Chapter 11:

Back to Normal

Ever since the talk she had with Kristoff, Elsa had felt much better around him. No longer did she have those romantic feelings whenever he was near, and no longer did she go out of her way to avoid him. She was so thankful that Kristoff was so understanding; he really did know how to make someone feel good. She was lucky to have him as a friend.

One evening, Elsa knocked on Anna's door to see if she was there.

"Anna, would you like to play a game of chess with me?" she asked. "It's been a while since we last played."

The door opened, and Anna stepped out wearing a bright green dress, makeup, and a pair of earrings.

"I wish I could, Elsa, but Kristoff is taking me out to dinner tonight," she said.

"Oh. That's alright. We can always play another time," Elsa said, surprised to see that her sister had other plans. You have fun though!"

"Thanks. I'm sure we will."

Anna met Kristoff in the entrance hall; the ice harvester was dressed in his best attire; a new suit that Anna had custom-made for him a while back.

"Well, don't you look handsome," she said, admiring her boyfriend.

"And you my dear are the most beautiful woman in all of Arendelle," Kristoff said, kissing her softly on the cheek.

"So where are we going tonight?" Anna asked, excitedly.

"It's a surprise," Kristoff answered. "Come on, I have a carriage waiting for us out front."

The two climbed into the back of the carriage, and Kristoff instructed the driver where to take them. When they arrived, Kristoff made Anna close her eyes as he helped her out of the carriage.

"Ok. You can open your eyes now," he said.

When Anna did so, she saw dozens of small tables out by the pier. They were at the new restaurant that had opened up a few weeks ago. She'd been begging Kristoff to take her ever since.

"Oh, Kristoff, it's lovely!" she said, running to one of the tables.

"Allow me," Kristoff said, pulling her chair out for her to sit in.

"Why, thank you," Anna said, taking a seat.

A waiter came by, and handed each of them a menu. Anna ordered a glass of tea, and Kristoff ordered a glass of water. As they looked over the menu, Anna kept looking all around her, marveling at the scenery. "This is beautiful," she said. "An outdoor restaurant. Who would have thought?"

Kristoff smiled. "Glad you like it. Now let's just hope the food is just as good."

When the waiter returned with their drinks, Anna and Kristoff were ready to order. Anna decided to have the smoked salmon with a salad on the side. Kristoff ordered chicken with a side of mixed vegetables. Just as Kristoff had hoped, the food was delicious. Never in his life had he tasted chicken this good. Granted, he rarely had the dish to begin with. As the two ate, they talked about their day, and what they had planned for tomorrow.

"Tomorrow Elsa and I are going to a cottage in the woods where we used to go as kids," Anna said. "We haven't been there in years so it should be pretty fun."

"That's nice. I hope you two have fun," Kristoff said.

"Oh we will. There's a pond that we used to swim in near the cottage. I'm going to challenge her to a little race."

Kristoff laughed. "Let's just hope she doesn't freeze the whole pond before you get to the other side."

Anna laughed. "Oh she wouldn't dare. She knows I'd get her back somehow."

Kristoff liked seeing Anna this happy, especially when she was talking about Elsa. It didn't take a genius to see that the two of them were the best of friends. Next time I should invite Elsa out to dinner, Kristoff thought. Just her, me, and Anna. That would be a fun night. As he thought more about the future outgoing, Kristoff once again thought of the conversation he had with Elsa a week ago. He was glad that it had worked, and that she was no longer avoiding him. That was the last thing he wanted her to do. She was his friend, and she would always be his friend. A little slip of the lip didn't mean anything. We all make mistakes, nobody's perfect. In retrospect, it wasn't a big deal to begin with.

After dinner, Kristoff stood up and asked Anna if she would like to dance. The princess happily obliged, and let Kristoff lead her onto the end of the pier. Anna thought it was so romantic the two of them dancing together underneath the moonlight down by the pier. In the beginning, Kristoff had been very reluctant to dance with Anna. Not that he didn't care for dancing, he had done quite a bit of it over the years, it was just that he'd never danced with another human before, let alone a woman. But Anna assured him that he had nothing to worry about, and quickly taught him some moves. Before he knew it, Kristoff knew how to waltz.

As he danced with Anna, he was reminded of the dance he shared with Elsa months earlier. Dancing with Anna was lot swifter, and more fluid than dancing with Elsa was. Not that that was a bad thing, Anna was a very good dancer. But when he danced with Elsa that one day, it was slow, and easy, and very peaceful. He remembered the way she felt when he put his hand on her waist—cold, but not uncomfortably so.

As he and Anna ended their dance on the pier, he wrapped his arms around her, smelling the scent of the perfume on her neck.

"I love you, Kristoff," she said.

"I love you too, Elsa," Kristoff said. By the time Kristoff realized his mistake it was too late.

"Elsa?" Anna cried, letting go of Kristoff and looking him in the eye.

"I mean Anna. Sorry, it's just been a long day," he explained, hoping that she would buy the excuse. "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Oh. Ok then" Anna said softly.

"Would you like to dance again?" Kristoff asked.

"No, thank you. I'm pretty tired myself. Can we go home now?"

"Sure. I'll ready the carriage."

Kristoff walked over to the driver, and told him of their plans. He helped Anna into the carriage, and took a seat beside her, all the while cursing himself for what he said.

"Elsa? Elsa? Why in the world did he call her that? He knew perfectly well that it was Anna who he was dancing with, so why did he call her Elsa? Maybe it was because he had been thinking about the dance that they had shared together. His mind must have been focused so much on that, that he accidently said Elsa instead of Anna. That had to be it. His mind was just preoccupied.

When they arrived back at the palace, they saw Elsa waiting outside for them. She waved as Anna and Kristoff walked up the steps.

"Did you two have a good evening?" Elsa asked.

"Yes. It was lovely," Anna said. "But I think I'm going to go to bed now. I'm pretty tired."

"Alright. Good night, Anna," Elsa said, giving her sister a hug.

"Good night, Elsa."

After she left, Elsa turned to Kristoff. "It seems like you two had a good time."

"It was nice. I'd definitely go back there again." Kristoff again thought about what he had said on the pier.

"Something wrong?" Elsa asked, noticing him staring off into space.

"It's nothing. I'm just thinking about the deliveries I got to make tomorrow."

"Oh. I see."

"Good night, Elsa."

"Good night, Kristoff."

As she watched the ice harvester leave, Elsa could tell that something was troubling him. Had something happened on his date with Anna that he didn't want her to know about? If so, what was it? It must have been pretty serious if he didn't have the courage to tell her. But Kristoff had no reason to feel this way. He knew that she was his friend, and was there to talk to him anytime he needed someone to talk too. He was there when she needed advice, and now it was her to turn to return the favor.

A/N: Slip of the tongue or a true confession? You decide. Next chapter will focus primarily on Anna and Elsa.