There was a knock on the open door. Elsa looked up. Her sister – all anxious bobbing and fiddling with plaits – hovered there.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"You ok?"

It was two days since the letter had arrived. One since Kristoff had retreated into the mountains again. Both Elsa and Anna had been busy, and had only really seen each other briefly at dinner. There, conversation had been polite and safe: they discussed the ongoing building works, a new book Anna had started reading – Ivanhoe – and the new staff at the castle.

Elsa had not pushed anything – she was terrified to pry, afraid she might just end up shutting Anna out more.

And besides, Anna would come to her when she was ready. This was the girl who had spent almost eight years of her life knocking at a closed door.

And now, her sister's hesitant manner and absent-minded twirl of the hair was a dead giveaway: she was ready.

"Oh, sure," Anna replied, practically bouncing from foot to foot. "How are you? What are you up to?"

Elsa put down her quill and stretched out her legs to push out the chair opposite. Anna obligingly sat. "I'm actually just politely declining some suitors."

Anna's whole manner changed.

"You're what?!"

Elsa's mouth twitched.

"The last few days I've been inundated with letters from various eager princes and nobles. Apparently ice powers are all the rage among eligible young bachelors."

Anna giggled in a very unladylike manner.

"You should invite some!"

Elsa deadpanned, and Anna's giggle became a fully-fledged snort of laughter.

"I'm serious!"

Elsa grinned at her. "I'll give it a miss."

"Ahh, that's a shame. We could have had a party! But, you know – one that doesn't end like the last one."

Anna had developed this habit of referencing her sister's flight from the party in a very casual way. It was becoming a thing of teasing, and not a source of fear. She'd even started referring to it as 'Elsa's French Leave'.

"How's Kristoff finding the new job? He gave me the first monthly review a few weeks ago, but he can be quite taciturn."

Anna tried out this new word. She rather liked it.

"Good, I think. Did he tell you about the new apprentice thing he's working on?"

Elsa smiled. "He did."

"It sounds amazing," Anna enthused. "Is it something that all the guilds have? I mean, it totally should be, but – ohh, it could work with my Children's Home!"

Elsa pondered this. It wasn't half a bad idea.

"Do you want to talk to some of the guilds about that?"

Anna nodded enthusiastically.

Despite a few slip-ups – mainly involving forgotten documents and over-ambitious timescales – Anna was actually doing incredibly well with all this new-found responsibility. Elsa felt… proud. Really, really proud.

"You're doing great, Anna. I'm so sorry I ever doubted you."

Anna flipped back her plaits in mock-modesty. "Well, you know. I try."

"You know… as well as all the letters from suitors, we've got some invitations here too."

Intrigued, Anna shuffled forward.

"The prince of Andorra is turning eighteen, and there's a Christening in Corona. I'm trying to decide who would be best to send to represent Arendelle. I think Lord Eirik would be best suited to Andorra – but I know Lord Hugo is looking for an opportunity to prove himself. What do you think?"

So wrapped in thought, Elsa did not immediately notice that her sister's eyes had grown as wide as saucers.

A thousand doors flew open in Anna's mind.

"Could I go?"

Elsa stared at her for a second.

"Absolutely not."

Her face fell.

"Why not?"

"Well for a start, if you think I'm letting you out of my sight for more than a day – "

"Oh come on, Elsa, I'll be fine – haven't I shown you that I can be trusted with responsibility?"

"Anna, no. It is too dangerous – "

"Anna yes! Come on Elsa, how could it be dangerous? It's just – "

"Anna, I said no."

" – just a bunch of nobles shaking hands and dancing! And I've never been out of Arendelle before, and – "

"No, Anna!"

"I promise, I won't come back with a – a string of fiancées or anything this time – if that's what you're worried about – "

"Anna, you are not getting on a ship!"

Elsa hadn't realised she shouted, nor that she'd stood up. Ice splintered from under her palms and across the desk and the temperature of the room dropped so her unusually heavy breath hung like puffs of smoke before her.

She sank back into her seat, horrified.

"Anna – "

But her sister finally thought things through and stood, without thought, trotting round the desk to embrace her sister from behind. Her arms folded across her chest and her ear was on her cheek. Elsa – still unused to this unsolicited human touch – flinched very slightly. Anna did not notice, but squeezed her sister and inhaled deeply. Elsa's skin was cold – always cold – but she smelt of the open air.

They didn't need to say a word, really. But Anna did anyway.

"Elsa, I would really, really love to. But I understand – I mean, I hadn't thought, but – if you really don't want me to, I don't have to. Will you… at least think about it?"

Elsa put a hand on her sister's arm and gripped it tightly, eyes squeezed shut.

She knew she was being over-cautious – over-protective – storms weren't commonplace –

"I'll think about it."

Anna decided not to press the matter any further – but in the flurry, they still hadn't spoken about Hans.

Kristoff went to see the Trolls.

He was on his way back – he'd been gone just under a week, throwing himself into the sawing and cutting and climbing with even more fervour than usual. He felt the burn in his arms and the ache in his back with a kind of savage release, and had collected about a third more ice than usual.

Sven was unimpressed with this, but kept his complaining to a minimum: Kristoff was brooding and quiet and it would not do to exacerbate this.

When they reached the Valley of the Living Rock, fielding the usual raucous welcome with unusually short answers, Grandpabbie muttered some strange words in a foreign tongue to stop the ice defrosting and waved them over.

"Kristoff. You carry sadness with you."

He shrugged this off. "I'm fine. Do I need an excuse to see my family?"

Bulda cuffed him round the ear. "Don't you lie to your Grandpabbie, Kristoff."

"Oww!" He scowled, rubbing the side of his head. "Mum."

"You come for advice."

"I come for a hot meal and good company. Ok!" He cringed a little as his mother raised a threatening eyebrow. For a two-foot moss-wearing Troll, she could be formidable. "Also for advice."

Grandpabbie nodded and for a while, the matter was dropped.

Kristoff was given a bowl of steaming stew and when that was finished, was mobbed by a small group of young Trolls.

"Kristoff! Play hide and seek with me!"

"And me!"

"Me first!"

"Ok, ok," his littlest sister bounced up and down beside him, glaring at her Troll brothers. "We'll all play hide and seek. How's that?"

"Ok, you seek! Count to twenty!" They rolled away in an explosion of giggles and bickering.

Kristoff obligingly closed his eyes. "One, two…"

When they had all been found, his favourite aunt captured him from another round to help mince mushrooms for dinner.

"So, Kristoff, how is life as a guildmaster?"

"Did Grandpabbie tell you that?"

"Of course."

"It's not bad." Kristoff shrugged. "Pretty good, actually. Although – " He hesitated. "Aunt Ora? Do you know how to read? Not runes – Norwegian."

She shook her head sadly. "I never learned, Kristoff. Though Rockwell knows a bit – and Grandpabbie, of course. Why do you ask?"

Kristoff shrugged. "I've realised it would be handy to know more than I do. I'm trying to teach myself, but – "

"Why don't you ask that girl of yours to teach you?"

Kristoff shook his head vigorously. "Definitely not."

"Well, I'm sure she'd be happy to help!"

"Nonono. Definitely not."

Grandpabbie finally beckoned him over to his spot by the fire.

"Kristoff. I cannot give you the advice you seek."

What? Grandpabbie always had sage words to offer. "Why not?"

"The heart is not so easily changed."

Kristoff was unimpressed.

"I don't want anybody's heart to change, I just don't know – "

"Kristoff, listen to me," Grandpabbie folded his grandson's hand in his own weathered palms. "To make bad choices is the easiest thing of all. But to see the error of our ways – "

"Whose bad choices?"

"I cannot say. But love Kristoff – love will thaw."

"Be like the rock! Be a rock!" A cacophony of voices chipped in –

Grandpabbie smiled and sat back, staring into the fire.

Kristoff's mouth hung open very slightly, his brow furrowed. "That… I don't understand any of that. Are you saying that Anna does love Hans? Or – "

"Oh, no, Kristoff. Only that love brings out the best!"

Kristoff let out a growl of exasperation and buried his face in his hands.