A letter bearing the sign of the Southern Isles lay on Elsa's desk threateningly. She wasn't hiding it, exactly, it had just happened to worm its way under a few other papers. It was silly to be so apprehensive of a paper, she knew, but the crest alone brought back such awful memories, not yet healed with time. Besides, there were other missives from other kingdoms. Those could be dealt with first. Elsa sighed, looking at the small pile of letters.
In an attempt to heal any fractured alliances, as well as strengthen the ones not lost during the freeze, Elsa had decided to host a ball. It wasn't a celebration of her coronation so much as a reminder, a sign that she could recover and learn from her mistakes to emerge stronger. It was also an apology of sorts. She would not be remembered as the queen who isolated Arendelle from the world; she was determined that the small kingdom would thrive despite her initial failure. Throughout the few days following the ball would be a series of meetings with delegations from various kingdoms, mostly to discuss trade and alliances.
Elsa hoped it would work.
"What? No. You can't be serious!" Anna's face was red. "After what happened?" She was shaking with fury, hands clenching and unclenching by her sides.
Elsa closed her eyes, breathing in. She knew this would happen, she should have approached this differently, she should have done a million things differently. "Anna, it's just for the ball. I am taking every precaution I can think of. You will never be out of my sight, I can even set up a small guard for you, if that would help."
"It's not about that! I don't want to have to worry about where I am or what I'm doing or who I'm with."
Despite everything, a hint of a smile pulled at the corner of Elsa's mouth. "That's part of being a princess."
The redhead sighed exasperatedly. "It's not funny, Els."
"I never said it was." The smile disappeared. "Anna, if you really feel that strongly about it, I can arrange for the delegation to have an audience with me a day or two before the ball so they can leave before it begins. It'll be like they were never here."
Anna groaned. "No, that's worse! You can't be alone with anyone from the Southern Isles, let alone anyone related to-" She broke off, unable to say the name. "The royal family," she continued, her voice noticeably subdued.
Elsa bit her lip, not sure of what she should do. She moved closer to Anna, awkwardly putting a hand on the redhead's shoulder. It was meant to be comforting. Anna looked up at her, and her face went from thinly concealed pain to surprised confusion to a warm smile in about two seconds.
"You're sure you'll be all right?"
Anna pulled her sister into a hug. "I'm sure," she said softly. Their embraces weren't as rare now, and it was a nice change. Anna was the first to pull away, putting her hands on Elsa's shoulders and adopting a playful expression. "And no surprise engagements this time, promise," she laughed.
"Oh?" Elsa lifted an eyebrow, matching her sister's impish tone. "Speaking of surprise engagements, shall we invite your rugged mountain man?"
The redhead blushed fiercely, throwing herself into the sofa facefirst. "He's not my rugged mountain man. He's my Kristoff. Just Kristoff." She lifted her face from the cushion long enough to clarify, "He's Kristoff."
"So is 'just Kristoff' getting an invitation to the ball, or isn't he?"
"You can invite whoever you want, you're the queen."
"Whomever. Do you want him there or not?"
Anna glared into the sofa. "Ehhmph."
"I know you can speak clearly."
"Mmehhph ooo."
"That didn't…that doesn't make any sense." Elsa stood. "Fine. I won't invite him, then."
Anna jumped up. "No! Um. You can…invite him. I mean, I'd like him to be there."
The older girl smiled. "That's what I thought. All right, I'll put him on the guest list." She paused. "That reminds me of the other thing I wanted to tell you." She sat on the couch. Anna followed, tucking her feet beneath her and resting against Elsa. "We- do you remember, at my coronation, a girl about my age with short brown hair?"
Anna scrunched her nose. "No. Was she at the party?"
"No, she and her husband left before it started. They were only able to stay for the ceremony."
"Okay? What about her?"
Elsa took a deep breath, oddly nervous. "It seems…she's our cousin."
Anna shot up, her head knocking into Elsa's chin in the process. The blonde swore, rubbing her chin. Anna cringed slightly. "Sorry." She stopped, suddenly curious. "I didn't know you swore." Shaking her head, she returned to the subject. "Wait, no. Cousin?"
"Apparently. Did Mother mention her to you?"
"Maybe." She thought for a moment. "Wait, the one in…Poland? With Mom's sister?"
"Germany. And yes, she's our aunt's daughter."
"Okay, so why are we just finding out about her?"
Elsa shifted uncomfortably. Anna's eyes widened and then narrowed accusingly. "You knew, didn't you? You must've, to know she was at your coronation. Why didn't you tell me? Were you going to tell me?"
"There wasn't exactly a lot of time, Anna. As I remember, we both had other things on our minds. Anyway, she and her husband are going to be at the ball."
"Does our mysterious cousin have a name?" Anna's tone was still slightly off. Elsa guessed it would be a sore subject for at least five more minutes, and then it would be forgotten forever.
"Rapunzel. And her husband's name is Eustace or Edward or something. She sounds a lot like you, actually, from her letter." Elsa smiled gently. "It'll be nice to have more family."
Anna squealed excitedly. "Her letter? Can I see it? What'd she say? Are they gonna stay with us? Where's the letter? Can I read it?"
"It's on my desk in the study, if you want it. I was going to have one of our guest suites made up for them, yes." The blonde stretched, covering a yawn with one hand.
Immediately, Anna pounced. "Are you tired? Your eyes look tired. Well, not your eyes eyes, the circles beneath them. How long've you been up? How've you been sleeping?"
"Anna, I'm fine." She tried not to laugh at her sister's concern, but it amused her. Maybe she did need sleep. "It has been a long day, though."
"That's it!" Anna jumped to her feet, dragging Elsa with her. "Off to bed with you!"
Elsa let herself be dragged down the hall and to her room. It was strange yet comforting to have Anna watching out for her constantly, especially when she'd spent so long doing the same for Anna. Of course, now everything was completely different, while somehow remaining exactly the same.