A/N: Hey, guys. I'm so sorry it took me a while to update the story. Things got busy and weird fast. I had to focus on finishing the semester passing my classes, then I had to deal with readjusting to life back home and taking time off from my fanfiction responsibilities. Plus, I got distracted with a few books and re-watching a digital copy of Frozen. But don't worry you guys, I'm back in the game. I hope this chapter makes up for lost time. Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. This might happen two more times because it's summer. (I hope Olaf is happy and is enjoying himself.)

Elsa paced around in front of the room Anna was resting in. Each step she took echoed the current fear she harbored as well as the previous fear she had whilst in her ice palace on top the Northern Mountain. Her nerves surely would not yield at such of a heart-clenching event. It may not been the sort of thing where Anna's life was in danger, but it was a serious enough occurrence that it left Elsa feeling on-edge.

After treading against the carpet for who knows how long, the kind female servant came out of the room and held the door half way open. She cleared her throat softly afraid of breaking the young queen's concentration and thus startling her. Elsa halted so swiftly that she startled her servant as she snapped her attention toward her.

"Yes?"

"Princess Anna is okay. I applied rubbing alcohol to her cut and placed a bandage over it."

"How bad was the cut?"

"It will take some time to heal so it is best that the cheek is not be touched for a while as it is very tender right now, but luckily the cut wasn't too deep."

"How long will I have to wait until the cheek won't be so tender?"

"I wager with Princess Anna's healing process no more than a day. She may very be better and have a fully healed cheek by tomorrow morning."

Elsa softly laughed. "Well, yes. My sister was always the fast healer out of the whole family. Thank you for letting me know."

The servant nodded to her queen. Without having to ask Elsa, the servant opened the door all the way knowing full well it would somewhat foolish to ask the queen if she wanted to see her sister. She held the door wide open for Elsa to walk through the door. Once she was inside, she gently thanked the servant again and dismissed her. The young servant kindly bowed at her benevolent ruler and let her be with her sister.

Once the door was closed and they were alone in the room, Elsa sat on the bed Anna was placed on and stroked her forehead.

"Anna."

Anna stirred in her sleep, but did not wake.

"Anna, please wake up."

Elsa was successful in her second attempt to rouse her sister from her slumber as she saw her sister's eyes flutter open. The strawberry-blonde princess blinked a few times before sitting up and looking at her sister straight in the eye.

"Elsa?"

"Hi. How does your cheek feel?"

Anna instinctively touched her wounded cheek only to flinch in pain.

"It's tender. It actually hurts a lot."

"I know. You're going to have to not touch it for a while. With your luck, it should be fine to touch by tomorrow morning."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"No. Not all."

"Where are Kirsten and Karen? What happened?"

"They are in the garden. Karen accidentally sliced your cheek with her ice."

"How did that happen?"

"We're not sure yet. Once Karen and Kirsten return, I'm going to have a chat with Karen and what happened exactly when she lost control of her powers."

"Oh….."

"She feels terrible that this happened, Anna."

"I know….I hope she's okay."

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Anna. After all it was just an accident. Those sort of things happen when you least expect them….or when you rather certain ones didn't happen at all."

Anna raised an eyebrow in confusion. She wondered what Elsa was trying to get at with her talk about accidents. She reached out and placed her right hand over Elsa's left one.

"Elsa, are you trying to tell me something?"

Elsa bit her lower lip. "It's nothing really, Anna, I'm just worried about your well-being."

"Are you sure, Elsa? It seems to be really bothering you. You can tell me if it bothers you so much."

"Are you sure you would want to hear, Anna?"

Anna gave Elsa a reassuring nod. "Yes. I actually want to know what's bothering you so that we can work pass this issue. I wouldn't want you to be burdened with unnecessary worries."

"All right then. I suppose I can tell me."

Anna gently smiled at the omission. "Go on."

Elsa sighed before taking in a deep breath.

"Well, Anna, you know how protective I am of you, correct?"

"Yes."

"And that I was so afraid of hurting you with my magical powers that I distanced myself from you for those thirteen of lost sister bonding time and even after the coronation when I wanted you, Kristoff, and Olaf out of my ice palace for your protection."

"Yes. I know. You were afraid of hurting others because you feared yourself. I understand you told me so. What are trying to tell me, Elsa?"

"You know I only told you part of why I stayed away from you for thirteen years."

"Yes. You told me that you accidentally hurt me with your powers and mama and papa told you to stay away from others."

"Did I ever mention that your memories were altered by a troll when he healed your injured head?"

"What? You never mentioned that before."

"I didn't want to color your opinion of the trolls so soon after we reunited."

"Who were these trolls?"

"As I recall, the main troll was referred to as Gran Pabbie. He was the one who healed your head and took away all your memories of my magic powers. It was for the best that you didn't remember."

"Wait. The trolls of the Valley of the Living Rock witnessed this?"

Elsa bashfully nodded her head. Anna frowned and then craned her head down and looked at her hand over Elsa's slender one. She could feel a slight bitterness rise in her heart and subconsciously squeezed Elsa's hand in frustration border-lining anger. Elsa quickly recoiled her hand from Anna's.

"Ow! Anna! What did I do to you?"

Anna snapped out of her daze and looked concerned and sorry. She cautiously reached out and took Elsa's reluctant hand in her two hands. She began to tenderly and purposely rub her sister's hand.

"I'm sorry, Elsa. I didn't mean to hurt your hand. I just- I just can't believe what I'm hearing. I'm so…so frustrated! No, I'm angry! I'm appalled by this new wave of information."

"Angry? Is it something I did, Anna?"

Anna's eyes widened in shock. "No! Of course not, Elsa! Don't you ever think that you're to blame because you're not."

"Then who or what are you angry at?"

"I'm angry at the trolls…..Wait…."

Anna paused to think back to when she and Kristoff went to see them since they were his family and he had said he had seen them heal another before. It clicked it in her head that he must have seen her being healed by Gran Pabbie at the time. A scowl tainted Anna's usually sunny and innocent face. It was the kind of scowl that she felt betrayed in some respect.

"I'm also angry at Kristoff!"

Elsa drew back in surprise by such a proclamation. Then she settled down and straightened out her back.

"What? Anna, there is no way you would be angry with Kristoff. He has done nothing wrong."

Anna was extremely perturbed and pouty. She pulled her hands away from Elsa and crossed her arms.

"Elsa, Kristoff was raised by the trolls that witnessed my memories being altered by Gran Pabbie. He must have been hiding off somewhere watching the whole thing before they took him in."

"Anna, why would you say such a thing?"

"It's because Kristoff told me himself that he knew who could probably help me since he's seen them do it before! He was talking about Gran Pabbie. And I know he was talking about because when we arrived where the trolls lived he asked for Gran Pabbie right away."

"Anna, even if that is true, there would be no way Kristoff would know that he saw us as children. He probably saw a family asking Gran Pabbie to have him heal one of the children. He wouldn't have realized that we were not common people but royals since he wouldn't know the difference."

"I guess so, but I still feel crumby that I fell for him and didn't think of more than I did when I tried to bring you back home. Sometimes I get distracted by romance."

Elsa out reached her arm and placed a gentle hand on Anna's left shoulder.

"It's oaky, Anna. It's natural for you to value romance."

"But I should have thought more of your needs than I did before!"

"But you didn't and that's okay. You didn't know any better."

"I wish I had!"

"Anna, calm down. It doesn't matter what you wish you did differently or not it's in the past. All that matters is that we're finally together now."

Anna dropped her head in disappointment and disbelief. "Okay. I guess you're right, Elsa."

Elsa removed her right hand from Anna's shoulder and scooped Anna's chin in her hand to force her head up so they were eye to eye with each other.

"Anna, I'm just glad that our estrangement didn't last forever and that it didn't leave a permament strain on our relationship. It's not like we hate each other deeply and with a fiery passion."

"No, we don't."

"That's good enough for me and it should be good enough for you."

Anna allowed Elsa's words to sink in before she afforded her sister a small, shy smile. "I guess so."

Elsa smiled back. She glided her hand up to Anna's left cheek and held it there.

"And I'm just glad that you're okay. I would just hate to think what could have happened if you got seriously hurt, Anna. I simply wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had idly stood by watching you get hurt especially if I had the opportunity to help you and I did nothing. Actually, I don't think I would ever forgive myself for my impudence."

Anna placed a tender hand on Elsa's right cheek. "I don't think you would have to worry about that ever happening. I don't think you would ever let yourself let something like that happen."

Elsa dropped her hand from Anna's cheek. Then she leaned into Anna's comforting touch with an ample sense of contentment flowing through her body.

"Thank you, Anna, for reminding me that I should not blame myself for every misfortune that comes our way."

Anna lightly patted her sister's cheek before slipping her hand away from it.

"It's the least I could do for you after all you have sacrificed for my safety. I can appreciate what your intentions were, Elsa. You shouldn't feel like you failed me. I also have to remind myself that I should dwell on the past. However…"

Elsa leaned in close to Anna. "Yes, Anna?"

"I can't help but reflect on the song rock trolls sang to me and Kristoff when Kristoff took me to be healed after you accidentally struck me with your magic."

"What would that be, Anna?"

"Well, the whole situation was pretty silly. The trolls were trying to marry me off to Kristoff just because I was the first human he brought back to his family and no less brought me back. You know, a girl. They assumed we were in love."

"But don't you two love each other?"

"Yes….But it's not that simple. I have a lot to learn about love and Kristoff needs to learn a lot about how to interact with people. But that is not my point, Elsa."

"Well then tell me what you had in mind."

"When I look back at some of the lyrics of the song that came to the forefront of my mind and when I think about them I wished I had better sense to apply them to our dilemma as sisters."

"Could you tell me the lyrics?"

"People make bad choices if they're mad or scared or stressed. But throw a little love their way and you'll bring out their best. True love brings out the best."

"How would you have applied those words to our situation, Anna?"

"Well, I've been thinking for how things turned out for us and the things we said before and after the Great Thaw as of late, and I couldn't help but notice that song doesn't just have to be about how Kristoff hasn't had the best experience with other people before he and I met, but I realized that it could be about you."

"How?"

"Well, I don't mean to point this out, but you did make bad choices when you were mad, scared, or stressed. For example, when you were mad at me at the coronation party, you accidentally exposed your powers trying to tell me to stop pushing you. When you were scared, you ran away thinking it would prevent further damage to the kingdom and when you were stressed you accidentally hit me in the heart with your magic at your ice palace….and you kicked us out by creating Marshmallow and have it kick us for you."

"Marshmallow?"

"Yes, Marshmallow. He was your big and scary snowman bodyguard. Olaf gave him the name."

"Huh. That certainly is an interesting name for a formidable snowman. It's actually quite ironic."

"Well, we gave Olaf an ironic name too."

"That is true. He's surely is adorable, sweet, and small, and the complete opposite of the connotation that comes with his name: big and burly."

"You know what else that just occurred to me, Elsa?"

"What, Anna?"

"There was one more lyric that just came to me when I was thinking of the other lyrics."

"What would that be?"

"His isolation is confirmation of his desperation for healing hugs."

Elsa blushed and then attempted to brush off the embarrassment with a failed eye-roll of amusement.

"How could you apply that to us?"

"I most likely would apply it to you. I should have realized that if anyone needed love the most at that moment in time was you. You isolated yourself because our parents believed it would be the wisest and safest course to take until they found a way to help you control your powers, but we knew how that ended. You learned that love was the answer that to controlling your powers, Elsa. You were clinging to me as I thawed. I saved both of us and you hugged without a second thought because you were relieved to know that I wasn't permanently taken away from you. Our first hug in a long time healed us both. It helped to rebuild the strained bond that existed between us. The second hug was reassurance that nothing could ever break us apart."

Elsa stifled a giggle. "What about Kristoff?"

Anna shrugged. "I am grateful that he's in my life and that he helped me scale the Northern Mountain to get to you, but if he tries to hurt you in any way then I will seriously question if he's right for me. Family comes first and I have plenty to make up to you for all the hurtful things I said about or to you."

"Anna, you don't have to make up anything to me. I just want to make sure we never have another falling out as sisters. As far as family goes, we're all that we have. We only have each other."

Anna felt her heart being delightfully warmed by Elsa's words and was driven to do the one thing that she knew would be enough to communicate how she felt. Anna leaned in and encased her sister in a pair of welcoming and protective arms. Then she rested her chin on Elsa's left shoulder and squeezed her slender body closer to her equally slender one. Anna was pleased with her sister's reaction when she felt tender yet firm hands place themselves on her back and in between her shoulder blades.

In that moment, both sisters needed no words to know what had transpired between them. Time stood still for them. They experienced no pain or anguish. They only felt the one thing that saves many people in a myriad of ways: love. That's all they needed or wanted in that moment.

Both sisters pulled away after feeling they had ample time to live in the moment. Yet Elsa held Anna by the shoulders. Their eyes met for a serene moment before Elsa had to bring them back to the present time.

"Anna, stay here and rest please. I'll go see where Kirsten and Karen in the garden and we'll all figure out how to move past this problem. Can you promise me that you'll stay put for your own safety and so that we won't have to track you down."

"I will, Elsa. I'll stay put for you since I don't want you to worry about me more than you have to do."

Elsa smiled and gently patted Anna's uninjured cheek before getting up from the bed.

"I'll be back with Kirsten and Karen as soon as I can. Don't go anywhere."

"I know. I won't leave, Elsa."

"Alright. Well, I better get going."

"Okay."

Elsa straightened out the skirt of her dress and glance over at Anna one last time only to be greeted by a warm, soft smile from her younger sister.

"Go ahead, Elsa. I'll be fine."

Without a word, Elsa turned her head away from Anna and exited the room.

To Be Continued…