Boo!

Did I scare you? I hope not.

Hello, guys! I am back for another chapter of Coping. I'm also back in school which means I don't have as much time to write anymore. Senior year sucks, guys.

Now for those of you who are like, "whoa Thomas and Elsa, slow down guys way too fast" relax! I will explain everything in this chapter within the characters 'cause Elsa agrees with you!

SPEAKING OF THOMAS! I drew a picture of said prince of England and if you guys want, I will upload it onto my Tumblr page (athpluver). Once that's there… who knows! But let me know if you want to see how he looks!

There is a song used in this chapter. Written by princess-disney called "Call On Me." It's a lullaby that their mother used to sing to them and now they sing it again to each other.

Disclaimer: Disney owns FROZEN and princess-disney owns "Call On Me."


Her eyes were practically bulging out of her head as she stared at Elsa with disbelief. The queen was biting her lip and tugging at her braid, not looking into Anna's eyes. Did she really just say what Anna thought she said? Too afraid… to fall in love? How can you be afraid of love!?

Well… no, she can see why but what?

And the way Elsa belted it, it was like she was trying to tell herself that more than Anna. Her words were desperate and nervous that Anna was so shocked that Elsa could be that way.

"Afraid?" Anna whispered. "Of love? Of Thomas?"

"I'm not afraid of Thomas," Elsa replied, squeezing her eyes shut. "I'm afraid of what I might do to Thomas. I can still hurt him…"

"But you've gained control. You know what can thaw anything frozen. Love is the answer," Anna reminded her, placing her warm hand on Elsa's cold cheek. "And, maybe through Thomas—"

"Anna, I'm not in love with Thomas," Elsa snapped. "Everything is just so confusing right now. He kissed me. So what? It was a nice first kiss but that doesn't mean anything!" Her eyes popped open and she finally looked into Anna's. "I can't possibly fall in love with someone I've known for a week."

"It's not impossible," Anna tried with a weak smile. "You like him right? You've thought about it…"

Elsa dropped her gaze and stared at the ground. Yes, she thought about what it would be like if she and Thomas were to have a future. They were nice things to dwell on but Elsa knew they were only back minded fantasies; something Anna would dream up. It was terribly distracting since she had work to do. But when boredom overcame her, her mind tended to drift off, which wasn't too often, but it happens to everyone.

"I need time to think," Elsa said finally. "I need time to actually know him and what he's like. Two outings? That's hardly a friendship."

Anna continued to stare, her romantic side fighting her practical side. She knew Elsa was absolutely right. And Elsa barely had any human contact until six weeks ago when she emerged from her room and caused the Eternal Winter. Suddenly having a romantic relationship being thrown at you must be scary. Anna was so open to one, falling for Hans at once, although that was a naive and childish love, was a perfect example of how different they were. Kristoff wasn't like Hans and the feelings were mutual between them so Anna was perfectly content with her new relationship. Meanwhile, Elsa was still having trouble giving hugs to Anna… to think how terrifying that kiss must have been for her…

"Look… maybe we should all do something together," Anna suggested. "Like, when Kristoff comes back, we can go on a picnic with Thomas. Rapunzel and Eugene can join us. So a triple-date kinda thing. And it will remind Thomas of the picnics he went on with his mom. It's perfect!"

Elsa smiled at Anna's optimism and decided to give it a shot. After all, if she ever wanted one of her fantasies to happen someday, the least she could to was get closer to Thomas. Maybe she might even fall for him.

Whoa, Elsa, she thought. Slow down.

The big question was how she could tell him that she wasn't interested in such a quick relationship. The next time he saw her, he was bound to try and kiss her again. Elsa wanted to ask Anna her opinion but decided against it, knowing Anna would probably blurt out she should enjoy the kisses while she could.


She decided to take on Anna's offer of a big day out. She would go on a weekend so Kai would be able to take care of the small things Elsa had to do. Before she went out, however, she called both Kai and Anna into her study and laid out the document that Thomas had given her a while ago.

"We should sign," Elsa decided. "Before our trades go down from the loss of Weselton. England is our only hope at the moment and we need them on our side. I informed Thomas we were ready to sign last I saw him."

"Yes, your Majesty," Kai bowed his head and picking up the quill.

Anna raised her hand halfway. "Question."

"Yes, Anna?" Elsa said.

"Why am I here?"

"Because you're the princess of Arendelle," Elsa said.

"But you never had me in here to sign anything," Anna pointed out.

She hesitated as Kai handed her the quill.

"They ask for both rulers to sign," Elsa said, tapping the bottom of the long paper. "And the current royal advisor. As the princess, you should sign."

Anna took the quill from Kai and bent down, scrawling her signature along the bottom of the page. It was messy cursive and she dotted the 'i' in 'princess' with a heart. She smiled with satisfaction and turned the paper towards Elsa so she could sign last. Opposite of Anna's handwriting, Elsa's was long and flowing, the tip of the quill gliding along the parchment. In the middle of the 'q' in 'queen' she quickly sketched a tiny snowflake and Anna giggled at it. When the ink dried, Kai rolled the document up and tied it with the blue ribbon of the royals.

"How would you like the message to be delivered, your Majesty?" he asked.

"Send for Prince Thomas," Elsa said. "I need to speak with him about a few things anyway."

Kai bowed and gave her the document before walking out to fetch the prince. Anna raised her eyebrows at Elsa.

"What are you gonna tell Thomas?" she said.

"I just need to talk to him… that's all," Elsa said, sounding more like she was telling herself that than Anna. "I'd like to be alone with him, if you don't mind."

Anna nodded with understanding and left the room. She wandered down the halls and strode to the main entrance. She entered the courtyard, hoping to enjoy some summer sun before she would go back inside and write a little. She skipped to the back of the castle towards the gardens to visit with Olaf but she heard a familiar voice call steady its driver.

"Whoa, Sven," she heard. "Easy, buddy we're here."

Anna spun on her heels and ran back into the middle of the courtyard. Coming off of his sled, sweating underneath the heavy Ice Harvesting clothes was Kristoff. He patted Sven and grinned. Some ice was on his sled, ready to keep the kitchens and the rest of the kingdom cool. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, excitement building up from seeing her love standing a few feet away from her.

She bellowed his name.

Kristoff turned just in time as she engulfed him into a powerful hug, kissing his face lovingly. She finally captured his lips in hers and they swung on the spot. He set her down after a few minutes to catch their breath. They grinned at each other and Anna hung on his arm, walking with him to the back kitchen entrance.

"You're home," she whispered. "Finally, finally home."

"I've only been gone for two days," he said.

"It feels like forever," she said.

He chuckled. "I missed you."

"I missed you more," Anna argued playfully.

They reached the kitchens and Kristoff helped them load the ice into the boxes to keep certain foods fresh. Kristoff then had to make a run to his shop and store his ice to sell the next day. Anna accompanied him, asking him about his trip and if he and Sven ran into any trouble.

Meanwhile, Thomas had arrived at the castle. Elsa heard someone knock on her door and she allowed entry. She was facing the window, glancing out into the kingdom, her eyes lidded with sleepiness… she was thinking of taking a nap before dinner if she could. She heard him clear his throat and she turned her head.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi," he breathed.

He strode over to her and they faced one another. He smiled and tried to kiss her but she leaned her head away, biting her lip. Thomas froze and pulled back, blinking with puzzlement. Elsa sighed and hugged her arms close to her chest, not looking at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Thomas… I really like you, I do… but I don't think we should even begin some kind of relationship until we know one another on a personal level," she told him. "I like what we have." She met his eyes. "And I would love to see where the future takes us but I need to think. I'm sorry."

He blinked again and then nodded slowly.

"All right… I understand," he said. "Sorry, I guess I came on a little too strong."

"No, no, it's okay," Elsa said, giving him a guilty smile. "But, I know we can get along… uh, Anna planned a picnic this weekend in the meadow… if you're feeling up for it, I mean, you can come with us." She found herself getting incredibly nervous and she was stammering a little. "She thought, since you used to go on picnics with your mother, you can join us and it would be a nice way for us to spend more time together."

Thomas grinned. "That sounds perfect."

"Really?"

"Sure! I'd love to spend some time with you again. And Anna and everyone else of course. If I'm to know you, I should know them, too."

"Wonderful… we're leaving around eleven tomorrow," Elsa said, her shuddering skin calming down.

"I'll be there," he said, turning to leave.

"Wait— one more thing…"

She went to the desk and handed him the document. He took it from her and she smiled.

"Signed by Kai, Anna, and I," Elsa said. "As soon as England is ready, we'll begin the trading process."

"Brilliant. I'll let my brother know when I have the chance," he said, bowing his head. "See you tomorrow, Elsa."

She waved at him as he left and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding out. The door shut behind him with a snap and Elsa sunk into her seat. She relaxed into the plush and let some ice creep around the legs and arms of the chair…

Maybe, she thought, she could finally get the throne room done. Make it similar to her Ice Palace still waiting her return on the North Mountain. It would be a nice change amongst the stuffy rooms and some of the staff. The old design reminded her too much of the old ways, how the gates were shut tight behind Anna, preventing her from exploring the world, the door locked behind Elsa and separating her from her sister, and how her parents had kept so many secrets from both Elsa and Anna…

She made a small note to remind herself to put in word to the royal decorator when she felt well rested. Elsa closed her eyes for a brief moment, hoping she would slip away into a peaceful slumber right there, but heard laughter coming from outside. She opened one eye and her ears tuned in a little more.

Anna's laughter… and then Kristoff's… then Olaf. So the trio was goofing off in the garden again?

Elsa smiled plainly and closed her eyes, her chin drooping to her shoulder and letting her head hang lazily. She listened to the musical tone of Anna's giggle floating from outdoors. It was such a heartwarming laugh that Elsa was able to nap with a growing smile.


Elsa woke up an hour and a half later. She wasn't as well rested as she hoped she would have been but she was glad she got a little bit of shut eye. Her eyes had been so tired lately from staring at illegible writings from foreign dignitaries and requests from her villagers. Sometimes she would glance over a document and not recognize the language it was written in, the words blending together. She would have to switch her brain to French or Spanish so she could register what it was.

Dinner was two hours away so she had some time to herself. She sat up straight in her seat and scooted closer to the desks. She shuffled through a few papers until she found a note on her desk that hadn't been there earlier. She picked it up and her eyes glanced it over, a small smile blessing her features. In Anna's handwriting, was a note to her:

Elsa!

I came in but you were sound asleep so I didn't wanna wake you up. You're so cute when you sleep. I just wanted to let you know that I'm gonna miss dinner. Kristoff and I are going out tonight but I'll be home before bed, I promise. I'm not that kinda girl! Haha!

By the way, I need to talk to you about the drapes in the library. They're really starting to bug me… I'll talk to Gerda about it, too.

I love you—

Anna

Concealing a giggle behind her hand, Elsa folded up the note and put it back on her desk. She got to her feet and cracked her back, sighing in relief. Elsa left her study and started her way down the corridors. Someone called her name and she turned, seeing Rapunzel skipping over to her. She stepped in stride with her cousin and they shared identical smiles.

"How are you enjoying your stay?" Elsa asked.

"I'm loving it here!" Rapunzel sang. "And Eugene is glad it's not snowing anymore."

Elsa laughed. "I think the rest of Arendelle is right along with him."

"He threw such a temper tantrum when the blizzard hit," Rapunzel giggled. "So dramatic, too—" She cleared her throat and put on a gruffer voice to mimic her husband's. "'This is the story of how I froze to death!' He's such a drama queen… but I love him."

"I'm glad he's happy, too," Elsa said. "For the most part."

"Oh, he's enjoying it. He just doesn't wanna admit it."

"How long are you two here for?"

Rapunzel's face fell. "Another week… I have a friend I'm visiting in Scotland before I head back home. She's really really sweet and I love her hair. It's so frizzy." Rapunzel put her hands to her head and then expanded them, nearly hitting Elsa in the face. "Oops, sorry. But I think we should all get together sometime. She's around Anna's age and will be at my birthday next year."

"I'm looking forward to meeting her," Elsa said as they made a turn into the library. "Anna and I will definitely come to your birthday. We owe it to you after you put up with my powers for a couple of days."

"Oh, you don't owe us anything!" Rapunzel waved her off. "Accidents happen."

"Pretty big accident," Elsa muttered.

"Big or small, it's not like you wanted it to happen," Rapunzel pointed out.

Elsa turned on the gas lights that were in the room and Rapunzel drifted over to a chess set, her eyes skimming over the game-in-progress. White had hardly moved, while black was all over the place. Somehow, white looked as if it was about to win and black seemed like it didn't know what it was doing.

"Who's game is this?" Rapunzel asked critically, prodding the black king with a smirk.

"Mine and Anna's," Elsa replied, standing beside her. "She doesn't know how to play but she insisted on doing so. I kept moving in small ways to give her a chance in winning but…" She gestured hopelessly to the board. "I'm winning."

"Will she get mad if we move the pieces and start a new game?"

"Frankly, I think Anna completely forgot we were playing."

"Great!"

Rapunzel sat in the black side seat and returned the pieces back to their original place. Elsa sat in the white side and pushed the few pawns and the bishop she had moved. Elsa went first and then they began.

Their game was longer than they expected it to be. Elsa ended up calling dinner to them so they could continue their battle. Both of them were skilled in the game so they were having difficulties outsmarting one another. Eugene came in two hours into the game and found them hunched over the board, gazing intently at their pieces. Intrigued, he pulled up a chair and sat beside his wife, watching their progress.

Elsa had Rapunzel's queen trapped and was smirking heavily, not able to hold it back. But Rapunzel had one of her pawns close to Elsa's side so she had a chance to transform it into a queen and still be okay. Rapunzel moved her queen with a knowing smile and Elsa took the bait, knocking it away with her rook. Quickly, Rapunzel moved her pawn and it became a queen, Elsa catching onto her plan with a small grimace.

"Oh, I see," she mumbled.

She clashed eyes with Rapunzel and the princess raised her eyebrows, as if to say 'what are you gonna do about it now?'

Elsa's hand hovered over the board, her other hand cupping her chin, deep in thought. Then she moved her knight and Rapunzel gasped.

"Check," Elsa whispered.

"Ooh, you're good," Rapunzel grumbled.

There was a short knock and Anna entered, smiling brightly and her face flushed.

"There you are— ugh, the drapes— oh, hey, Punzie!" Anna chimed.

"Hold on, Anna," Eugene grinned at her. "These two are really into the game."

"Game? Oh, you guys are playing chess," Anna said, sitting beside Elsa and observing the board. "Yeah, I hate chess. I never got it."

Rapunzel moved and then Elsa moved but Anna didn't understand what they had just done. Rapunzel moved again and said, 'check' and Elsa growled under her breath. Elsa moved again and Rapunzel jumped up, laughing in victory, slamming her knight in front of her king.

"Check mate!" she shouted.

Elsa snarled and pointed her finger at the board, a blast of snow scattering the pieces around the room. Anna started to laugh with Rapunzel and Elsa smiled at herself, realizing her temper got a little out of control. She hunted around for the pieces and collected them, with the help of Eugene, and set them back up. The four of them left, all of them poking fun at Elsa's reaction.


"So how was your night with Kristoff?" Elsa asked, brushing Anna's hair gently.

"Pretty nice," Anna said dreamily. "We had dinner, went on a walk, and he told me how much he loved me." She sighed and gazed at Elsa through the mirror. "Love is really an amazing thing, Elsa… I really think he's the one for me."

"I can't see anyone else with you," Elsa said, working out a kink. "He cares for you a lot and I think what you two have is wonderful— stop moving your head, chin up— and I'm so glad you're happy with him."

"Oh, Elsa… I wish you and Thomas could be like us," Anna said wistfully. "I know you're still getting used to— ow! Don't rip my hair out."

"Sorry," Elsa said. "This knot is really tough. Here—" She handed Anna the brush and started to pick at it with her nails instead. "Go on."

"Never mind," Anna said. "You'll just get annoyed with my love advice."

Elsa smiled and finally untangled the knot. She took the brush and went on with brushing it, the teeth combing through Anna's strawberry blond hair. They shared a moment of silence, the night growing outside and telling them it was almost time to sleep.

Anna shut her eyes, loving the feeling of Elsa playing with her hair. Elsa would always braid her when they were little, putting it in double braids, pigtails, one braid to match her own, and doing it up in different ways. She didn't know why but Elsa was always so fond of Anna's hair. It was silky, smooth, and fun to play with. So she had no protests when Anna asked if she could braid it tonight.

After a few minutes of their comfortable silence, Elsa began to hum to herself, a familiar tune that Anna knew. She opened her eyes and glanced at Elsa through the mirror again.

The queen met her eyes and winked lovingly before returning her attention to her hair again. Anna hummed the tune back and they started to smile wider. Elsa sang softly, sitting behind Anna so she could braid her hair for the night.

Elsa:

You know that I'm here.
Through the summer and winter year.

She hummed a bit while Anna responded.

Anna:

The frozen lakes and singing birds call to you.
Answer, answer they plead.

Taking one bunch of Anna's hair, Elsa began to weave it together. They sang as one, old memories of their mother putting them to bed filling their minds' eyes.

Both:

When the frost bite gets you
And the winds torment you
Call on me, you know I'm here,
Through the winter and the summer year.

Elsa leaned forward and rested her chin on Anna's shoulder, the two of them looking at one another through the mirror.

Elsa:

So what should you do?

Anna:

I'll call on you
Though frost bite may get me

Elsa:

And winds torment me

Both:

I'll call on you.

They held the last note, harmonizing softly like their mother would with them. Anna felt sleepy suddenly. That lullaby always put her to sleep. Whenever the girls would refuse to go to bed, being the little rebels they always believed they were, the Queen would come in and set them both in Elsa's bed, sing them that song, and they'd fall asleep instantly. It was a bonding song they both enjoyed.

Elsa had sung it softly to Anna once when the princess was eight. She had spent the night outside of Elsa's door, trying to get her to come out. In order to finally put Anna to sleep, she sang that song and Anna was knocked out two minutes later.

"Why'd you sing that one?" Anna asked, trying to keep herself awake, Elsa returning to her work on Anna's braid.

"I was thinking of Mama earlier today," Elsa responded. "I just miss her… that's all."

"Me too," Anna whispered.

Elsa chuckled. "Sorry I made you tired. I got a little droopy eyed myself."

"Awh, it's fine," Anna said.

"Are you excited— don't slouch, you're messing up the braid— for tomorrow?"

"Uh-huh," Anna said, perking up. "Are you?"

"Well, it will be a nice change. And I need a break from all this work I've been doing." Elsa sniffed and cleared her throat. "I mean, really, I don't care what color they decide to paint the French ambassador's room."

Anna giggled. "They send you that stuff?"

"It's an opinionated thing… for example, if it would somehow offend Arendelle, they would consider a different color," Elsa said with a roll of her eyes. "But it's so ridiculous that I give that to Kai. I'll handle the more important things, thank you very much."

"I wonder why they even care…"

"I have no idea."

Elsa started on the next braid, keeping them in a simple two-braid style. She was feeling sleep creep up on her and doing the three braid combination would take too much time. Anna closed her eyes again and hummed the tune to herself, tapping her finger slowly on her knee. After Elsa finished the braids, she stood up and kissed Anna's head gently before heading to bed. Anna got to her feet and stretched, flopping onto her bed with a happy groan.

The queen sent out a cold breeze around the room, blowing out all the candles, so that the full moon was the only thing bringing them light. Anna pulled back her covered and sunk into them, smiling pleasantly. They both fell asleep peacefully, ready for a relaxing weekend.


The afternoon had reached a moderate temperature, which was great news for Elsa because she despised the heat of the sun. The two couples and the awkward pair made their way up the hills, talking as they went. Olaf had been invited so he was waddling in front of them, gawking at the trees and the sunlight and the flowers and everything around him. They made it to the meadow in which Anna and Kristoff found the snowman and they spread out the blanket.

Their day was spent underneath trees and watching the waterfall tumble into the lake. Elsa wondered if her Ice Palace could be hiked to… and if her big snow monster was still there, protecting it. Anna had brought along a foreign game along with her called Kubb and was playing with Rapunzel, Kristoff, and Eugene. Olaf was skipping along the area and smelled almost every flower he could find. Sitting beside Elsa on the blanket was Thomas, observing the game being played.

"You don't play?" he asked Elsa.

"No… I don't know how to play," Elsa replied. "Anna used to play this with Mama and Papa sometimes but, of course, I couldn't."

"What did you do in your room for that long?"

"I drew, played chess… I practiced my magic."

She picked up a leaf that had fallen from the trees above and pressed her finger in the middle. Frost spread from her touch and crawled in different shapes and formed a perfect flower-like image on the green canvas. Thomas gaped at it. Elsa removed her finger and handed it to him.

"I would used the windows in my bedroom and practice. Of course, my parents never found out because I kept it secret," Elsa admitted with a dry smile. "You said you're good at sword play, right?"

"Mhm," he said with a nod, watching the leaf's artwork melt underneath the warm sun.

"What else do you do?" she said. "Do you ride horses?"

Thomas laughed. "Not a chance. I can't ride a horse at all. I fall off every time I try." He smirked and tossed the leaf to the side. "My little brother George can. He's really good at racing them, too. Peter is, ah, he's more of the cunning kind of person. We all have our strengths."

"I see," Elsa said. "I was never a rider myself. Anna loves riding now that the gates are open. She once got up really early to ride around the town and let her horse stretch his legs." She drew her knees up to her chest and side glanced at him. "If you're such a good sword fighter, then why aren't you in the military or something?"

"I thought about it. I once bested the most skillful sword fighter in my father's army when I was nine," Thomas said, his eyes gleaming. "He challenged me, if you can believe."

He suddenly leapt to his feet and strutted in front of the blanket. He set his feet apart and Elsa watched, intrigued. He positioned his hand as if he was holding a sword.

"He said to me, 'Young master,' he said. 'I challenge you to a duel!'" Thomas winked at her and she smiled. "So I told him, 'I don't want to hurt you.' 'Hurt me?' he said. 'You won't hurt me!'" He held up a finger. "Now, understand that I was very good at this point."

"Sure you were," Elsa teased, grinning at him.

"I was," he insisted, putting his fists on his hips.

"Uh-huh."

"Hush," he scolded playfully. "So we start the duel and he slices at me, right?" He jabs his hand forward, really putting on a show, making it hard for Elsa to stop grinning. "And I step back." He does so. "And counter the attack. Then I take a swing—" He slashed his hand in the air as if he were back and defending himself, "—and I take a nice slice out of his armor."

"You did not cut his armor," Elsa said with a shake of her head.

"It… it might have been chain mail," Thomas argued.

"A nine-year-old boy couldn't possibly do such a thing."

"You didn't know nine-year-old Thomas. I was a brutal kid, I was!"

"You were not," Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Point is, I sent him on his rump and won the duel." He spread his arms. "Now he and I are great friends!"

Elsa giggled behind her hand as he plopped back down beside her, grinning a goofy grin she had never seen him wear before. She liked that smile on him… he seemed more like himself. Acting out his memories and making her laugh was something she could get used to.

"Great friends, huh?" she said with a smirk.

"Brilliant friends," he nodded heavily. "And the fantastic thing is, he got promoted to general of the military. If I wanted to go into the military, I would, but I have a few more things to think about."

"Such as?"

"My family… watching George and making sure Peter doesn't screw things up for himself." His smile faded. "I have a lot to do and I think they all expect too much from me, you know?" He tugged at his shirt, rolled up past his sleeves. "I wish I could just be Thomas…"

They fell silent and Elsa knew exactly what he was talking about. The itch to act like one's self without people saying that was untraditional. They returned to watching the game until it was over, Anna and Rapunzel's team victorious. The girls were jumping up and down and laughing, the two men looking at each other with exasperation. Tired and hungry, they joined Thomas and Elsa on the blanket and they started eating their lunches, packed sandwiches and bread rolls. The sun was making the water sparkle and the breeze warm.

More times than Elsa would like to admit, she kept meeting Thomas' gaze over the meal. They would hold eye-contact with each other for a few seconds before one of them, mostly Elsa, would get shy and look down again. Anna was the one who picked up on their awkward moments and decided to help her sister by engaging her in a conversation. Elsa was thankful and gave Anna her gentle, loving smile. It was about the drapes again but it became entertaining when Anna started to get really passionate about her opinion, her eyes glowing and her hands talking with her.

At one point, she threw her hand back and accidentally hit Eugene in the face. Anna gasped and turned to him, apologizing profusely. He said it was fine and smiled when Rapunzel kissed where he had gotten hit. Elsa gazed down at her sandwich, suddenly not as hungry as she thought she was. This picnic was a good idea, sure, but she kind of wished it wouldn't get any more awkward with Thomas than it already had been.

"I'm going to take a walk," Elsa said.

Both Anna and Thomas made to go with her but she snapped harsher than she meant to.

"Alone," she said darkly.

Everyone looked at her with surprise and her expression softened.

"I'm sorry… I'm… I'm just gonna go," she said. "Excuse me."

She cleared her throat and moved on, her hands behind her back. Without another word, she left them all alone, hoping to clear her head in a place she was familiar with. Her feet took her around the bend and up a little ways to the spot she had been searching for.

Elsa could see it, just barely, from where she was. It would take a couple of hours to reach the actual location but it was nice to see it was still standing. Her eyes glazed over with nostalgia… even if it was only six weeks she had been away from the place.

Her Ice Palace was boasting proudly on the North Mountain, sparkling with power in the summer sun. Elsa really hoped it wasn't melting slowly. It would break her heart if something she had created with so much energy, so much passion, so much love, and so much pent up anger would vanish from her life.

She stood still, observing it from afar. She swirled her hand in the air and made the breeze turn cold, soothing her skin. She closed her eyes and inhaled, the smells of the season flowing into her senses and clearing her mind. It was a nice feeling, being away from people. She was so used to isolation that it was incredibly scary for someone to be attached to her like Thomas was.

Anna's attachment was different, of course, because Anna was the only person Elsa yearned to have contact with. Her sister was more important to her than Arendelle… but she could never say that out loud, of course. Not to the staff or the citizens.

She never told Anna either but she had a feeling she knew.

It was a good change for once. Even in her study, she could be bothered by someone. She could never walk around town and be normal without someone dropping to their knees or bowling until their spines cracked. She wondered if Thomas got tired of it as much as she did.

When the cold air stopped flowing, she decided to head back and join the rest of her friends before one of them came after her. As she made her way around the meadow, she spotted Olaf staring at his reflection in the water, talking to it.

"Hi, I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs… no way, you too!" he gaped, his smile widening.

"Olaf," Elsa called softly.

The snowman turned and waved at her.

"Elsa, look at this!" he chimed. "There's a snowman in here who looks just like me!"

Smiling at his childish charm, she moved towards him and looked into the water herself. Olaf gasped and pointed at her reflection.

"There's another Elsa, too!" he whispered. "Ooh, this is so exciting."

She didn't have the heart to tell him the truth so she simply watched as he continued to speak to his own reflection. He began to get irritated as it 'talked over him' so he huffed away, Elsa chuckling and following him back to the picnic area.

When she returned, she found Thomas entertaining Rapunzel and Eugene with one of his stories. The couple was in tears, laughing at his tall tale.

"But, I swear, the pudding got all over his face," Thomas grinned. "And my grandfather was the first to laugh. I've never heard him laugh that hard."

"You should hear the one when I accidentally broke the King's vase in the library," Eugene said.

"Ooh, Daddy got so mad," Rapunzel added. Her eyes caught Elsa's approaching figure and she waved. "Hey, Elsa! Have a nice walk?"

"I did… where's Anna and Kristoff?" Elsa asked.

Rapunzel shrugged. "I'm not sure. They went on their own walk and said they'd be—"

Anna came storming into the scene, her face flushed with anger. Kristoff was stumping after her, slowly and grimacing slightly. His eyes were downcast but Anna's were alight.

"—Back…" Rapunzel finished, her eyes following Anna's movement.

The princess marched up to Elsa and embraced her with a surprising amount of strength that Elsa thought was unnecessary.

"Anna, what are—?"

"Take me home, please," Anna croaked into her ear. "Please, Elsa, I wanna go home."

"O-okay, hold on," Elsa said gently. "We'll clean up and go home. Then you can talk to me all about… whatever happened."

Anna nodded and Elsa looked into her eyes. Her bottom lip was quivering and it appeared she was fighting tears.

"Stay here," Elsa said.

She moved gracefully over to the picnic set up and began to clean up. The other three stood up and started helping at once. Kristoff was in the back, picking up the Kubb set and tucking the pieces under his arm. He looked a little upset so Elsa didn't think it was a huge fight but she knew something had gone wrong between the two of them. They all began to make their way back to the kingdom.


Once they reached the Arendelle limits, Anna was walking briskly, her fists at her sides. Elsa kept an easy stride but made sure her sister was in her sights. As soon as they reached the gates, Anna broke into a run and burst into the castle. Elsa didn't go after her— she knew Anna was heading to the bedroom.

She turned to Rapunzel and Eugene, asking them to take the picnic things to Gerda before they go on with their day. She told Thomas to seek out Kai and said that they had a guest room he could stay in instead of his ship. Taken aback but pleased, he bowed his head and walked past her, after the couple. Olaf returned to his igloo in the garden, waving cheerfully.

Elsa then turned on Kristoff, her blue eyes sparkling with furious ice. The mountain man stood back, becoming afraid of Elsa for the first time. Frost crept along around the pair on the courtyard tiles.

"What happened?" Elsa growled behind bared teeth.

"I— I'm not sure," Kristoff stammered. "Look, you know how fired up Anna can get. We were talking and I made a comment and she countered it. It became a back-and-forth banter thing but it quickly got hurtful…"

"What did you say?"

"All I said was…" He froze, his eyes widening and he clamped his mouth shut.

Elsa liked Kristoff, sure, but Anna came first. If her sister was hurting because of him, she wouldn't hesitate to punish him and throw him into the fjords herself.

"What did you say?"

Her tone was deathly quiet and the wind began to pick up, snow flurries dancing around them.

He swallowed hard. "I may have asked why she's not afraid of you…"

The flurries died down and Elsa blinked.

Wait, what? Elsa thought. That's it?

"And what did she reply?" Elsa said carefully.

"She said why I asked… then I talked about how she— you— could, y'know, kill people in one flick of your hand and she got really defensive." Kristoff cleared his throat. "But I realize what I said was wrong. We got deeper into how she can be stubborn and how I could be aloof— whatever that means— and then she stormed away."

"Oh, Anna," Elsa whispered, placing her fingertips on her forehead. "Kristoff… I know you didn't mean anything by what you said." She sent him a thin smile. "Just be careful from now on. I'm going to go find her and I want you to leave her be for a while, okay?"

He nodded. She patted his arm and moved on, striding up to the castle.


I know that Kristoff is a little OC here but I tried. I really did.

Thank you, disney-princess, for your entry! I'm looking forward to more coming from the rest of you.

By the way, did you guys get the Brave reference made by Rapunzel?

And if you guys want to see what Thomas looks like, tell me, follow me on Tumblr (athpluver), and I'll upload it when I can!

If you want to contact me in any other way besides reviews my email can be found on my profile. 'Cause if you're signed in as a guest, I can't exactly reply back to you if you want to chat. Thanks!

See you next time!