed Anna's cheek as she puffed them out in agitation.

"She thinks I'll get up to trouble," she grumbled to a laughing Kristoff.

"I heard that!" Elsa called back over her shoulder.

ELSA'S POV

"It's very nice to meet you," Elsa stated blandly, a thin smile stretched across her face.

"It's an honor to finally meet your acquaintance, Your Majesty," the tall Duke of Ire said warmly, enthusiastically shaking Elsa's hand. His scraggly black beard, she noted, twitched at the corners of his jaw when he talked. "I hope Arendelle has gotten back on her feet since the, er, incident?"

Elsa's smile stretched wider and she suppressed the urge to wrap her arms around herself. "Yes, it has, thank you for your concern. Come, let's sit."

Duke Nuka and his party all sat around the rather large wooden conference table. At once, the queen's servants swooped in with refreshments, before bowing back to their typical stance against the wall. "So, I presume you know why we're here," the Duke asked as he stroked his beard with long thin fingers.

Elsa didn't like him, she'd heard rumors that he and his mother had plotted against the King of The Pride Lands in the past, and the mischievous glint in his eyes did nothing to ease her mistrust. You don't have to like him; you just have to deal with him. You can do this, conceal, don't feel. "I do. You want Arendelle to send supplies to your land. However, I was under the impression that Ire was splitting from the rest of the Pride Lands? If this is true, I'm sorry but we couldn't possibly aide you. Arendelle and the Pride Lands have been allies for longer than I've been alive, never mind queen."

"Ah, those are merely rumors," Duke Nuka flashed a predatory smile. "I assure you, Ire has no plans to separate from King Simba. We'd hardly get very far, what with the Pride Lands having all the resources anyway. "No, we're asking for supplies for even under King Simba's rule, life in Ire is declining, and quite rapidly. He refuses to acknowledge our requests, so we're forced to look outside of the government."

Elsa closed her eyes, her mind processing. He isn't even trying to hide the fact he's unhappy with his situation. He says they're not breaking off but that's obviously a lie. Should I just turn him down? I can't give him the supplies he wants, especially not when his true intentions are so blatantly clear, but maybe if I give him a bit, I can plant a spy on one of the ships, to keep an eye on him. Yes, that'll work, Elsa thought to herself, I'll send Kovu. He'll know how to relay messages to King Simba without getting caught. She motioned for the servant closest to her to approach and whispered "Tell Kovu to make arrangements to go to Ire." Nodding, Anderson bowed out of the room.

"I see. I'm sympathetic to your cause, however I cannot give you the amount of supplies you've asked for. I can send you back with 3 ships, led by Lt. Kovu. You two may have met, I'm under the impression he was born in Ire?"

Duke Nuka laughed. "Not only that, but he's my cousin. Perfect! The land of Ire thanks you, Your Majesty, and I'll be sure to tell King Simba that you helped out his great nation when it needed it," he smirked.

Oh, I'm sure you will. Elsa gritted her teeth, smiled sweetly, and rose. Everyone stood with her, and one by one they approached her, each of the 7 giving and receiving a kiss on their cheek. Duke Nuka held back, and when everyone else had filed out of the room he extended a hand to Elsa. "No offense to you, You Majesty, but I have a thing with germs. You understand I sure."

"Of course," Elsa bowed politely. When the guests had all left, Elsa let out a sigh and slumped back into her chair. "Tea, Your Majesty?" Kai stepped forward.

"No, thank you Kai. I'm going to bed, you're all dismissed." She waved them away carelessly, her other hand caressing her forehead.

Anna's POV

Anna bounded into Elsa's room filled with glee; she'd never been alone in her sisters' room before. Instead of heading to the desk with the paperwork on it, she flopped onto her back on Elsa's bed and looked up at the ceiling. Boring and white, it quickly lost her attention, which instead shifted over to one of the bookcases. It was there Anna noticed an anomaly; one of the dust riddled books was, in fact, not dusty. She hopped back off the bed and strode over, whistling nonchalantly and glancing around. She reached up and snatched the book off the shelf as fast as she could. Still on high alert, she sat down at the desk, brushed the paperwork out of her way, and opened the black binding that held the book closed.

A loose scrap of paper fell from the pages, catching Anna's eye. Grinning, she picked it up and read the cursive on the front. "Home," Elsa's handwriting had scrawled. Unfolding the parchment, Anna gasped and cupped her mouth over her hand, her eyes brimming with tears.

Elsa had drawn Anna, wearing winter clothes with a blanket thrown over her shoulder, laughing while holding a cup of something with steam rising from it; probably cocoa, Anna guessed. Her nose was pink, despite the fireplace that was sketched behind of her. She was sitting on the floor against an old clothed armchair, where Elsa had drawn herself sitting. Anna wiped away her tears, smiling to herself. We look so happy. I wonder why she didn't show me this…

There was a knock on the door and Anna yelped. "Uh, who is it?" she called, delicately putting the drawing back into the book, and returning it to the shelf. The door opened just as she grabbed the stack of papers she'd shoved aside and pretended to be leering over one of them.

"Oh, terribly sorry, I was looking for the loo." The man, who'd snaked his head around the door to peer in, was noticeably blushing. Anna noticed he was far darker than Arendelles' local color, and wondered if he was a visitor.

"And when someone answered you decided to come in anyway," asked Anna incredulously, though relieved she'd not been caught snooping.

The man began to blush more, but answered "Ah, right. My name's Kovu, I command one of Arendelle's fleets." He stepped inside and Anna took in a sharp breath. Wow he's gorgeous. His hair was short but shaggy, and his body was well built. His eyes were a golden brown and piercing. "Is this your room," he inquired, looking around.

"No, it's Elsa. You should leave," she said suddenly. He looked surprised at her tone, but smiled quickly.

"Of course, Your Majesty. I must be going anyway; it was a pleasure to meet you Princess Anna." Kovu bowed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Oh-kaaaay that was weird, Anna mused. She stood there another moment or two, then whirled around and grimaced. "Okay Anna, you can do this. Just pretend it's part of your old studies." Anna sat back down in the chair and pulled a piece of paper off the stack. She peered through it, willing her eyes to focus. "I hate studying," she groaned.

Normal whatever POV I'm using

Halfway through what she's sure was a thrilling story about mosquitos and how without them, Earth as they know it would be destroyed, there was another knock on the door and Elsa slipped inside. "Hello Anna," she sighed, sweeping across the room with a tired grace and kissing her now standing sister on the cheek.

"Well that was very queenly of you," Anna laughed, opening her arms for a hug. "That wasn't a very long meeting, ehheh, I uh, didn't really have time to do much…"

Elsa welcomed her sisters embrace, and glanced down at the partially crumpled sheet that Anna had been reading. "Well, you read a page, which is a page more than I expected," she teased warmly, stepping back. Anna grinned sheepishly, her hands clasping behind her back. "Unfortunately, the work needs to be done, so perhaps it's best you retire for the night. I'm afraid it'll be impossible getting any of it done with you."

"Why's that," Anna asked, offended. When Elsa raised an eyebrow at her, she huffed. "I'll be good! I am capable of behaving myself you know. Watch." Anna strode over and set herself down none to gently on the end of Elsa's bed. Elsa laughed and sat herself at her desk. She glanced up every few lines or so, but Anna was sitting still and quiet, as promised. Until the 3rd page.

"I can't do this anymore!" shouted Anna dramatically, letting her back lay flat on the bed and draping an arm across her face. "How do people stand not talking? Are you almost done?"

"Patience, Anna. I probably won't have any time to spare tonight, you should go to bed."

"I am in bed," Anna sat up and smirked.

"Your own bed," Elsa sighed wearily, scrunching her nose and sticking her tongue out.

"Why can't I sleep in your room," Anna implored, walking behind Elsa and wrapping her arms around her neck. "Your bed is like 1000x comfier than mine."

"Nonsense, they're the same exact bed Anna."

"Not uh, yours is blue, mine's pink." She rested her head against her sister's shoulder.

"That's just the blanket. Anna you're distracting me, this work really needs to be done."

"Why can't the servants to it, or one of the members of your royal court? I read the first page, it's all so trivial."

"Because I am the Queen, and I have a duty to the country to give my attention to the people of Arendelle's problems."

"What about me? I'm a people of Arendelle," Anna quipped.

Elsa, unable to suppress her smile, tilted her head up and looked at her sister. "Aside from the obvious, what is your problem, my dear Princess Anna?"

"Hmm," Anna pretended to think. "I want to go to bed."

"No one's stopping you, in fact did I not just encourage you to go to your room?"

"I have nightmares…" Anna said, promptly averting her gaze and removing herself off her sister.

Elsa leaned back and gripped her sisters fleeting hand, keeping it on her shoulder. "What about?" she asked tentatively.

"There's a few, but one scares me more than the others…" Pulling her hand free, Anna walked back to the bed and curled up against the headboard. Elsa pursued, sitting beside her and wrapping her arms around the younger girl. "Someone's chasing me, in the beginning. I'm in the woods, lost I think, I don't know. In the dream, I guess I'm not really going to any particular place, so I'm not sure if it counts as being lost."

Anna paused for a moment, taking in a shaky breath. "But I'm running, and it's dark. Very dark, but somehow also… not? Like it's pitch black, but I'm able to see the trees around me, and the leaves on the ground and stuff. And I can hear someone shouting my name, over and over again. It's a low, hoarse voice, and it keeps getting closer."

Anna shivered in Elsa's arms. "I always end up tripping, on my feet or a rock or something, and falling and I can't get up. It's like something is holding me on the ground but nothing's there. And then you, you come out of the woods..." She began to shake uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.

"It's okay Anna, you don't have to finish." Elsa ran her fingers through auburn hair, trying to soothe her sibling.

Taking in a trembling breath, Anna shook her head. "You, you come out of the woods and I shout for you and I feel warm again, but then I see your eyes. And they aren't your eyes. They are but they're not. I can't explain it. They're cruel, and evil. And you look at me," Anna sniffles. "You look at me, and I-I can see it, every time right before I wake up, that you don't know who I am. You have no idea, but for some reason you're chasing me, and I think, I think you're trying to kill me."

They sat in silence for a few moments before Elsa spoke again. "I'm so sorry Anna. I'm so, so sorry. I- honestly, I don't even know how to respond. I want to take away those dreams, those feelings. I can't, I wish I could Anna. But I'm here for you, okay? You can come to me at any time, day or night, and I will always listen to you, and I will always try to comfort you."

Anna, eyes rimmed with red, smiled and looked into Elsa's. "I know. Can…Can I stay here tonight? I don't mean to be a bother I just need to know you'll be there when I wake up, I guess."

Elsa kissed the top of Anna's head. "Of course you can." They scooted down into a laying position, Anna wrapped in Elsa's arms. Elsa lifted a hand and shot a gust of icy wind at the lit candles, darkening the room. Their breathing slowed and evened out as the minutes passed by slowly. Elsa continued to stroke Anna's hair as she drifted to sleep, humming gently. When she was sure her sister had drifted off, Elsa let out a long, trembling breath, and let the tears finally fall.