Ok, there was a comment about Elsa being bi and I just want to address it at once. I haven't read You Are and, in my mind, Elsa is as gay as they come. That being said, you have to remember that (i) Elsa is a very complex character and has a very complicated relationship with accepting who she is; (ii) she's the Queen, so she knows what would be expected of her if she wasn't born with powers: get married, have kids; (iii) all Elsa wants to be is normal. So, is she bi? I don't know. I think she's a woman trying to find her place in the world and find herself. Just because she may be involved with a man (and I'm not saying she will because I haven't written that yet and what is not written may always change), it doesn't make her less gay (so strange to say that). It just mean she's trying to find herself.

Now, I don't know how it was done in You Are. So I can't really say if that's how I'm doing it. I can only say: have faith. Concerning Elsa's gayness, I know what I'm doing.

Anyway, I hope you guy enjoy it. And, once again, review and criticism are welcome.

This is from Anna's POV.

Chapter 10

Once we reached the foods table, I asked Elina if she could find Gerda for me. Since I now knew that Elsa wouldn't be making the speech, there was no impediment for us to finally have dinner. And I needed to talk to Rapunzel about her making the speech and I'd better do it privately.

I could feel a tug on my hand and looked over to see her gesturing me to lean in closer. "Anna, where's Elsa?"

I sighed. "Punzel, about that. I need to ask you a favor." She nodded and looked at me expectantly. "I need you to make the speech."

"Why?" She now looked suspicious. "What's going on? Where's Elsa? What happened?"

Why did you have to be so curious, Punzel? I huffed. I absolutely hated lying. I felt like everyone had been lying to me my entire life: Elsa, my parents, Gerda and Kai... Well, Elsa hadn't lied to me technically, but I consider omitting and hiding to be the same thing as lying. It stops me from learning the entire truth. And now I would be lying for the second time tonight.

"She isn't feeling very well, Punzel. She, too, has been stressed about the wedding and the preparations. She's the Queen after all. This wedding counted for a few diplomatic meetings as well, you know. And Weaseltown has been bothering her again. And there was also that other-"

Rapunzel held her hand up. "Cut the crap, Anna. I know I might have been raised inside a tower and did not see the world until a few years ago. And also my 'mother'" she used her fingers for the quote "might have fooled me into believing I wasn't capable of anything for years, but..." She laughed a little." Yes, it does sound like I'm a fool, but" her face became serious "I am not. So cut the crap and tell me what the hell is going on!" She stomped her foot. I knew that act. That was my act! "I won't be doing you any favors until you tell me what's going on."

Why did she have to make things so difficult? Urg. I huffed.

"Ok, Punzel, look. I don't really know what's going on. I can only guess. I'm as much in the dark as you are." She gave me a disbelieving look. "It's true! I don't know why Elsa has run away." I started pacing. Yes, I was going to tell her everything. I suddenly couldn't keep it all to myself anymore.

"She started acting weird since Kristoff and I started dating. But I always took it for sisterly jealousy. I mean, we had just reconnected with each other and suddenly I had someone new in my life as well and needed to divide my attention between them. And, you know, Elsa being Elsa" I snorted. "she decided that she'd better choose for me because Gods forbid I make a decision myself." I started talking in a mocking voice. "Poor little Anna, incapable of doing anything on her own. Always needing to be protected, to be left in the dark, to be rescued... Arg." I threw my hands in the air.

"Anna" Rapunzel started impatiently. "You are getting beside the point. Get to it!"

"Ok, ok. So she has been acting weird ever since. Kind of distant and all. But the weird thing was that she was the one that insisted Kristoff and I simply had to marry!"

She raised her hand once again. "Wait. So you two did not want to marry?"

"No, no. We did. It's just that we thought... Actually, we weren't thinking about it at the time. We were just enjoying each other's company. Going on adventures with Sven and Olaf. It was all really fun."

"I don't see how a wedding could change that." Rapunzel said softly.

I sighed. How could I explain it? "I don't really know how to explain, Punzel. We had different upbringings. You never really knew how was the life of a royal."

She looked kind of offended. "You're right, I didn't. But when I found out I was a princess, I was just thrown into this life of royalty. Eugene and me. You think I don't understand what you are going through? I get most of it, yes. If not all of it. I was a lost princess. My people had always loved me somehow. They never lost faith that, one day, they would find me. That's why they kept sending the lanterns up the sky every year. And, then, Eugene brings me back. But he's a thief. He had been wanted by the crown for years! Yes, everyone was really happy he brought me back, but they weren't really all that happy that I was planning on marrying him. So, all that judgment you and Kristoff have to endure, we had to endure as well."

"But you have to admit that Eugene's much more outgoing and charming than Kristoff, right?"

She sighed and looked at me with pity in her eyes. "Oh, Anna. You still have so much to learn. About being married. About having a husband that other royals do not approve. You have to understand that no matter what he does, no matter his flaws and faults, he is a prince now. Your prince. And you have to defend him. No matter what. Now I see what you mean when you said you two weren't ready for marriage."

"But that's not what I meant!" Gods, Rapunzel could be so infuriating sometimes. I hadn't meant it like that. Of course, it was all true. And I'd known deep inside my soul, but I hadn't admitted it yet. I loved Kristoff, but my actions were still erratic. I would leave him to chase after Elsa and then have a jealous fit seeing him dancing with some other woman.

"What did you mean then?"

"That we weren't ready to make it official yet."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "That's kinda what I said, Anna. You couldn't possibly be that slow. Elsa told me you had a tendency to hit your head several times a day, but it couldn't possibly have made that much of a damage."

"I'm not slow!"

She took my hand into hers. "Anna. Defending your husband is just one part of the deal. I understand. I really do. Mainly because I went through it. And because I can see how things might have changed. Yes, before both of you were so carefree. You could do all you wanted. There was pressure for you to marry, of course. And not only you sister's. The whole kingdom, albeit unknown to you, was expecting it. They all love Kristoff and want you to be happy." She gave my hands a squeeze. "And, of course, deep down, they all want something that you feel you are not ready for yet. They haven't really realized it, but I can see that you have. Elsa won't produce an heir."

I looked down. I don't know why I was so disappointed and relieved by it at the same time. Elsa would never marry. But she would never have kids. And surprisingly, I really wanted to see a little Elsa running around the castle. The thought always made my heart swell.

Rapunzel continued. "Sure she will carry on with her Queenly duties. And the people love her. She's kind and just. What's not to love? But one day she will be gone. And with no heirs, it will be up to you, Anna, to rule the kingdom and to leave heirs to rule after you're gone. Marrying Kristoff makes all of this official. You have to shoulder more responsibilities. It won't just be adventures with Sven and Olaf anymore. From this day on, you will have to take on a more active part."

"Yes..." I whispered. That terrified me. I don't know why I always thought that it would all go to Elsa. I never thought that, perhaps, the responsibilities might, one day, befall on me. She was the one that had ruling lessons. I was the one the skipped even basic maths lessons. She was the one that learnt how to be poised. I was the one that destroyed the entire castle, tripped over my own feet and talked to paintings.

But it had all been right in front of me. Elsa, the secluded. Elsa, the untouchable. Elsa, the Ice Queen. She never planned on marrying and having kids. She would do what she had to do, but, then, she would pass it all to me. She decided all of this by herself. She didn't tell my parents, she didn't tell me. Yes, there were signs, but it still took me by surprise. A little warning would have been nice! And now I was unprepared for anything.

"Oh Anna." Rapunzel pulled my hand to circle her waist and we hugged. I buried my head in the crook of her neck. "You don't have to be afraid. All will be fine. The most important thing about ruling is to be just and kind. And, have no doubt, that you are."

"But what about all the decision making and stuff?" My voice came out muffled and childish and Rapunzel let out a laugh.

"We have advisors for that." Patting my head, she let me go. "You needn't worry about it now, Anna. You can still go on adventures with Kristoff and Olaf and Sven. I might even join you!" She giggled. I wiped the small tears that had started to fall. "You just have to sneak in attending some meetings once in a while. Slowly you'll get the hang of it. Have no worries." She winked.

"Thank you, Punzel. You always know what to say." I gave her a little smile.

Then she seemed to remember something. "But you still haven't told me what's going on. You stopped on Elsa almost forcing you to marry." She smirked.

I sighed. She was like a dog with a bone. "Well, she insisted, but she's been even more distant. She didn't really help me with the preparations. I only asked her to be my maid of honor because I thought she'd be offended if I didn't ask and then lock herself inside her room once again!" There. I said it.

Rapunzel gave me a dirty look. "She wouldn't have done that, Anna! Don't you know you own sister?"

No! I wanted to yell at her face that I didn't know Elsa at all. We had been stranded for 13 years. How could I know anything about my sister? But I just remained in silence. How could Rapunzel know anything about Elsa anyway?

"She would have put on a brave face and swallowed her pride. But she'd have understood it in the end. Elsa is a very rational person, Anna. I don't think you realize that because you are the exact opposite. You feel before you think. Elsa has been trained to think before feeling. You know, all that 'conceal, don't feel' crap."

Ok, she might have had a point there.

"Anyway," I decided to divert the conversation back to where it was supposed to go. "She's been acting really weird. I think it's because she's afraid that me getting married will mean she'll lose me again. That I will only have eyes and time for Kristoff."

"Why would have she ran away from the speech, then?"

"I've actually been thinking about that-"

"Oh, no. You thinking is never a good idea." Punzel laughed and I slapped her arm. "Ok, sorry, sorry. What have you thought about it?" She said while rubbing her arm.

I started pacing again. "Well, when you make a speech, you are supposed to tell stories, right? To share a few special moments you have spent with the newlyweds. That's why Kristoff doesn't have a best man. Sven can't talk and the trolls have their own way of doing things. Anyway. I think it got too emotional for Elsa. I mean. Her memories of us together are the real ones. Any story she could have told tonight wouldn't really make sense to me. The trolls altered my memories. And that overwhelms her because it brings back all the memories. All the times I yelled at her door that I loved her and demanded to know what I did wrong that made her stop loving me. For her, I didn't really love her because I didn't really know her. The trolls made me forget about her powers."

I stopped and turned to look at Rapunzel. She had her thinking face on and I wasn't so sure she had heard me. "Punzel?" I waved a hand at her face.

She blinked. "Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking." She paused and really looked at me. "You might have a point there, but I don't think you are entirely right. More to entirely wrong."

Wait, what? "Wait, what?"

She sighed. "But it's really not my place to tell you Anna. You really have to talk to your sister. You and Elsa are the only ones who can sort this out."

"Oh, no no no no. You can't just tell me all the thinking I had been doing for hours is wrong and then not tell me why or what's the right reason. You have to tell me!"

"I can't, Anna. This is not my affair. I can't say anything for sure, but from what I've gathered I really believe you should talk to you sister." She grabbed my arms. "It will be hard. We both know how difficult Elsa can be, but you have to do it. You have to convince her to talk to you. Nice things never happen when Elsa is desperate."

That took me by surprise. I didn't think it was that serious. "Wait. So you think there is something terribly wrong."

She squinted her eyes and stared at me. "Perhaps. Why did you put it this way?" She let go of me.

"About half an hour ago I met Olaf outside of the ballroom. I had just come back from looking for Elsa. He looked distraught. When I asked him what was wrong he told me he could feel something was terribly wrong. By what he told me, I presumed it had something to do with a prince. I asked him to find that prince so I could talk to him."

"Well, that might have been a waste of time." She pointed to something behind me and, turning around, I saw Olaf skipping across the room, smelling each and every flower. I rolled my eyes.

"I'll look personally for that prince later, then."

She actually laughed at that. "Oh, no, you won't." And at my confused face she added. "Newlywed, remember?"

What was she sayin- Oh! Kristoff. Yeah. That. Right. I blushed and looked down. Rapuzel just kept on laughing. Suddenly, I felt a light tap on my shoulder and I turned around to be faced with Gerda.

"Your Highness, I see that you've returned without the Queen." She looked me over. "And, if I may add, I little bit of a mess as well." I rolled my eyes at her. "What should we do about the feast and the toast?"

"Tell them to start sitting everyone and serving."

"And what about the speech?"

"Rapunzel will do it."

That got her to stop laughing and to suddenly tackle me to the ground. "Yes! I'll do it. I'll do it! And it will be the best speech ever!" We started giggling and laughing, while Gerda just suppressed a smile and rolled her eyes at our childish antics.