Anna absentmindedly picked at a hardboiled egg on her plate with a silver fork.

Shortly after Kristoff's revelation of her royal heritage, Elsa had come in to relieve him of "babysitting" duty. As Arendelle's Official Ice Master and Deliverer, and in the midst of an unusual heat wave in late autumn, his services were direly needed by the kingdom.

Anna couldn't place it, but Elsa and Kristoff's interactions seemed familiar, but cold. They didn't even make eye contact when Kristoff stood, bowed, and strolled out of the room, affixing a dark woolen hat to his head as he crossed the threshold. He looked back briefly to give Anna a look before walking out of sight, but Anna couldn't decipher what the look meant. She did, however, notice for the first time how tall he really was.

Well, the first time she could actually remember.

As soon as Elsa sat down beside her sister on the bed, Anna's mind was a whirlwind of questions that spewed forth, and Elsa obligingly answered each one as quickly as Anna could ask. Their parents, the former monarchs, had perished in a shipwreck a few years previously on their way to their cousin's royal wedding in another kingdom. Elsa was crowned the reigning Queen not long after. They were sisters, and there was just the two of them. Anna was, in fact, a princess, and second in line for the Arendelle throne.

Before Anna could get to the topics of the living snowman or Kristoff, and her relationship with him, Elsa interrupted her string of questions to insist that they go down to the Great Hall for some breakfast. Anna was about to protest, before her stomach growled in a way that made her clench her teeth. Maybe some food would be nice. She could continue interrogating her sister afterwards. Plus, it would be refreshing to get out of bed. She felt incredibly weak from being still for so long.

Elsa currently sat across from the princess at the long dining table, similarly picking at what was left of her food with a fork. It seemed that although each woman was exhausted and starving for sustenance, they couldn't eat. The light shining in from the tall floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the Great Hall promised a beautiful day outside.

"Hey, Elsa," Anna picked up when the quiet of the room became nearly unbearable.

"Yes, Anna?" Elsa perked up, focusing on her sister. The attention suddenly made Anna nervous and she was scared to ask the question poking at the back of her mind.

"Ah, nevermind," Anna replied sheepishly, scratching her head. Her sister had been gracious enough to help her brush and braid her hair into two pigtails prior to arriving downstairs. When Elsa noticed Anna fingering a white streak that ran the length of her otherwise ginger locks, she said nothing.

"Anna, please. It's alright." Elsa gripped her fork with white knuckles, concerned about what she wanted to know next. There was still so much unsaid, so much she wasn't sure that this Anna–the one without memories of her previous self–could handle. Not to mention, she wasn't sure how frail she was after her ordeal. The last thing she wanted was to say something to cause her sister to faint again.

"When I woke up, like… two days ago? Um, there was this… snowman… "

Elsa's eyes went wide and Anna shook her head in shame.

"You know what, forget it. Probably just a fever dream," Anna quickly laughed it off. In good humor, she popped a piece of egg into her mouth and smiled at her sister. Surprisingly, her sister was smiling back.

"Anna, I have something to show you."

—-

The warmth of the sun felt wonderful on Anna's face as she stepped outside, trailing the Queen. The courtyard was devoid of the lively bustle that would normally be present on any other day; Elsa had ordered the gates be closed to the general public until Anna was back and well.

Elsa had helped Anna pick out an appropriate outfit for the weather; a fitted, pale green top with three-quarter sleeves and a high collar, layered with a mossy green leather corset and matching ankle length skirt with floral embroidery at the hem. The skirt was heavy, but breezy enough to keep her cool. When she looked in the mirror, Anna liked the way her orange hair complimented the earthy tones of her dress.

A pair of stone fountains stood in the center of the spacious bailey, the gushing and trickling streams of water dancing in the sunlight. Elsa led her away from the door, her slippers clicking softly on the gray cobblestone as Anna followed the Queen to the middle, closer to the fountains.

She had yet to see Elsa look as frightened as she did now.

"Okay," Elsa started, putting both hands palms up to signal for Anna to stand where she was. "Don't freak out."

Anna stopped, watching her sister begin to breathe heavily, as if she were meditating. Readying herself for something. The princess' curiosity was piqued.

In one swift, fluid motion, the woman in blue brought her hand up, pointing her fingers toward the sky. It was a graceful, seemingly arbitrary gesture, but as Anna watched, the fountain to the left of the Queen changed. The water that once flowed downward shot up; where Anna expected the liquid to fall to the ground, instead a pillar of sculpted of ice had been erected.

Elsa repeated the swish of her hand to the other side, having the same effect on the second fountain.

Anna's vision swam with the sight.

"You have… ice powers?"

Anna felt her balance sway. She took a step back and stumbled, her vision blurring as she felt herself falling.

She expected to hit the hard ground and was caught off-guard when she fell into a pair of arms instead. Muscular arms. Anna looked up into Kristoff's face, an expression of worry plastered across his handsomely round features.

"Kristoff," Anna breathed. As if on cue, she felt her pulse begin to calm. An image of him holding her close flickered across her mind's eye, but she couldn't be sure if it was a real memory.

Elsa rushed to the princess' side.

"Oh, Anna, I'm sorry! I knew it would be too much for you in this state."

Kristoff helped Anna to her feet, with Elsa embracing her in an apologetic hug. A stunned Anna could only reciprocate by patting her sister on the back in what she hoped would be interpreted as a comforting action.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Kristoff mumbled, rubbing the back of his head with a gloved hand. When Anna turned to see him, she was surprised to find him decked out head-to-toe in mountain gear, despite the sweltering heat.

"I was unloading a delivery of ice, over there, and I saw– it was not my intention to barge in on your privacy–"

Elsa waved off his obvious unease with a flick of her hand. Anna inadvertently flinched at the motion and Elsa quickly returned her hands to her sides, for her sister's sake.

"Maybe we should get you back to bed, Anna," Elsa suggested, reaching for her sister. Anna instinctively shrunk back from her sister's hands, the hands with the power of ice, and felt a pang of regret at her own insensitivity when she saw Elsa's face crumple from the rejection.

"I'm sorry," Anna said. "It-it's not you, I just, I don't think I feel well enough to walk right now. Is it alright if… if… "

Anna looked up at Kristoff for confirmation, who in turn looked to the Queen. Elsa bit her lip. She seemed tormented at whether or not allowing Kristoff to carry Anna to her room would be a good idea. Anna wondered why. Anna also wondered why, for some reason, she felt so at ease with this man she had just met. Exactly what was the history of their relationship?

She mad a mental note to find out.

"Yes, I suppose…that is, if you don't mind, Ice Master."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

As if lifting a down pillow, Kristoff scooped Anna up into his strong hold and carried her into the castle.

"What is your relationship to my sister?"

Kristoff was taken aback by the question. Anna felt his arms tense around her as he laid her down on the bed. "What do you mean?"

Anna huffed. "I mean, when you're not around, she calls you Kristoff, and then as soon as I'm there it's all formalities and she calls you by your title. The same goes for you."

Kristoff shrugged and pulled the blanket over Anna.

"She's my Queen. Referring to each other in a respectful way is what manners dictate, don't you think?"

Anna scrunched her lips. She caught herself fiddling the blanket nervously between her fingers and inwardly commanded herself to stop.

"Then why don't you call me 'princess'?"

Kristoff froze. Anna pressed him further, sitting up.

"How do you know me?"

"That's not a good idea."

"Why not?"

Kristoff shook his head and moved to turn away from her, but was stopped by Anna's delicate fingers around his wrist.

"Anna, don't."

The sudden intensity in his voice scared Anna, and she reluctantly loosened her hold on him. He carefully pulled away from her and sighed, rubbing his face with the palm of his gloved hand.

"You should get some rest."

He took one last glance in her direction, adjusting his cap before walking away. Unaware of the reason for his distance, Anna felt the tears well in her eyes, staining the pillow as she laid her head back down upon it and willed herself into peaceful oblivion.

—-

A/N: Please review! I love feedback :)