A small note to my readers: It may be quite obvious by now, but just so you know there are some Frozen spoilers in this chapter. Also, thank you for the reviews! This may not be the most amazing fanfiction ever but it's nice to know that some people like it and want me to continue updating. :)

Nora was dutifully studying the letters and words with pictures that Elsa had drawn out for her. She had never had the opportunity to learn things from a teacher before and had been studying all morning and into the afternoon.

There was a knock on the door. Nora looked up in surprise. She was the only one in the room. Someone wanted to see her? Could it be Elsa?

She got up and ran to the door to open it. It was Elsa, and she looked a little bit distant.

"Hello," said Nora shyly.

"Hi Nora," said Elsa, still making no move to enter the room. Nora wondered why she was here.

"I've been practicing," said Nora.

"Oh that's good," said Elsa. "Are you understanding everything okay?"

"Yes," said Nora. There was a pause. "Elsa, do you need something? Do you want to come in?"

"Oh, I... sure," Elsa stepped into the room and Nora closed the door behind her. "I don't really know why I'm here," said Elsa. "Anna and Kristoff went out to go ice skating."

Nora sat on the bed and patted the spot beside her. Elsa came over and sat next to her. "What would you like to do?" asked Nora, as she had seen her sisters ask their playmates so many times before. But she was beyond the age of playmates, wasn't she?

"Do you want to see my ice palace?" asked Elsa.

"Sure," said Nora. Ice palace? What was that? "Although perhaps we could take some food with us?"

"Oh did you not eat?" asked Elsa.

"No but it's alright. Everyone was busy."

"Oh no, you can always help yourself in the kitchen while you're staying here. Come on, let's go get some food."

Once they had packed up a little picnic dinner and Nora had eaten a snack, they got a horse from the stables. Nora had never ridden before, but since she was fairly small Elsa decided that the horse could probably carry both of them.

Nora had the bag of food and a blanket in a bag on her back and was sitting behind Elsa. They had debated for a while what the best position was, since the man who worked in the stables was out and none of his assistants had helped saddle up a horse for two riders before. They'd suggested using a sled, but Elsa didn't think she could get a sled up to the castle.

"Go ahead and hold on to me tightly. Don't want to lose you," said Elsa.

Nora reached around and held onto Elsa with her bundled-up arms and mittened hands tightly so that her face was pressed up against the back of Elsa's coat. She had never been this close to someone before, and didn't know if Elsa had either. She could hear Elsa's rapid heartbeat and steady, strong breathing as they set off toward the mountains.

"This is a much longer trek than I remember," came Elsa's muffled voice after they had been under the snowy trees for some time. "I can't believe I walked all the way there on that day."

"What day?" asked Nora, eager to learn some of Elsa's backstory.

"My coronation. I lost control and the entire kingdom found out about my powers. They went after me and I ran. I ran all the way to the top of the mountain and made my ice palace, free at last. And then Anna came to tell me that I'd left Arendelle deep in snow, and I – "

"What happened?"

"I accidentally... I wanted her to leave and I just thrust out my hand and ice crystals shot out and one struck her in the heart. She froze solid while saving my life, but since it was an act of true love, it thawed her heart. And that's when I learned how to thaw snow. With love."

They came to a beautiful staircase made of ice. "What is love?" asked Nora, as they dismounted the horse and tied it up, leaving an apple for it to munch on.

Elsa turned and smiled at her, extending her gloved hand. Nora reached out and took it and Elsa led her up the stairs.

The castle was beautiful. Nora could sense that it meant a lot to Elsa and she felt as if Elsa was opening the doors to her soul when she opened the doors to the castle.

"Still unchanged," said Elsa, as she stepped inside. Nora followed her and was without words. Never before had ice been anything but a burden to her before. Ice was darkness and pain. But here, the ice was sparkling with light. And not just any light; the light was a calming blue color.

"I can change the color if you like," said Elsa, drawing Nora's attention away from the ceiling that was far, far away. Elsa looked a little nervous, as if she was anxious to see what Nora thought of the castle.

"No, no, this is good," said Nora. "It's beautiful."

Elsa brightened. "I'm so glad you like it! Would you like to see the upstairs?"

"Yes," said Nora, delighted to see Elsa looking happy and at peace. As they started up the stairs and Elsa began telling her what all the rooms were, she began to lose track of what Elsa was saying and instead focused on her facial expressions and the sound of her voice.

After a while, Nora realized that Elsa had stopped talking and was just staring at her, staring into her eyes. Nora wondered if the eyes really were the key to the soul, as she stared back, feeling as though she was being sucked into a vortex and yet learning nothing about Elsa. No soul window there.

"Do you –" Elsa's voice only half worked. "Do you want to eat dinner now?"

"That sounds nice," Nora smiled.

They were both hungry, so they ate in silence. When Nora finished, she gazed out the nearby window. "It's getting dark out."

"And cold," Elsa added, concerned. "Isn't it a bit early for it to be this dark?" She stood up and looked out the window. "I can't even see anything! It's a snow storm out there."

Nora walked closer to the window and squinted into the distance. Then she reached out her hand for a moment. "I made a shelter for the horse," she said.

"You can see him?"

"A little. I don't know. It's more like I can feel where he is."

"Wow," said Elsa. "That's impressive."

Nora smiled faintly. "It doesn't look like we'll be getting back tonight." She yawned. She hadn't slept much the previous night, since she'd been so absorbed in her studying.

"I've spent the night here before..." said Elsa, shivering slightly.

"Come on; I've got a blanket," said Nora, pulling it out of the bag. "I know the cold doesn't bother you, but I think you might sleep better if you're warm."

"You're probably right," said Elsa, though looking a bit nervous. "Can we both fit...?"

"Come here," said Nora, spreading out the blanket. "It's long enough for us to be on top of it and wrap it around us."

Elsa lay down on the blanket next to Nora, and Nora wrapped the ends around them, leaving one arm draped over Elsa's shoulder, stroking her hair, although her arm was shaking slightly from nerves. "You won't be alone this time," she said, beginning to drift off to sleep from her exhaustion.

She was surprised to hear Elsa's reply but too tired to respond when it came, "Neither will you."