ho-LY CRAp. This took forever. Life interfered and then my Muse decided to flit away to Gwatamala. ANyway, here's the next chapter :)

I don't own Frozen.

"Okay, Anna. You got this. You've practised with Lu and Kai. You know the words on the paper off by heart now. You're all dressed up and everything."

The redhead glanced down at her semi-formal dark green dress, running her hands over the crocus embroidery stitched on the black bodice hugging her upper body. She strode alone down the hall towards the dining room with a purpose she had seen her father exude frequently.

"Your hair's done up, too!" he hand ghosted over the bun she had insisted Gerda braid on the back of her head. "You so got this."

Anna couldn't help the confident bounce that entered her stride down the hall. Her lips pulled upwards, arms swaying; toes curling inside her shoes excitedly – oh, Anna was more than ready for this. She had to be. In the teens' mind, her whole life depended on this one luncheon. If she succeeded in impressing her mother and father, the door would be wide open for her to propose her brilliant idea: being Elsa's right-hand woman.

If she succeeded, her parents wouldn't be able to refuse her. If she succeeded, she would've proven that she's mature enough to be responsible. If she succeeded, she would start to feel like a princess for the first time in her life and not some immature child. If she succeeded, she'll be able to get her sister back. That last 'if' hung heavy on the redhead's shoulders.

Anna set her face, determined to change all those 'if's' into 'when'. I can do this.

The dining hall came into view. The double doors were closed, but she didn't have to look inside to know that her parents and the dignitary were already inside. She had planned it this way.

"Arrive fashionably late," Anna glanced down at her attire once more, smoothing the skirt unnecessarily. "Check."

She stopped before the doors and took a deep, steadying breath, staring at the grains in the wood. It didn't just feel like butterflies fluttering around in her stomach, it felt like they were fighting each other to escape her stomach. A gusty exhale stilled her nerves somewhat.

"I can do this." she proclaimed, putting a surprisingly steady hand on the handle and pushed it open.

Elsa had mastered the art of keeping herself busy. Since that fateful day seven years ago, she had had ample time to practise with various forms of distraction.

She could continue with the assignment her father had given her about Arendelle's history in politics...or not. She had left her assignment in the library two days ago, the last time she had been there. Elsa had been under the impression that Anna would be busy at the stables or outside the whole day, so she had risked sneaking down to the library for a change of scenery. But then her sister showed up, and she had to flee before they came in contact with each other… Being spooked by her near encounter with her sister, she had decided to leave it there for a few days until her nerves calmed down a little bit. She could paint, perhaps. Or read. She could even try and design a blueprint of a palace made entirely of geometric shapes. That had to be her favourite distraction by far; she could lose herself for hours in the meticulous measurements and calculations.

The blonde turned her head away from the view outside of her window to regard her desk. It was tempting. She could already imagine how time would fly away from her until dinner that evening, but she just couldn't get herself to move from her perch on her window seat. With a sigh she turned her head back to stare at the bustling town on the outside of her walls.

The truth of the matter was that Elsa was worried. For a whole two days Anna hadn't knocked on her door, not even once in passing. Heck, she hadn't even passed her door since two days ago. The eldest knew that this shouldn't bother her as much as it did. If Anna wasn't knocking, that meant that she was safe, away from her. But Elsa had come to rely on her sister's visits and one sided rambling. It was a way for her to know what was happening in her sister's life without really exposing her to the danger that being a part of it could bring. Anna always – always – came after dinner and regaled her on everything that had happened that day and everything her little sister was up to. That was Elsa's most treasured part of her day.

But now…with Anna doing heaven knows what, the blonde was left alone. Loneliness had crept up in the fringes of her subconscious like a wolf, ready to swallow her whole if she so much as acknowledged its presence. Sure her parents had visited her during the past two days, but with the preparations for the Southern Isles dignitary, they had been too busy to visit for longer than a quick "hello, how are you."

It's better this way. She thought, stroking Sir Jorgenbjorgen's orange hair between her gloved fingers. She did know that it was better this way, but that didn't mean she was happy about it.

A sudden stomping outside her door a little ways down the hall made Elsa sit up in her seat. Her hands holding her doll stilled as she listened. Someone was definitely stomping down the hall angrily. But it wasn't just any somebody. There was only one person whose footsteps where as dramatic as their facial expressions.

Elsa couldn't help the smile that softened her lips. Something must've angered her little sister, making her stomp down the hall like an irritable elephant on her way to her room.

The foot stomps grew louder as she neared Elsa's door. They hesitated the slightest before they continued on their way, softer this time. The blonde had to curb her disappointment when Anna's footsteps faded away around the bend. Before she could fall into brooding the afternoon away, soft pat-pat steps could be heard returning to her door.

Elsa swung her feet down from the seat, placing them on the floor as she stared at the door, trying to imagine what her sister was doing.

Knock-knock knockknock knock.

"Elsa? It's me, Anna."

I know. I always know it's you. Elsa ran her thumb over the big blue button on her doll, waiting for her sister to continue. Anna sounded frustrated. She really hoped her sister wouldn't demand to be let into her room like she had done a few times in the past.

"So…" she heard Anna say, "I kinda realised that I haven't visited you for a while now. Sorry 'bout that, it's just that I've been busy."

"It's okay." Elsa said softly. Having craved listening and –dare she admit it – speaking to her sister something fierce, she couldn't help but answer quietly to create the illusion or normalcy. "What were you up to?"

"Boy, have I got a story for you." Elsa got up from her seat, longing to be as close as she physically could. She stood before her door and leaned her shoulder against the frame, gazing at the white paint covering the wood. "I'm listening."

"So I dunno if you know 'bout this," Anna began. "but I kinda saw your politics assignment the other day."

Elsa stiffened, clutching Sir Jorgenbjorgen in her hands. Please say you didn't –

"I didn't mess with it or anything, I just looked. You're really good with words, Els." Was that a smile Elsa heard in her sister's voice? The blonde relaxed again, tilting her head in interest. "Anyway, I was curious about a word you used…uhm, I can't remember it now, but I do remember that it fit in perfectly with what you were saying. Something 'bout coal or…"

"Coalition." Elsa said under her breath.

There was a pause, where Elsa assumed Anna was trying to remember the word. The pause lasted longer than it should have, making the blonde shift to an upright position. Did she leave?

"Uh…something like that." Elsa frowned at the timidity in her sister's voice. What just happened?

"Uh, so…what was I saying? Oh, right, the word….coalasion or whatever."

"Coalition." Elsa repeated with a fond smile and returned to her relaxed pose once again.

"…I, uh I had to look it up to see what it meant and then I realised how cool some of the words in the dictionary were." She heard Anna shift, probably leaning against the frame like she was or rocking on her heels like she always does. "So I…decided to, uh, learn some big words. I had this perfect plan to impress Mama and Papa at the lunch with the dignitary today, but it kinda blew up in my face."

Elsa tipped her head, the question burning her throat in its urgency to be asked. Why were you trying to impress Mama and Papa?

"Remember that one time we were allowed to attend the Spring Ball?"

A memory pulled her lips into a smile, Elsa nodded.

"That was the best day ever. I remember the men in their suits and the ladies all dressed up in colourful gowns and the food. Oh, the food…hmmm. Anyway. There was this one old guy that looked like a walrus, remember? With the bushiest moustache I've ever seen, and a belly that'll give Kai a run for his money."

Elsa caught the giggle that escaped her lips with a gloved hand, muffling the noise. Another pause ensued before her sister spoke again.

"…He's the same one that was here for lunch and whatnot. Soooo, remember when I said I had a plan? Well, my plan was to use some big words in my everyday conversations. It was perfect. I even practised with Louis and then Kai afterwards, which reminds me, I'm gonna learn French." Anna giggled, "There really are a lot of words we use that are actually French. It's quite interesting…you're not busy or anything, right? 'Cause I need to tell you what happened with Louis first before I continue."

Without the sisters knowing it, they leaned back against the door dividing them and slid down into a sitting position. Elsa couldn't help the smile she wore as Anna told the story of the confusion with Louis the previous day. She could imagine Anna gesturing as she spoke as vividly as if she were sitting before her. Elsa had to bite her lips a few times to keep from laughing at her sister's mispronunciation of beure.

"I mean really." Anna said with a scoff, "Why not just say butter? Be-eur sounds like someone speaking with their mouth full of food, doesn't it?"

"You probably want your mouth full of chocolate more than with French words." Elsa quipped with a soft giggle.

A pause ensued that made Elsa grow concerned. Had she spoken too loudly? Had her sister heard her? Her magic started to hum, harmonising with her anxiety in sostenuto.

Anna sighed loudly behind the door and said, "Where was I again?"

Elsa had to resist the urge to respond to her sister's question. It was obvious that Anna was testing her, seeing if Elsa would strike up a conversation like she longed to do. She could feel the weight of her longing to speak as if it was a physical force, she could feel Anna's hope through the door. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to speak with her? The door won't be opened. She knows that she can't do that, but she could just talk, right?

Elsa cleared her throat as gently as she could. The very air seemed to hold its breath. Her magic paused, waiting. "You-you said something about a lunch?"

The silence that settled in after she spoke out loud was deafening, or was that just the adrenaline fuelled blood rush Elsa was experiencing?

She had to break the silence or she'd be the one that broke. "And using big words in your conversations?"

Anna sat wide eyed, staring at the red curtain across the hall from where she sat against her sister's door. Had she heard correctly? Had Elsa really spoken to her in…Thor knows how long?

On purpose?

Sure, Anna had heard her sister's correction of the coal word, but she had to force herself not to make a scene. If she had reacted to that slip, she wouldn't've been able to get as far as she was now. Elsa was actually talking to her! And giggling, and responding. Anna had to focus now. She had to play this right. She couldn't lose the headway she was making with her sister. Who knows exactly when she'd be able to get this opportunity again?

I mean it's been seven years…this is the first time she –

"Anna? A-are you still there?"

"Huh?" she blinked, coming out of her trance. "What? Oh. Yeah. I'm-I'm still here."

The redhead leaned her head back against the door, reminding herself of the reality of their separation, allowing her cursed optimism to simmer down a little bit.

This is nice. It's nice to hear your voice Elsa. "I'm here…" Anna breathed, "Where did you say I was?"

There was a slight pause where Anna couldn't even imagine what her sister was doing. "Using your big words during the lunch."

"Oh, right." The redhead grimaced, "It failed…royally."

Elsa snorted, "Did you really just make a pun?"

"Did you really just snort?" Anna grinned and turned her head to the side as if to see her sister's reaction. She frowned when all she saw was a white door with the stylised snowflake painted on it.

"How did it fail exactly?"

"Well," Anna sat up, pushing the door from her thoughts; she focussed on her sister's voice instead. "I asked Gerda to help me prepare…"

Elsa sat against her door, leaning her head back to rest against the piece of wood. With her eyes closed, she focussed solely on what Anna said, drinking in as much as she could. Anna told her about the difficulty she faced when she had to pick out her dress, the trouble Gerda had getting her hair into the bun, and complained about the fact that the shoes she wore had a slight heel in them.

"Honestly, I don't see how I'd ever wear heals." Anna growled. There was a scuffle behind the door followed by a grunt and a soft thump as Anna threw a shoe away from her. "These things are –"

"The bane of your existence?" Elsa offered, glancing at her hands holding onto Sir Jorgenbjorgen loosely.

"The what?"

"Bane." Elsa sat up and crossed her legs, fidgeting with the doll in her lap. "a source of harm or ruin."

"D-do you have a dictionary in there with you or something?"

"No, why?"

"You mean to tell me you know the meaning of words like that in your head?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, wow." Anna nodded, impressed. "I mean it does make sense. I memorised a whole page full of words and their meanings for this lunch thing so I guess it's not really all that strange that you'd know way more words than me." Elsa smiled and stopped fidgeting as Anna continued to sepak. "As I was saying, I arrived at the formal dining hall and opened the door."

The eldest closed her eyes and imagined walking into the hall next to her sister. The tall windows to their left would flood the room with afternoon light. The table was made up for a formal dinner. Cutlery, wine glasses, with flowers as the centre piece, all arraigned with care. Mama wouldn't be wearing her crown, but her hair would be done up in a bun, her dress would be elegant but not flashy. Papa would be standing next to her, wearing his formal suit decorated with his numerous medallions. He wouldn't be wearing his crown either, but both of them would exude their royal status as if they were just crowned.

"Mama, Papa, and the Walrus stood by the windows –" Anna grinned when she heard her sister chuckle, "He looks even more like a walrus now than before with the extra weight he had put on. Anyway, I walked up to them all regal-like, you know, how Mama walks, and said:" she cleared her throat and said with as much poise as she could muster, "Salutations."

"Salutations?" Elsa opened her eyes only to roll them, amused.

"Yeah, it means 'hello' but in fancy speak."

"I know what it means you goof, that's just a very archaic way of greeting someone."

"I'm guessing 'archaic' means old?"

"Yup."

"Huh, I need to remember that one." Anna bit her lip and wondered if she could ask this of her sister without scaring her off. But they were doing fine so far, maybe, just maybe Elsa could do this for her. "Hey, Els?"

"…Yes?" Elsa shifted against the door, clutching Jorgenbjorgen in her gloved hands.

"C-could I borrow a piece of paper? And a pencil?" Anna fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "I'm not gonna remember that word if I don't write it down."

"Oh. Okay. Sure. Just…hold on one sec."

Wait, that actually worked? The redhead smiled in relief when she heard her sister stand up and move away from the door. She shifted, twisting her body around to lean her ear against the door. There was a muffled thump followed by footsteps returning to the door. Anna perked up and couldn't keep the grin from splitting her face when a piece of parchment and a pencil was slid underneath the door.

"Did you get it?"

"Yeah," Anna's grin grew in size when she heard Elsa slip down the door to sit again, "thanks. Thank you. How d'you spell it?" she took up the paper, pencil hovering over it uncertainly. "A-R-C…arc…A-R-C-A-I-C?"

"There's an 'H' in there too." Elsa offered helpfully, smiling as she did so.

"Oh, okay, great." She wrote the word as she spelled it out loud. "A-R-C-H, there right?"

"Right"

"A-I-C. Archaic. And it means old, right?"

"Yes." Elsa smiled, leaning her head back against the door. Why hadn't she thought of doing this earlier? There's no real harm in speaking with Anna every now and again. Maybe she could do this more often. "How'd you even find that word?"

"Huh?" Anna inclined her ear towards the door as she writote the definition down.

"Salutations." The blonde turned her head, "How'd you find it?"

"Oh," she folded the paper up and moved to stuff it in her dress pocket only to come up short at the lack of pockets. "I read the dictionary." She turned the folded paper in her hands idly, needing something to do with her hands.

Anna had said it with such absurd nonchalance Elsa couldn't help but giggle at her sister's antics. "No really."

"I'm serious." Anna smiled, thoroughly enjoying hearing her sister's light-hearted laughter. That's the second time she's giggled! "Anyway, I walked in and said 'salutations'. You should've seen their faces, Elsa." She snorted, recalling the confusion and suspicion on her parents expressions. "Papa was confused but he and the Walrus smiled pleasantly, no wait, amicably." Anna pulled herself up with pride at using the word properly, "They smiled amicably, but Mama. Heh, Mama knew I was up to something."

"Lemme guess." Elsa mimed deep thought, tapping her chin with a finger playfully, but stopped as soon as she knew Anna couldn't see her. "Mama immediately narrowed her eyes."

"Into slits so small I'm surprised she could see anything!"

The sisters shared a laugh, knowing full well how their mother had always known when they were being naughty in their younger years. The years where they had shared more than just a room, they practically shared a heart. Their happiness died down with a longing ache for when days were simpler, when they were together.

Elsa cleared her throat, willing the lump lodged there to go down. "And then what happened?"

"Well," Anna forced a giggle to keep the light mood, "I curtsied to our parents and then to the Walrus who was introduced as," she adopted a noble air with a slightly deeper voice, "Sir William of the Southern Isles."

"William the Walrus." Elsa grinned, shaking her head.

"I know right!" Anna barked out a laugh at the obvious smile and amusement in Elsa's voice, "I had trouble keeping my face straight."

"And then?"

"Well," the redhead shifted to get more comfortable, not minding that her bum was starting to go numb on he had floor. "we exchanged small talk." In as deep a voice as she could manage, she said, " 'Lovely weather you have here.' Willy said," her voice was still low but not as much, " 'The finest this time of year,' Papa answered. And so on. Eventually we made it to the table to eat – Ugh."

"What is it?" Elsa sat up, suddenly worried that they had been found out by a maid, or worse…their father.

"I hate table etiquette."

Elsa sagged in relief. She knew her father wouldn't approve, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She knew the risks that were involved, but – besides that warning hum earlier – her powers hadn't voiced their displeasure since then. So no harm done, right?

"Why. Whhyyyyyy are there seven pieces of cutlery?" her sister wined, irritation growling out her words. "Why not just have one of each and use it throughout the whole thing? I mean, really. " Anna scowled at the shoes she had hurled across the hall. "I felt so fake sitting there. We never eat with that many spoons when it's just the three of us."

The blonde closed her eyes against the pain splitting her heart in two. Just the three of us. When's the last time we had a family meal together? Could it really be seven years ago? The pleasant Summer temperature around her started to trickle away like water through a poorly constructed dam.

"I'm sure you know all about the irritations of using the spoon the furthest away from you and working yourself inward." Anna babbled, unaware of the building magic in her sister's mournful form. "You also had to sit through hours of lessons with Madame Morrible and her incessant 'back straight, Deary' " Anna pitched her voice high enough to sound pompous and conceited. " 'Sip don't slurp' and all that nonsense." She scoffed, "It's a wonder I actually remember everything she taught me, maybe it's because she looked like such a fish when she spoke, I couldn't help but concentrate on what she was saying. Heh."

Elsa clutched her knees to her chest, fighting the sorrow, the nostalgia, the longing to be with her family again. Her whole family. If only she had never been born with her magic – with her curse. It was starting to feel more and more like a curse with each passing day. Her magic hummed inside of her, ready to act as soon as a weakness presents itself. It seemed a change had come into the very air Anna breathed. The redhead frowned in confusion but shrugged it off. In the peculiar silence, Anna realised that her sister hadn't said a word since she had rambled on about etiquette and her innate dislike of it. Before she could voice the question of Elsa still being there, a pleasantly cold breeze cooled the warm afternoon air around her.

"Hmm…that's a nice cold breeze. It's been so hot lately…it's nice to cool down a bit, ya know what I mean?"

Anna's carefree voice snapped Elsa back to the present with such force she jerked her head up from her knees. Her room was still normal, thank the gods! but now Elsa became aware of the cold ebbing out from her in quickening heart beats. She had to get Anna away from her! She isn't safe. But she can't hurt her sister again. They've had such a – dear she say it? – a wonderful time without any incident. She couldn't ruin it now.

"A-Anna." Elsa sucked in a breath, forcing her heart rate to slow down, "I'm sorry, but I need to…I can't talk with you anymore."

"Oh…"

"Not today at least." She added quickly when she heard her sister's dejected tone. "I just…I can't –"

"It-It's okay, Elsa." Anna squished her disappointment as she stood up from her seat. "You don't need to explain…" actually, I'd LOVE an explanation, but I can hear something's wrong. "I'll…come back tomorrow?"

The pause that followed threatened to widen the cracks that had formed in her heart when Elsa practically told her to go away. At least she did it nicely this time, and not bluntly saying 'go away' like she had done plenty of times before. Anna bit her lip and grabbed her elbow to steady herself, looking at the door with heavy eyes.

"I'd like that very much." Came Elsa's reply through the wood.

Anna allowed herself a small smile. "See you tomorrow, then." She turned to leave, shoulders sagging. "I love you."

"I love you too." Elsa said when she knew her sister was out of ear shot. She rested her head back against the door, counting her breaths until they evened her magic out again. "So, so much."

Yeh, heh, so if you'd like, drop a review and tell me what ya think. If there's anything you think I should improve on, lemme know. I'm all ears :)

Hopefully the next chapter will explain what had happened during lunch, this chapter just ran away from me before I could get to what the Walrus had done to upset Anna :3