Stuff happens, writing gets delayed, writing other stories instead, same old excuses. But I'm back! This chapter is something else. I've seemed to have lost my ability to write chapters that are less than 5,000 words, so this the backlash of that inability. I never intended this chapter to be this long, but I needed to be told.

One thing you should all do, preferably after you read this chapter, is to go read the other two POTO/Frozen stories on this site.
Unmasked- by Megknsis
Angels of Song & Ice- by onyx faye

Do it!

Now onto my chapter!


Edited: 1/20/16


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Arendelle: October 1875

The months had passed surprisingly fast for the royal family and friends. It was the day before Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff were supposed to sail off to France and head to Paris for the Opera. While the sisters were still hesitant to travel by ship, Kristoff had eventually convinced them that it was the best way for them to get to the country, sometimes resorting to nefarious tactics like bribery with special chocolate to get them to agree. Anna had gotten over her fear of boats by taking to exploring the docks and the ships that landed, getting more familiar with what to expect. Oftentimes she would drag Kristoff with her if he wasn't doing anything (and sometimes even when he was). Anna had gone sailing with their father when she was younger, but that was many years ago and only on a little sailboat, not a galley, and certainly not for several days in a row, so it was like relearning something all over again.

Elsa had also busied herself in making sure that the kingdom could manage itself without her for a month or two. That meant getting ahead of the paperwork and arranging certain things, or postponing them, like that Open Lot project that was getting nowhere. Some of those were just plain shoved into a cabinet and left for someone dig up as some archeological excavation later.

Elsa had taken up Anna's advice and volunteered, or as Anna later put it, voluntold, her staff to help her with the papers. On occasion she even got Anna to help when she wasn't bouncing around the castle like normal. That pile that was on her desk that day had eventually vanished… naturally this time by getting completed, not by being hidden. However it still made for very late nights and early mornings for the Queen. It was not uncommon to see Elsa with circles under eyes, a document in one hand, and a cup of extremely strong coffee in the other that was almost syrup. But it got the job done and the paperwork became manageable again.

In the few moments that they had, Elsa later learned that Anna did in fact know French as she was slightly forced to when she was younger. But as one could imagine, it didn't go over very well and Anna didn't remember much from her lessons. So Elsa had started tutoring Anna and sometimes Kristoff when he had the time in the basics of French. She had taken to saying things to Anna in French at random times during the day and most of the time she would get a "What? Oh- uhh" and some mangled response that Elsa sighed at and then corrected. Anna was getting better, but it seemed that Elsa would have to do most of the talking while in France.

Kristoff was not sitting back being lazy during this time and was also busy. In-between all the other things that went on in the castle he was making sure the rest of the ice miners could follow without his direction. But since it was getting towards the colder part of the year, there wasn't as much demand for ice anymore and business was slower so there really wasn't much to do on that front. Or any front for him. Kristoff frankly was at a loss. Yes, he had managed to get tickets and a travel plan all laid out and calmed the sisters about their own fears, but he had his own as well. He was going to be roughly introduced into high-society for arguably the second time (Arendelle aristocracy he understood wasn't as ruthless as some others) and he was just a mountain man. And even he knew things would be different in Paris than in Arendelle, at least with mannerisms, customs, and the such.

So as much as he hated himself to do so, he asked Elsa and Anna for etiquette lessons, mainly from Elsa though for obvious reasons, not that he would say it out loud when a certain redhead was around. Anna could manage when she tried, but in her own words, "where's the fun in being pompous and stuck up all the time?"

There was another alternative reason Kristoff wanted to go to Elsa, but every time he lost his nerve somehow. Elsa seemed to notice something was off and gave him strange looks every time this happened, but waited for him to spit it out. Figuratively though, sometimes he was eating when this happened.

This was basically the routine of what the last couple of months were like before today, the day before they planned on leaving.


"Mom nom es Anna. Comment allez-vous aujourururrr… uhh…"

Elsa sighed, "First off, it's 'Mon nom est Anna'."

"Isn't that what I said?"

"Not quite. But the second part was good until you lost it." Elsa assured her sister.

Anna groaned and flopped back in her chair. "I don't think I had it to begin with. Heck, even Kristoff gets French better than I do. I think this trip I'll be completely silent. I'll be a mute. You can say that right? 'My sister is mute and can't speak your incredibly confusing language.' It shouldn't be hard right? I can pass for a mute right?"

Elsa gave her sister an amused smile. "Anna, I don't think you could be silent for more than five minutes."

"Wanna' bet?" Anna challenged.

Elsa rolled her eyes, "It wouldn't be much of a bet because I know I'll win."

"Alright, if I stay silent for more than five minutes you'll, uhh, have to give me all your chocolate desert tonight."

Elsa gave Anna a cold stare that had nothing to do with her ice powers. "Take away my chocolate and I'll freeze you to the ceiling again."

"But you'll let me down anyway." Anna smirked.

"I'll leave you here when we go to Paris." Elsa countered.

Anna narrowed her eyes, "You wouldn't dare."

"Then leave chocolate out of this." Elsa replied.

Anna frowned and grunted. "Fine." Elsa rolled her eyes again at her sister's antics.

"Let's try this again." Elsa said, getting both of them back on track.

"Elsaaaaa," Anna groaned as her head hit the table, "we've been at this for months. I can't learn it completely by tomorrow. That's physically impossible!" Anna said as she shot up again, waving her arms around in exasperation. "And don't you dare say 'well you won't with that mindset'!"

"Then I won't." Elsa said deliberately. When Anna groaned again, Elsa added, "Besides, it's not like we're going to be magically transported there tomorrow; we still have a good week to learn." That just made Anna disappear more into her despairing shell. Elsa sighed again, knowing she would have to resort to bribery. Again. "Okay Anna, if we keep this going for another hour, and you actually try, I'll give you some of my dessert pieces."

Anna tried to not look interested, but Elsa knew her too well. "How much?" Anna asked.

"A fourth." Elsa offered.

"Half." Anna countered.

"A third or none at all." Elsa said as her final proposal.

Anna seemed to think about it. "Okay!" And at the promise of extra chocolate, she was back to her perky self.

All too easy, Elsa thought to herself. "Now, what's 'please' in French?"

"Sea blue plaît."

Or not.


Another painful hour later and Elsa had to admit Anna had technically shown improvement. Somewhat. It was debatable.

The hour passed not very quickly for both of the sisters. To be fair to Anna, she did in fact try to get French down, but it was tooth-pulling work for Elsa, as she had to teach it. By the end of it, both of them were glad that it was over and Anna practically ran out of the room, leaving behind a mentally tired Elsa.

It always surprises me how metal workouts can be tiring for the entire body, Elsa thought as she closed the French language book and set it back on the shelf. They studied in Elsa's private study and the bookcase was filled with books on language. Elsa both took Anna and Kristoff in here to teach them both French. Kristoff seemed to get that he didn't need to know every singe detail about the language and just focused on the basics, enough to have a moderate conversation, which Elsa approved of. Anna however wanted to learn everything and was frankly too scatterbrained to get those basics down, or at least as easier. Anna did learn more but couldn't retain it and Kristoff was slower but steadier in his approach.

Elsa came out of her study and went down to the great hall. Ever since they opened the gates three years ago there was always a few people milling about the courtyard, either just on a stroll or admiring their Queen's work with the ice sculptures. Elsa had set up a small area outside where she would leave some of the things she made in practice. And with the open gates, even the castle was accessible to the common folk. Though they were strictly limited in where they could go and what they could do. Mainly it was just to discuss some grievance they have or thank Elsa for something. Elsa wasn't so lax as to not have guards around inside and outside. Weaseltown was still very much protesting the embargo Arendelle had with them and the Duke had sent many… choicely worded letters to Elsa stating this fact confirming the fact that she did the right thing.

The Duke may be full of bluster, but that doesn't mean he can't send someone to take care of his work for him, Elsa reflected. And as for Hans… thankfully he's still in the Southern Isles, the last I heard.

Elsa shook these thoughts off. No use lingering on those memories. The past is in the past. Let it go. She smirked inwardly at her own joke, one that Anna would get as well.

Soon after coming back, Elsa had worked on writing down the song and putting piano music with it. She had sung it a few times for Anna, but that was ages ago. For some reason, she had stopped signing. She just didn't feel motivated to sing out loud anymore. Not that she felt strongly about it, just curious.

Elsa was distracted from her thoughts once again when a familiar snowman with a snow cloud over his head came across her. "Mama!"

Elsa smiled at Olaf, "Hey Olaf," she said as she knelt down and hugged the snowman, "How are you doing?"

"Pretty okay. I'm sad that you're going somewhere without me though." He said.

A pang of regret came through Elsa at those words. They had told Olaf that he would have to remain here in Arendelle while they were in France and he seemed more confused than hurt. "I'm sorry about that Olaf, but people outside of Arendelle aren't used to seeing a live snowman. They're likely to do what Anna did the first time she saw you." Anna told her later that she got freaked out and kicked Olaf's head off when he first made his appearance.

"Yeeeeah, I don't want to be kicked around like a football." Olaf admitted. Elsa decided not to say that that would probably be one of the lesser evils people would do. Burning at the stake came to mind.

"Don't worry Olaf, we'll be back before you know it. Besides, you can visit the trolls or the Snowgies whenever you want."

Olaf's face brightened at that. "Yea! Kristoff's family is really fun! You should go more often." He said.

Elsa blinked. I'm still not used to the idea of trolls as Kristoff's family, even after three years. She had gone to visit soon after her coronation with Anna and Kristoff to discuss what had transpired. The old troll had expressed regret at her parent's actions and conveyed that he had wished they had acted differently. However, he was excited that everything turned out all right in the end.

Of course that depended on your view of 'all right'. But Elsa wasn't going to get into that again. They got it mostly figured out two years ago after Elsa's major breakdown.

Returning back to the present, Olaf wasn't finished yet. "Oh! Speaking of which, Kristoff sent me to tell you that he wanted you to go to the sables where he is right now to talk with him."

After Elsa wrapped her mind around his roundabout way of saying 'Kristoff wanted to talk to her in the stables', Elsa said, "Okay, I'll go there now. Do you want to come with me?" She asked.

Olaf shook his head, "Nah, I want to find Anna next and give her a hug. After all, warm hugs are my specialty," he whispered conspiratorially.

Elsa giggled at Olaf's childishness. "Well, I'm pretty sure Anna would like one. Also give her a hug from me too while you're at it." Elsa added, feeling that her sister needed some comfort after another… rough French lesson.

"Alright! I'll give her the best hug she's ever had twice!" Olaf then chuckled to himself and walked off towards Anna's room. Elsa watched her first creation with a smile playing across her face until he disappeared around a corner. Then she gathered herself and made her way to the castle stables.

She found Kristoff feeding Sven carrots, and talking to him. Or having a conversation with him. Elsa tried to put that out of her mind whenever she saw that firsthand and calked it up to their idiosyncrasies. After all, Anna talks to pictures on the wall and is scatterbrained; I have ice magic and used to talk to my reflection in the mirror. So what if Kristoff talks to Sven and replies for him? I guess we all are a little crazy.

Elsa caught the last bit of their conversation as she went in. "No Sven, this time I am going to actually ask her."

"That's what you said the last time." Kristoff replied in 'Sven's' voice.

"Well I mean it. That's why we're going."

Elsa stepped around the pillar and cleared her throat to signify her presence. Kristoff and Sven both looked up at her in surprise. "Olaf said you wanted to speak with me?" Elsa said, deliberately pretending that she didn't hear the last few lines of dialogue.

"Uhh, err, yea-yes." Kristoff said. His eyes were darting around, showing signs of his obvious nervousness. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go up to visit my parents before we leave tomorrow, y'know, for some last minute advice or warnings or something. It might be good to see if they know anything about France you-we might not know." He corrected himself.

In a way, Elsa was amused at his nervousness. He obviously wants me to go with him, that wasn't his question he wanted to ask me. If I don't go, it'll obviously throw off whatever he has planned and ruin something. If he's spent this long thinking about this, I should better take this opportunity. Elsa had a sneaking suspicion of what Kristoff wanted to ask her, but wanted to see how it'll play out.

"All right, are we taking your sled?" Elsa asked smoothly. Elsa was rewarded with a sudden blank stare before Kristoff realized that she agreed to go with him.

"Huh? Oh yea, I'll just get Sven harnessed up and we'll go." He said as he opened the door for Sven and led him out back. Elsa allowed the faintest of smiles to cross her face before masking it as she followed.

Soon enough Sven was harnessed up to the sled and Kristoff led her into the sled. It was still the same one that Elsa had ordered made for Kristoff after Anna explained everything that he had done for her and, of course, how she may or may not have indirectly been the direct partial cause of the total absolute destruction of his sled. It had a few nicks and could use a bit of polishing but otherwise it was what one would expect from three years of ice harvesting.

Kristoff, with a lack of usual gruffness, helped Elsa into the sled, even though she didn't really need the help. That also clued her in more to the fact that Kristoff was buttering her up for something. After he helped her, he got in and Sven started moving the sled forward.

It wasn't long until they got to the mountains and snow-covered ground. The sled started moving a bit easier; now on the terrain it was designed to be on and thus the travelers started moving faster. Elsa had a lazy smile across her face as she watched the surroundings pass them by, lightly covered in snow. It was energizing to see the beginnings of winter for her, as she was the personification of it. Even now, she could feel the snow underneath them if she concentrated. It was soothing, almost like a distant melodic song to her that she almost dozed off before they reached their destination.

Elsa was jolted out of her stupor when the sled slowed to a halt and Kristoff got out. "We're here." He said. Elsa nodded and got out as well, once again with Kristoff acting like a gentleman and helping her down.

The Valley of the Living Rock had two meanings to the name. The first was that the site was on top of some natural hot springs. Over time, pressure had built up so that there were several vents in the earth for vapor to escape from, creating for a moment a sauna like environment around them before moving to another location. This effect made the valley quite warmer than the surrounding mountains, so much that during Elsa's 'Eternal Winter' coronation fiasco, the valley didn't even get a hint of snow. These vents to a bystander would look like the rock was breathing and exhaling, hence the name Living Rock.

The other reason was a bit more obvious and magical. A clan of rock trolls lived there.

They were an enigma to Elsa; one that she was comfortable not trying to solve, except when it concerned her. The trolls had magic of their own, to which the extent of it reached Elsa didn't know. And to be frank, she really didn't care all that much as she had her own powers to deal with and explore. She'd only seen the trolls twice, once when they removed Anna's memories on that night, and the other a month or so after her coronation.

It was that second visit that sent Elsa digging deep into her parent's lives to figure out why they did what they did. The results weren't pretty and the repercussions on the living royal family were enormous.

It created a strained relationship between the sisters for a while before they sat down and talked about it, both calmly and not.

Once again, Elsa shook those thoughts from her head. The past is in the past, she thought again. We've talked it through and we're back to where we were before, just with more understanding of the other's position.

She turned her attention of a circular clearing with round mossy covered stones littered around. While they may seem oddly placed, Elsa knew for a fact that they weren't just stones.

"Hey everybody, sorry for being gone for such a while, but we've had some things to take care off." Kristoff said to the open glen. If it were anybody else, and in a different place, he would have been labeled (well he already had been) crazy. "Wow, you're looking particularly spiffy today. Did you steam yourself in the vents? I like it." Kristoff continued talking to seemingly random rocks for a few more seconds before they started rolling on their own, gathering around the two humans.

Then they uncurled themselves and the faces of the rock trolls looked at them. "Kristoff's home! And he's brought the Queen!" Was immediately added when they saw Elsa and they bowed out of respect. Elsa curtsied, accepting their respect.

"Hey guys and gals," Kristoff said, "Good to see you again, but I was hoping to talk to Pabbie if by any chance he's available."

"I'm here," the elder troll said, stepping out of the crowd, "What is it you wish to talk about?"

"Well, I'm going on a trip with Anna and Elsa to Paris and is there anything that you could do to help us with anything?"

"I might not know much about France, since we trolls are tied to the valley, but I could offer you two some general advice," he said to the two. "Unlike Arendelle, other countries take royalty very seriously, and the royals themselves take themselves seriously. The proper respect must be shown and wordplay is a fine art performed with a hidden knife waiting. However if you manage to impress and befriend the right people, you will find Paris enjoyable."

Elsa nodded, thinking back to her father's lessons about ruling. "Walking the fine line between complements and insults is common on the main continent. Once you are queen you will have to deal with ambassadors that are fluent in this language: the language of politics and money."

Every once in a while your lessons come in handy Father, Elsa thought. Kristoff spoke again, "So it'll be just like when you have diplomats over then huh?" he said. "I guess that'll mean you'll be a normal queen then, huh? I mean! - Uhh…" Kristoff immediately recognized his mistake, but it was too late.

Fortunately Elsa overlooked the obvious and went with the intentional implication. "It's all right Kristoff, I know what you were trying to say and I willfully admit that we aren't the most… conventional aristocracy in the world. However, it does have its benefits, no?" She sounded questioningly, waiting for Kristoff's attempt to make up his comment.

"Certainly," he said assuredly and continued, "The people love you and Anna and like you as their Queen. Plus the gates are still open; that counts for something, right?"

Elsa gave him a smile, "Right." She turned her attention back to Pabbie, "Do you have any other advice?"

The troll smiled, "None that I could think of. You'll all be fine I presume. What is it that you plan to do in Paris?"

"I guess some sightseeing and go visit a new opera house for a gala or two that Anna found out about." Elsa noticed a flash of… something cross the troll's face as she mentioned the opera house, but it returned to normal by the time she was done.

"Ah, well then, I hope you've brushed up on your Italian," he said and was rewarded with two faces with varying degrees of worry. "No? Then how about French?"

Kristoff gave a sheepish smile, "We've been trying, but I think that Elsa's the only one that will be able to talk without causing a diplomatic incident between the three of us."

"Ahh, I see your problem. However that is one thing that I can help with. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I will return shortly. Perhaps it would be a good time to ask anything that needs asking." He said with a very pointed look at Kristoff. Kristoff started to get noticeably nervous and was about to say something when Pabbie rolled up and away.

I could have sworn I saw a smirk on his face, Elsa thought as she watched the troll round a bend. She turned to Kristoff with a carefully crafted curious look on her face. "I wonder what he meant by that?" She said curiously, or at attempted to sound like it.

Kristoff started to get even more uncomfortable. "Ah, well, he, I uhh," he cleared his throat and tried again, "Well, I've, uhh, been meaning to ask you about… something."

"Oh? What that might be?"

"It's just a small thing, I-uhh, well, not really that small, but in the grand scheme of- uhh, hoo-boy…"

Elsa gave a caring smile to Kristoff. "Hey, come on. We've known each other for three years. Ask away." Inside however, Elsa was milking this for all its worth.

"I, I, I," Kristoff stuttered, before he stopped and restarted. "MayIhaveyourblessingtomarryAnna?" He said in one go, very quickly.

Elsa blinked. "Wait, what? Can you repeat that, I didn't catch what you said?"

Kristoff's eyes widened even further now. He swallowed, "May I have your blessing to- to marry Anna?"

Elsa's face fell as Kristoff's words sunk in. "You want to marry my sister." She said in a flat voice.

"Y-yes." Kristoff stuttered again.

"And what makes you think that you want to marry her?" Elsa's voice was getting progressively… icy.

"I- uhh, why I want to marry her? Ah, well, Anna's… she's… uhh…"

Elsa's eyes narrowed, "If you can't even say why you want to marry her, why should I give you my blessing?"

"No no no no no, I didn't mean- what I meant is, is that I don't know where to begin. Anna's funny, cute, lively, caring, sweet, pretty, energetic, she never lets anything get her down for long, and she's always there if you need her. When she and I met, I got thrown out of a shop, and she was kind enough to buy the supplies I wanted for me. Granted, it was because she wanted me to take her up to see you on the North Mountain, but that's beside the point. She could have ordered me to go up without buying the things, but she didn't. That goes to show you that she cares about others first, putting their needs above her own."

Elsa nodded slowly, seemingly still unconvinced. "All that my be true, but what does that prove? That you notice what she does?"

"Yes, well, I mean not that closely, I uh, well, but I've known her for three years. Everything that she does I love about her. The way that she's still half asleep in the mornings when she comes down to when she talks to strangers I love about her. She's… incredible. Even when she split the lake that one time I couldn't blame her as she was so sorry and eager at the same time." Elsa's eye twitched a bit at that.

The moment he was referring to was when Kristoff was about to go on another ice harvesting trip when Anna wanted to come with him. At first he refused but Anna kept pleading and dragged Elsa into it at some point. Eventually Kristoff said 'yes' and the three of them went up into the mountains. Once they found a frozen lake, Anna wanted to try cutting the ice. Kristoff begrudgingly handed her a pickaxe and stood back. Anna took a swing at the ice and cracked it. All the way across to both sides, literally splitting the lake. If it weren't for Elsa's quick re-freezing of the ice something bad could have happened. Anna apologized profusely, and Elsa at the time had to keep from laughing at the sight of a flustered Anna and a stupefied Kristoff.

"And she always looks after people," Kristoff continued. "She makes sure everybody is happy because that gives her happiness, which she then spreads that around to everybody again. I love that about her. I-I love her. I-I can't really describe it, but I fall for her every time I'm around her. She's just- she's just Anna." He finished, waiting for Elsa to say something.

She didn't, so he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

He was about to take back everything he said and drop the matter if she would stop staring at him with those icy blue eyes when Elsa said one word, "Yes."

Kristoff blinked. "Yes?" He questioned.

"Yes, I give you my blessing." Elsa said, finally breaking out into a brilliant smile. I had way too much fun with all that, she thought. "Honestly Kristoff, we've known each other for three years and I can see the way you care about my sister, the same way she cares about you. I'm not blind and I have been watching you carefully. I was worried for a while because of your gruffness when we first met, but that faded away quickly once you got to know us better, and us you. I could see that you wanted to know Anna better, but were hesitant to rush things, which I think we all appreciated." Elsa said her smile faltering slightly at the memories.

Kristoff nodded. "I wanted to be there for Anna, but I didn't want to be too fast like that idiot from the Southern Isles. I wanted it to be enough time for her to actually get to know me and get over that guy."

"I thank you for your sensitivity. It does mean a lot to both of us, even if Anna didn't realize it."

"She probably did," Kristoff said with a smirk, "but chose to ignore it."

Elsa smiled again, "Probably. But in any case, you have my full respect and blessing to marry my sister."

Kristoff looked like he was trying to swallow something and his eyes started getting wet. "Thank you Elsa!" He then rushed forward and grabbed her in a hug. Elsa stiffened for half of a second before relaxing and let Kristoff have his hug.

"Oh, but I should tell you something Kristoff." She said.

"What is it?"

Elsa's smile turned evil, "If you hurt her in any way, I'll make you a permanent tenant in my ice statue garden."

Kristoff's eyes widened and he nodded furiously, "I understand! I never would hurt her!"

Elsa's smile then returned to its warmth, "Good." I think that's the first time I've made anybody sweat.

Pabbie chose that moment to return, holding three necklaces with a flat round stones on the center of each of them. Each of these stones had the same sort of rune on it. Obviously magical, Elsa thought.

"Here, I think that these might be useful in France." He said, handing the necklaces over to the two of them.

"What are they?" Kristoff asked.

"These are translation amulets. They'll help you be able to understand any language and be understood as long as you wish it, whether it be written or spoken as long as you wear them."

Kristoff and Elsa's eyes widened in surprise at this. "Well that's incredibly helpful." Elsa muttered.

"Saves us the trouble of trying to muddle our way through the language, that's for sure." Kristoff said. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome. Now Kristoff, I believe Bulda wanted to give you your fire crystal engagement stones you asked for. Why don't you go find her?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow at Kristoff. "Fire crystal stones?"

Kristoff grinned sheepishly, "I was thinking of taking them with me to Paris and getting rings made for them so I could propose to her there."

"And when did you get this idea?"

"About a month after Anna told us about the opera house." Kristoff said.

"Ah. Well, anyway, why don't you get those stones then?"

He nodded, "I'll be right back," and then went off in the direction of the troll huts.

Elsa looked after him for a moment before turning to Pabbie. "Now what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" She caught the subtle hint at sending Kristoff away so they could talk privately.

"It may be nothing," the troll said, "but when you said that you would be visiting an opera house in Paris I was reminded of a short vision, one that I've been seeing every once in a while."

"What of?" Elsa said frowning. I hope what he says doesn't have to make us cancel our trip. If there were a danger then that would throw Anna off even more, not to mention the rest of us. I wouldn't risk it.

"It's not what you may think Elsa. You can still go to Paris worry free. But this opera house, when you mentioned it, I felt an absence, a void if you like, but also filled with potential. And pain, similar to yours before you reconsolidated with Anna."

Elsa's frown deepened. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know, I've only felt something before when it was with you. There was only one other thing I saw. It was a face; half of it was the purest white and I could sense it was hiding the darkest shadow beneath."

Elsa was now truly concerned. But before she could say anything about it, Pabbie spoke again. "However, I can say with certainty that nobody you know will be in any harm from this. I only felt that it would be prudent to tell you this knowledge beforehand."

Elsa let everything sink in for a moment before she spoke. "I- Thank you for telling me this. Are you sure that nothing will harm Anna and Kristoff?"

The troll frowned. "The future is always in motion and it is hard to see anything clearly, but this I am certain of; all of you will return to Arendelle safe and unhurt."

Elsa breathed out in relief. "That's all I wanted to hear."

Pabbie smiled, "This is good for you Elsa. All of you need to get out of Arendelle for a while to get a breath of fresh air so to speak."

Elsa gave him a smile. "I wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea of going at first, but Anna is persuasive."

Pabbie chuckled, "She looks out for you Elsa, no matter what."

"I know." Elsa said. There wasn't much that could be said after that so the two just waited for Kristoff to get back.

Shortly thereafter, Kristoff came back holding two glowing red stones in his hand. "Take good care of those Kristoff," Pabbie said, "they're special and destined for you and Anna."

"I will." He said truthfully.

Pabbie turned to Elsa, "Farewell your majesty and best wishes on your journey."

"Thank you for your advice and the amulets." Elsa said.

Pabbie seemed to have another thought. "One last thing: you might want to check the top left corners of mirrors if you feel something odd about them."

"O…kay?"

Pabbie shrugged, "I don't know either. Just a thought."

Oh well.

"See you all in a month or so!" Kristoff shouted to the rest of the trolls and they all gave their various goodbyes as the two walked away.

Elsa looked down at her hand holding the amulet, deep in thought. What's going to happen in Paris? Once again, Pabbie's being vague but he did say that we would be unharmed, unlike last time… Anyway, things turned out great so far; Kristoff got my blessing and the ring stones, and I got some advice, and we all got the amulets.

That last thought gave Elsa pause. Anna's going to have a fit when she learns about these amulets.


"Translation Amulets?! Really? Couldn't have asked the trolls sooner then, huh?"

An hour later and Elsa's prediction came true.

"Spent two months, two months, trying to learn French only to find out we didn't need to? Oh that's just great!" Anna was currently pacing back in forth in front of Elsa in the library, spewing out similar like complaints at this new development. Elsa was just sitting back waiting for Anna's bout to clear up. She found out through experience that Anna would return to her cheerful self after she blew off some steam.

"And the same day you tortured me for hours trying to get me to learn French too! Were you three planning something on me? Some crazy conspiracy joke thing that predated when I wanted to go to Paris? For a prank? Translation Amulets! Come on! Really?" Anna flopped into a chair in a huff and crossed her arms trying to look angry at the offensive accessory on the coffee table in front of her.

Elsa glanced up at the clock next to the wall. Ten and a half minutes, she must be really upset, she mused to herself.

"So how do they work?"

Aaaand she's back. Elsa returned her attention to her younger sister. "From what Pabbie told us, you wear it and you just will yourself to be able to understand and speak a language you want. "

"Really?" Anna's eyes lit up at this, clearly interested. She grabbed one and said, "All right, start talking to me in French and I'll put this on halfway through."

Elsa quirked an eyebrow at Anna but agreed to humor Anna.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Anna looked at Elsa as she started talking, waiting for the right moment to put the amulet on.

"Anna, il semble que vous ne l'avez pas mis sur," Anna put on the amulet, "your amulet yet, and now you have. I'm still talking in French if you're wondering," Anna took of the amulet, "sur quelle langue je parle pour le moment. Est-ce suffisant? Is that enough?" Elsa stopped talking in French for that last bit. "Did it work?"

"Yes! Oh, now I should try it!" Anna slipped the amulet necklace over her head again. Okay, now what language doesn't Elsa know? Ooh, how about Russian? "Hey Elsa, I'm talking in Russian right… now? Huh? It feels like I'm talking normal but my mouth is doing weird things." Anna stopped when Elsa started giggling. "What is it Elsa?"

"You. You're speaking Russian and you have no idea how too."

Anna groaned. Of course she would know Russian. Figures. Okay, how about… "Hey, Dutch then? I betcha' can't understand me now! Ha! Score one for Anna!"

"Not quite yet Anna, still even." Elsa said with a smirk on her face.

"No? Uhh… Not Swedish because that's right next-door. German? But Rapunzel lives there so she would know that. Already covered French, so…" Right then, Elsa was struggling to hold in her giggles. "What?"

Elsa moved her hand away from her mouth, showing her laughing face. "You were thinking out loud, but you switched languages every time you thought about another language."

"Grrr, I'll get you eventually. Spanish! How about that?"

"Getting better."

"Humph. Uhhh… Chinese, that's one that you shouldn't know. Ha! I was right!" Anna celebrated when she saw the confused look on Elsa's face. "Ha ha! I win! I win!"

Elsa rolled her eyes at her and slipped the amulet over her head. "Oh calm down Anna. At least we know they work now."

"Spoil-sport." Anna said, but immediately jumped back. "This is going to be so cool! We can talk and understand any language we want! This is even better than a passport!"

Anna saw Elsa smile, "Indeed, it will help when you rattle on. At least you'll be understood." Elsa ducked, laughing, as Anna threw a couch pillow at her.

"Stinker."

"You have no idea." Elsa said mischievously.

Anna was the one to roll her eyes this time. "Alright you stinker, lets go have dinner. We've wasted enough time as it is."

"Wasn't it you that wanted to do this in the first place?" Elsa asked pointedly.

"Shut up and lets go stuff our mouths with chocolate."

Elsa's eyes narrowed. "You mean my chocolate."

"You were the one that offered it."

"As a bribe to learn French, which you don't need to know now," Elsa's voice mirrored her own discovery, "so that voids the deal then, so I can have my chocolate again!"

Anna's shock was palpable. Oh no, I can't lose the chocolate! Think Anna, think! "Uhh, you know that you offered it so I would learn for another hour then, right? Well we did, so the deal still stands and you have to pay up." Smooth thinking Anna.

Anna could see the faint hope Elsa had of keeping her chocolate fade as she remembered the exact wording of the deal, or bribe, whichever one. Elsa slouched in her chair, for once leaving the unconscious 'queenly posture' that was ingrained in her and groaned, also in an unqueenly manner. "Nooooo…" Elsa mumbled in despair.

"Hey, you asked for it." Anna shrugged.

"Because you were being stubborn," Elsa said, sitting upright again.

"Yea, well, I'm being stubborn now and getting us to dinner. Let's go." Anna pushed herself off the chair and dragged Elsa along with her, or at least for a while until Elsa got to her feet and followed Anna to the dinning hall.

As was almost expected, Kristoff was waiting for them. Anna smiled seeing the ice harvester there and ran over to him, giving him a hug. "Hey there Kristoff. How's it going?" How's it going? How's it going? Really, that's all you can say Anna? She winced internally, but kept up the façade that she wanted to know.

Kristoff gave her a warm smile and kissed her on the forehead. Woah, he's being affectionate. I mean, not that I don't mind, but Elsa's nearby and he knows that she's overly protective of me.

However nothing happened. Elsa continued walking past them without sparing them a glance and Kristoff responded. "Oh the usual good way it's been going. Turns out the translation amulets don't understand reindeer if Sven's reaction was any proof."

Anna laughed at Kristoff's comment and she swore she heard a chuckle from Elsa too. "I think it's just supposed to be human speech and writing." God. Translation Amulets. Really? Couldn't have let us known any time sooner? Anna was still going on about that in her mind.

"Ah, well, had to try." Kristoff said as he moved away and pulled out Anna's chair for her. Anna gave him a pleased smile and sat down, letting Kristoff push her in. Then he took the seat across from her and for a moment, Anna got lost in his eyes. Somewhere she registered that the same thing happened to him as well.

Then of course Elsa gave a polite cough and both of them jumped a little. Before anything else could happen, a couple of servants delivered their dinner to them.

Dinner was a simple affair. Their plans had been discussed and re-discussed and dissected and put back together again to be discussed once more. There really wasn't much left to say on that front as it had been said already. Everything was in place, all they needed to do was wake up tomorrow, say their remaining farewells and leave. If everything went well it would be six days travel on ship to the French city Le Havre. There they would then get a train directly to Paris from there, where then a suitable place to stay for the duration of the trip would be found. They would stay for at most a month but with a little room to finesse some more time into their stay.

The only thing that was disagreeable for the sisters was being out at sea for six days, but it was totally understandable. However they eventually gave in, knowing it was the best way to get directly to France. They weren't exactly happy about it, but what could be done?

There was some light conversation but nothing too much; more along the lines of what they could see and who they could meet. Anna went so far as to say they could meet the king of France until Elsa told her that the country no longer was a monarchy, though they still held titles of prestige such as Count and Baron. History lesson aside, they were all eager to go, and Anna could tell even Elsa was, although she hid it better than she did.

By the time dinner was done, three plates of desserts were brought out. "Ah-ah-ah!" Anna said as Elsa started to put a chocolate in her mouth, "you promised me a third of your chocolate remember."

Elsa groaned, "Don't remind me of that mistake."

"Well?" Anna said, her hand outstretched.

Elsa's face formed into one of practiced indifference as she started putting pieces of chocolate on a plate, then after she was done, handed the plate over to Anna.

Anna had a big grin on her face, "Thank you!" Elsa just rolled her eyes and started eating her dessert. Anna looked down at her two plates and frowned, "What's this?"

"What's what Anna?" Elsa asked innocently.

"This!" Anna said, pointing to the plate Elsa handed her. "All these are tiny pieces."

"Well you did say a third of the chocolate, and I gave you it."

"This isn't a third! They're all the small pieces." It was true, Elsa's main plate had a dearth of the smaller chocolate, now only large and medium sized pieces.

"True, but I did give you a third of the chocolate pieces. It's coincidental that a third just happened to be equivalent to all the small chocolates."

Anna knew that she just been had. "You're a real stinker, you know that right?" Anna said.

Elsa raised her wine glass in mock salute, "All's fair in love and chocolate."

Nobody could keep a straight face for the rest of the night.


The next day came swiftly. Anna woke up much earlier than she normally would have, even on the day of her sister's coronation. She was still a sleepy mess, but that got cleared up in a few minutes. After taming her massive bed hair and using a towel to wipe off her sleep drool, Anna got dressed and did a last minute check of her room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. She had two trunks, both moderately sized; one was for her clothes, which consisted of three traveling dresses, a few shoes and boots, various gloves and other accessories, and one ball gown, her green one.

The other trunk was less full than the other one, but that was because Anna was planning to bring back some memorabilias of their trip. Not to say that the trunk was empty; there were a few odds-and-ends inside, such as a moneybag, but mostly it was open space.

Anna knew that Elsa had even more clothes, but, as due to her being queen, they were more elegant. However, as Anna noted when she was snooping through her sister's trunk, there was a lack of gloves and one particular dress that Anna thought would have been making an appearance. However, Anna reasoned that the rest of the world wasn't ready for Elsa's powers just yet, even after three years, so it was excusable.

Her last check complete, she grabbed her trunks and started to carry them out the castle.

Or tried to anyway. The first one was too heavy for her and after a few attempts Anna rolled her eyes and stopped trying. I guess I'll need help to take this one down. Ooh, I wonder if Kristoff is around. Those nice strong, big, tasty, luscious muscles should help out a- wait, tasty? Luscious? Anna's eyes widened at her own internal one-sided conversation. Did I really just think that? No I couldn't possibl- okay yea I did. So what? They are. And his face with those milk chocolate brown eyes- wait, focus Anna. Go over to his room and ask for his help. He probably doesn't have much anyway. No, wait, I take that back. There was that shopping trip a week ago where we got him better clothes for formal… uhh, what's the word? Parties? No, that's not it. Oh well, anyway go and ask. Occasions, that's the word!

With her internal conversation with herself over, Anna went out of her room and went down the hall and the stairs to the lower level. Although Kristoff was practically considered family, he was still unfortunately only an Ice Harvester, albeit the Master one. Therefore he needed to stay in one of the guest rooms the castle had. Fortunately, there were only a few instances when he needed to find a pub to sleep at when foreign guests were invited into the castle, usually when there was a big event in Arendelle with a large influx of guests. And that was infrequent because he conveniently needed to go out ice harvesting for some of those days.

And it totally wasn't because of the thought of sitting with stuffy old dignitaries that Anna usually went with him.

Anna arrived at his room and knocked at his door. "Kristoff?" She called out.

A muffled "Yea?" came from inside.

"Can I have your help for a minute please?"

"Yea, sure, one moment." The sound of footsteps came from the other side of the door and it soon opened.

The sight took Anna's breath away from a moment before a blush came across her face. Kristoff wasn't wearing a shirt and she could see every inch of his chiseled abs and bulging biceps. In fact, everything that was muscle was bulging, except for his… umm…

Anna's blush intensified at the thought.

"Whoa." That was all she could say. She hadn't really seen Kristoff shirtless before and she could truthfully say that she liked what she saw. Definitely tasty.

Kristoff raised an eyebrow and playfully said, "Did you call me out here just for the eye candy or was there something else?"

Anna's eyes widened as she realized that she was staring and coughed a couple of times. "I-uhh-ablug-uhh…" Anna couldn't make a sentence so Kristoff rolled his eyes and went back inside. He came out wearing a medium green shirt with gold and red Rosemåling patterns. As he did so, Anna was slightly disappointed but at least now she could think straight. "I would like your help to carry my trunks please," she said slowly and clearly, still trying to rewire her brain.

Kristoff smirked. "My pleasure My Lady," he added in a slight bow then started for Anna's room, with her trailing behind after a second.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


The short walk was in silence. Kristoff was highly amused at Anna's reaction to him being shirtless and her subsequent tongue–tiedness. Of course, I probably would be speechless if I saw her topless- ack! No not right now Kristoff, one step at a time. You need to propose to her first. Actually before that you need to get the rings made, and before that we need to get to Paris before all else.

Kristoff pushed open the door to Anna's room and saw the two trunks there, one of which was skewed slightly. "I suppose you want me to carry this one?" He said teasingly as he deliberately picked up the lighter trunk.

"Of course not." Anna said, "the other one."

Kristoff grinning picked up the other trunk by himself and gasped. "Jeez Anna, what do you have in here?"

"Just this and that," Anna said, nonchalantly.

Of course it's more than that, but whatever. Kristoff rolled his eyes but didn't comment. He started carrying the trunk out of the room while Anna started carrying the lighter one. Just because she was a woman didn't mean she was weak. Far from it. Kristoff had seen her practicing her sword fighting with some of the guards and was able to hold her own and then some against at least four of them. So, calling her weak was an insult. How about the trunk is heavier than she could carry and leave it at that?

As they carried the trunks through the castle, one of the servants told Anna that Queen Elsa was getting ready as well and should be expected to be on the ship in roughly half an hour. Anna nodded and they continued on. Anna needed to be the door girl in this case because Kristoff couldn't very well put down the trunk every time they hit a door. They managed although the stairs were a bit of a problem.

Out on the docks there was a crowd gathering. Ever since preparations had started word had somehow gotten out to the citizens of Arendelle and they wanted to see their Queen and Princess off. A few who knew him also wanted to wish Kristoff well in addition to them, since almost everybody (there had to be at least one person who didn't) knew that Anna and Kristoff were an unofficial/official couple. Unofficial as in they haven't announced it yet, official in that everybody knew that they were.

Once the two were in sight the crowd started cheering for them. Anna just put on a smiling face that Kristoff could tell was genuine. For him however, he just had a sheepish embarrassed smile. I'm not used to crowds. Or rather, crowds paying attention to me. I'm still just a simple ice harvester at heart. Even if Anna agrees to marry me for some unknown reason, I'll still be an ice harvester.

They managed to get through the crowd without much difficulty, though the gangplank was a bit tricky. They handed the trunks off to some sailors to store in their rooms, which Kristoff noted that it took two of them to carry the trunk he was carrying. He then promptly went back to his room and grabbed his single trunk and brought it to the ship as well.

Apparently he missed Elsa at some point because she was already there waiting for him. She was facing Anna and talking to her, and it looked like Anna was on the defensive this time. He caught the last bit of their conversation. "And you made him carry your trunks?" Elsa said.

"It was only one. And besides he's back on time." Anna said as Kristoff went up the gangplank. "Hey!" She greeted.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked playfully.

"Nope! C'mon, let's bring that down to your room- no quarters, that's it. Let's go!" Anna restrained herself from dragging him to the stern of the ship to the three quarters that were set-aside for them.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


A few minutes later they rejoined Elsa on deck as the captain made ready to set sail. The ship they were on was named A.R.S. Blizzard, A.R.S. standing for Arendelle's Royal Ship. An early name for the ship was to be the Eternal Winter, but Elsa disagreed, saying she didn't want other countries to feel threatened or to bring up bad memories. The next name suggested was Eternal Blizzard but it got shortened to Blizzard instead. The ship itself was half sail and half steam powered, a hybrid of the old and new. While Arendelle was still firmly entrenched in the past, it was gradually moving along with technology.

"Weigh anchor! Hoist sails!" The captain shouted and the crew responded. The sails dropped and the cranking sound of the anchor being pulled up echoed through the deck.

"Well, last chance to back out." Elsa said to Anna and Kristoff who had just stepped up next to her.

"Nuh-uh. No way. Not going to happen." Anna shook her head. "We've spent too long here. We need to get out and see the world!"

"Just remember to be careful, I don't want to see you get hurt. Both of you." Elsa amended for Kristoff.

The man in question smiled, "I can take care of myself, thank you. Ice harvesting, operas, how hard can it be?"

Quite, Elsa thought, but kept that to herself.

The ship started moving forward and they all moved to a better stance to accommodate for the rocking of the ship. They all waved goodbye to the people who were still watching on the docks and received a cheer in response.

"Wow, they must really like you." Anna said.

"They like all of us." Elsa corrected.

They waved back until they passed the outer sea walls then focused on the widening sea. "Six days, then we'll be in Le Havre, then to Paris!" Anna exclaimed.

"This'll certainly be an interesting voyage." Kristoff said.

"Agreed." Elsa concurred.


Day 1

Hours after leaving Arendelle, Anna got tired of watching the land get smaller and smaller, then finally watching the ocean spray as the shore disappeared. She wandered around the deck, sailor watching.

Some of them have pretty good muscles, Anna thought privately, but not as big as Kristoff's…

Why do I keep thinking about him like that? Sure he's handsome but-wait, did I just use…? Okay yea I did. What's going on with my brain? Do I…? Maybe? Yes? No? Somewhere in that zone? Oh come on Anna, I'm twenty-one yet I'm acting like I'm still sixteen. Of course I can just hear Elsa now, 'I don't think you've changed since then.' Ughhhhh.

Hey, speaking of which, where is Elsa? I haven't seen her in a while. Anna got up from the barrel she was sitting on and went up to the, okay act mature Anna, poop deck, to get a better view. Once there, she found only the helmsman, no sign of Elsa. Anna then went below deck and found Elsa in her quarters at her desk, reading of all things.

"Elsa… you're reading? Now?"

Elsa shrugged, "There's nothing better to do right now."

Anna paused, thought about it, and shrugged right back. "Okay."

Well there really wasn't.


Day 2

Anna had found something to do. She started hanging out with the crew and found out that they liked to gamble. Dice, cards, and other games that Anna didn't know about. However she soon found out that the sailors liked to play right before they went to sleep, so Anna joined them the second night. At first they scoffed at a woman playing, then at the princess playing.

Then Anna took their money.

Somehow, contrary to some thought processes, Anna was extremely good at a card game called Poker. When pushed, she could keep a straight face. She lost the first game, and barely the second, but then won the next three and ended up with a sizable pile of coins in front of her. She thanked them and divided her winnings evenly among those who played; she was a princess and didn't really need the money anyway.

After leaving, she was on deck and saw a familiar flash of pale blond next to the railing. As Anna went over to her sister, she saw that Elsa was swaying a bit, and not in time with the ship.

"Hey Elsa, are you all right?" Anna asked.

"Oh, hey Anna," Elsa said, "Yes I'm fine. I've just been reading for too long and needed some fresh air."

"Oh, Okay?" Anna finished with a question. There were days that Elsa barricaded herself in the library to read and wouldn't surface for days. But hey, if Elsa said she needed some air, well, who was Anna to argue?

Anna went back to her quarters to fall asleep, but not before hearing Elsa coming down afterwards into her own quarters.

Apparently Elsa can stumble.


Day 3

"Kristoff, I think there's something wrong with Elsa."

"Ya' think? And why are we whispering anyway?"

"Shush, she might hear us."

"I think she might be a little preoccupied to pay any attention to us."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Well if you haven't noticed, Elsa's gripping the railing like it's keeping her alive right now. See how pale her hands are?"

"Kristoff, they're always pale."

"Well, they're more than usual."

"I'm going to talk to her."

"Okay."

"What, no trying to talk me out of it?"

"Why should I? It's your sister."

"Oh, yea, you're right."

"Besides, if anything happens it'll be on you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

~"Nothing."~

"Hmph, fine, I'm going."

"Good luck."

Anna got up from behind the banister where she drug Kristoff behind to spy-observe on Elsa and moved over to her.

"Heyyyyyy Elsa, how ya feelin'?" Anna said, uber-casually. In other words, blatantly obvious.

"Hey Anna. I'Mmm fine," Elsa slurred.

"Uhh, you don't look fine." Anna said worriedly. Now that she was up close, Elsa was looking paler than normal. In fact… "You're looking downright green."

"Hmmm." Elsa hummed, keeping her mouth shut tightly. She grimaced and blanched even more.

"Whoa, now you really don't look good." Anna commented.

Elsa didn't respond. She just leaned over the railing and vomited directly into the ocean.

"Yah! Oh geez! Elsa!" Anna yelped.

"Ughhhhh…" Elsa groaned.

"Hey come on, let's get you inside your cabin." Anna tried, but Elsa was not done yet and Anna backtracked quickly to avoid another spew from Elsa. "Ugh. That's disgusting."

Elsa turned around and glared at Anna with slightly bloodshot eyes. Those are the same eyes from when I stole her chocolate! "I mean, uhh, that's fine, that's perfectly fine. Uh, just keep chucking away. I'll uh, be, uh, over… there. If you need me. Bye!" Anna made a hasty retreat before anything bad could happen to her.

She went back to where Kristoff was and he was leaning against the wood wall. "Not good?"

Anna shook her head. "Not good." She said, and leaned against Kristoff tiredly.

"I guess Elsa has a weak stomach."

"What? No, she could eat Lutefisk. I don't think even you could eat that." Both of them suppressed their bile at the thought.

"So… should we help her?"

Another wet disgusting sound was heard in Elsa's general direction.

"Lets… wait a bit, see what happens." Anna said.

From next to the railing came Elsa's cry of, "I hate ships!"


Day 4

"So how is she?" Anna asked the ship's physician.

The man stood up from where he was kneeling next to Elsa's bunk and said, "All things considered, Her Majesty's fine. It's a little more intense than I've seen, but I can chalk that up to her being kept inside for most of her life. She's not as exposed to the outside as, well, you have, your highness."

Anna nodded solemnly, well aware of that fact. "So what can we do right now?"

"Now? Now we can only plow through this. I can give her some medicine to make her sleep easier at nights, and have the cooks make some stew, but that's all I'm willing to do. Make sure she's getting enough to eat and have somebody clean out her bucket periodically."

Kristoff nodded, "I'll make sure of that."

Anna sighed. "All right." They all winced when Elsa lurched over the side of the bed and threw up into the afore mentioned bucket.

"I really hate ships," Elsa murmured weakly from her bed.


Day 5

"So how's Her Majesty?" One crewman asked.

Anna grimaced, "Not good. She keeps emptying her stomach regularly. The only time she's quiet is when she's asleep. Raise two." Coins clinked on the table.

More coins clinked as the rest of the sailors pitched in. "Honestly though, how do you guys manage it? You can spend weeks on a ship and yet none of you get sick."

"That's easy for you to say, your highness. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we weren't as hardened as we are now. We've all spent at least one day hanging over the railing at some point in our lives. Raise three." Coins rolled again.

"Speak for yourself," another man said, "I've never done that. Now, to get your sea-legs, that's a different story. Walking off that gangplank after those weeks will make you clutch the ground for your life. Wouldn't be able to walk straight for a day. Raise two." Coins again.

"Aye, tha's true. I'm surprised ya haven't gone the way of her Majesty yet."

"I've had experience with boats before." Anna said, "Small dinghy's, nothing like the Blizzard though. It's much smoother than those little things. You going to do something or fold?"

The man in question looked at his cards, then said, "Nah, I'm out. Enjoy." There was a collective grumbling around the table. Sailors were starting to fear for their pay whenever Anna joined a game. The only one who stood a chance was…

"Hey Kristoff, same thing." The ice harvester turned Poker player looked up from his cards at the sound of her voice.

"Eh? Oh, uhh, raise four." He said and dropped the coins on the table.

The man next to him threw his hands up in the air, "Nuh uh, I like my money. At least with her highness playing I'll see some of it back. I fold."

"So it's just you and me feisty-pants." Kristoff said with a sly smile.

Anna glanced at her cards then back into Kristoff's chocolate colored eyes. "You're bluffing. I call."

Kristoff rolled his eyes, "If you insist." He laid out his cards: four of a kind.

Anna had a feral grin on her face. "I do." She revealed her hand, a Straight Flush.

"And she does it again. What's that, fourteen games in a row?"

Anna scooped up the money and began dividing it into four equal piles. "Yep, it's great playing with you guys."

"Tell that to my pockets," one of them moaned.

"If this keeps up, we'll be broke by the time we reach Le Havre."

"Oh cheer up," Anna said, "at least I'm giving some of the money back."


Day 6

"Last day. The last day. The last day." That had been Elsa's new mantra since she woke up, only broken by periodic instances of her stomach violently disagreeing with her, and Anna and the doctor's check-ups.

"I certainly hope so," Anna muttered to herself as she closed the door behind her, walking out on top. "I don't know how much more she can take," Anna said to Kristoff as she leaned against him.

Kristoff wrapped an arm around her and said, "Well, the train should be much smoother than a boat so Elsa should be fine."

"For all our sakes, it better be."

They were close enough to the coast that they were seeing signs of life among the waves. Many more birds were wading through the sea and they had passed the occasional fishing boat. Le Havre was close and soon enough they saw the city come over the horizon, like Atlantis rising from the depths of the ocean.

They came closer and began to pick out individual buildings and people, some looking on in mild curiosity as to the flag the Blizzard displayed. While Arendelle was technically part of Norway, certain treaties signed in the past practically made Arendelle it's own country, only aligned with Norway, hence why Elsa was able to take the throne. This was the case with many other 'countries' such as Weaseltown (unfortunately) and the Southern Isles (still debatable). These three are big players in Norwegian politics and influence. However, in recent years, Arendelle was making a comeback from those 'closed-gate' years and its influence had started to grow, beginning with Elsa's coronation.

The political ramifications of Elsa's powers were enormous, and some for the wrong reasons. Mostly it was because she suddenly had a new power that some sought to exploit. There were a few that wanted peace and alliance with Arendelle just for that reason, that Elsa could, on a proverbial whim, freeze their country or land. Not that it would happen per se, but it did make it easier to get treaties signed.

Out of Norway however, among the general populace, Arendelle was an unknown and the yellow crocus on a purple and green background, a mystery, and the rumors of a Snow Queen just that. So when the ship docked there wasn't a crowd of eager people to catch a glimpse of the Queen, or an equally eager mob with torches and pitchforks (sorta cliché, but you get the idea).

The Blizzard docked and the crew started to go about their business. Anna knew she had the hardest job: getting her sister up and walking. Now that the ship had docked though, it wasn't rocking around as much and should be easier for Elsa. Anna went to where her sister was and found her passed ou-asleep, on her bed.

"Hey Elsa? We've docked," Anna said softly.

"Hmmm?" Came Elsa's weak groan.

"Yea, we've landed in Le Havre, so… if you want to see the town before we leave tomorrow… just thought I'd let you know. I'll grab your passport papers then." When Anna received another groan in response, she quietly found them and slipped out.

"So how is she?" Kristoff asked when Anna rejoined him on deck.

"Pretty bad, I only wish there was something we could do for her."

"Well, how about we find the train station and get those tickets to Paris, then bring Elsa a good meal. Now that we've docked she should be able to keep it in now."

"I hope so." Anna said, the shrugged, "C'mon, let's go!" She grabbed Kristoff's arm and started leading him down the gangplank. They both wobbled a bit as they got used to being on dry land again before they started heading off again.

"Hey, do you know where the train station is anyway?"

Anna stopped suddenly, "Uhh, no. I don't. Well, we can always ask!" She looked around for a moment before spying a viable candidate. She walked over to a finely dressed man and asked, "Excuse me? Do you know where the train station is?"

"Je suis désolé, je ne vous comprends pas." The man said.

Oh right, French. Translation Amulet power go! "Sorry, do you know where the train station is?" Anna knew that it was working because her mouth was making unfamiliar shapes without her really paying attention to it.

"Oh, the station is towards the western side of town. Just go down this way and keep going until you see it, you won't miss it," The man said, pointing in a direction, finally understood and understanding.

"Thank you!" Anna said and went back to Kristoff, leaving the man to do whatever he was doing before. "Let's go!" Anna said.

"Huh?" Kristoff replied.

Anna rolled her eyes, "French. Translation Amulet. Hello?" She pulled out the amulet from her shirt and waved it around.

"Oh, right." Kristoff said and grinned sheepishly as he shifted the amulet around under his shirt.

"Let's go." Anna said.


True to the man's word, they reached the train station soon after. Anna went up to a ticket booth and said, "Uhh, excuse me?"

"May I help you Mademoiselle?" The ticket manager said.

"Can I get three tickets to Paris for tomorrow?" She asked.

"Sure; any luggage?"

Anna did a quick mental count, "Five trunks."

"May I see some identification?" Anna passed over Kristoff's, Elsa's and her own papers and the man examined them. "Ah, from Arendelle? Is it true then?"

Anna had a sneaking suspicion what the man was asking, "Is what true?"

"That the queen is a witch that can cause snow and ice to appear."

Anna bit back the remark that was at the tip of her tongue and instead said. "Oh no, the queen isn't a witch at all. Whoever told you that part is had the truth mixed up."

"Ah, I see." The man said, slightly disappointed.

"Nope, my sister is definitely not a witch, although she does have those snow and ice powers."

"But you just said…" The man stopped and looked down at the papers Anna gave him and shuffled through them. "Ah, my deepest and most sincere apologies my lady, I had no idea-"

"That's right, you didn't," Anna cut him off, "and you might remember in the future to make decisions after you hear all the facts first. Now can we get our tickets?" Anna said cooly.

"O-of course." The man hastily handed out three tickets, "The train starts boarding at 9:50 and will leave tomorrow at 10:15."

"Thank you." Anna said coldly as she took the tickets, then turned away without giving the man a second look.

Kristoff had a raised eyebrow. "Well, that was different." He commented.

"I don't like it when people call Elsa names that aren't true," Anna said. "It irritates me to no end."

"And that's why you're such a good sister." Kristoff said.

"Aww, thank you." Anna said, and nudged him playfully. "Now, lets find a good place to bring Elsa some food. What do you think she'll like?"

"Probably something easy on the stomach."

"Ah, right."


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


This chapter got out of hand and I decided to cut it short a bit. Honestly, it's only a thousand and a half words short of doubling the length of this story... blegh. Anyway, next chapter it'll pick up mostly where it left off, with a little bit in front first. It will certainly not be as long as this chapter, I can tell you that much... I hope...

Once again, as always R.R.F.F. (Read. Review. Favorite. Follow.)

I remain your humble writer;

-OG