Once again, Anna was speechless. Only, this time her lack of words came from awe, not fear or sadness. This was her sister that she remembered as a child: this courageous, strong, magnanimous person was Elsa. And this was the first time Anna saw her since they were children. Even after the Great Thaw, the free-spirited Snow Queen was missing something… and this was it. It was that strength: that fierce determination to always stand between evil and her family. Anna knew she had inherited it from somewhere.

Without warning she embraced the Queen in a strong hug, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "I'm sorry I tried to change you, Elsa," she muttered into her sister's shoulder.

"I can see where you were coming from…" Elsa began.

"No," Anna clarified, pulling away so she could speak face-to-face, "I shouldn't have tried because I didn't have to. I was so afraid that I had lost my sister that I didn't realize that she was still there, maybe a little hidden under her past, but not gone."

"But, you did–"

"No, I didn't lose you. Do you know how I remember you, Elsa? As the bravest, strongest, warmest big sister who loved me so much that she would do anything to keep me safe. You promised me that, remember? And you've always done that, no matter what. Even now, you let yourself get attacked by a wolf just to save my butt… I guess fighting off scary shadow monsters was pretty simple compared to life now, huh?"

Elsa laughed softly. "Between that and all the things you did for me, I guess I can say that there really wasn't anything to be afraid of when we were kids. But, just for the record, I'll take fighting a shadow monster over a wolf any day."

As they shared in their amusement, Gerda returned with the fresh bandages. After Elsa's wound was dressed, she took Anna's order for lunch, which consisted of soup and a large plate of chocolate, much to the maid's annoyance. "We are trying to ward off sickness, not bring it about, Princess Anna," she sighed.

"Chocolate makes me feel better," Anna whimpered, using her puppy-dog eyes with full force.

"Your Majesty, please talk some sense into your sister," Gerda begged, trying not to look at the princess for fear of falling for her expression.

Elsa shrugged unhelpfully. "Actually, I wouldn't mind a treat myself," she said, "How about you bring up one plate of chocolate, and we'll share?"

Gerda sighed. "Yes, your Majesty. But I only fret over these things because I care about you."

"And we are very thankful, Gerda," Elsa told her earnestly. She cast a glance at Anna before gently nudging her arm.

"Ow! Oh, I…mean, thank you, Gerda," Anna said quickly.

Gerda rolled her eyes and suppressed a laugh as she left the room.

Once she was gone, Anna turned to Elsa again. "Going back to the wolf thing… I have a few questions for you," she said, fiddling with her fingers to avoid eye contact as she did, "First off: how exactly were you able to throw a wolf twice your size several feet across a clearing? Second: same question, only with that ice-club you made? Third: you fell off a thirty-foot cliff and just walked it off like it was nothing…how? Fourth–"

"Alright, alright!" Elsa interrupted, "There's more weird stuff about me that you don't understand yet: point taken. I…I don't really know, Anna."

Anna slowly poked Elsa's good arm as if she was inspecting it. "Maybe you are immortal, or maybe, like, a demi-god or something," she speculated.

"I'm not a demi-god," Elsa deadpanned.

"Well, how else would you explain super-strength? Or the ability to fall off of things and not get hurt?" She paused for a moment to think, while tapping her finger on her chin. "Now that I think about it, how in the blazes did you climb up the North Mountain so quickly? I mean, it took me and Kristoff like, two days to get up there, yet you had already moved in and made yourself comfortable."

"Anna…"

"Kristoff I could see climbing up there in no time because, you know, he's an experienced mountain man and knows the way, but with me dragging him down we were pretty slow. But at least I had someone who knew where they were going."

"Anna…"

"You were by yourself! And it was dark, and you were wearing your coronation dress with that crazy-long cape…that must have slowed you down, didn't it? But I guess you ditched it eventually for that ice dress–"

"Anna!"

Anna paused her monologue to look at her sister. "Yeah?"

"You're rambling again," Elsa said with a grin.

Anna smiled back at her. "Well? How'd you do it?" she asked innocently.

Elsa nervously bit her lip and looked away. "I…I really don't know, Anna. The things that you just described…I never really noticed until I was put into a situation that needed them," she explained softly, "I didn't know I was that strong until that wolf attacked me. I didn't know I could land on solid ice after a thirty-foot drop and not suffer any broken bones until it happened. I didn't know I could run that fast until I had cleared the tree line up in the mountains. Actually…do you want to know the weirdest thing about me?"

Anna leaned in closely and nodded her head with eagerness. "What is it?" she wondered. What could possibly be weirder than the fact that she was an ice sorceress?

Elsa took a deep breath before revealing, "I don't have to eat."

Anna cocked her head in confusion. "So, you're not hungry, or…?"

"No, I do not have to eat to survive, Anna. Th…there was a time a few years ago when I was just so nervous that I was constantly sick to my stomach. I hardly ate anything, yet I never seemed to suffer the symptoms other people get when they starve. So, after the anxiety died down a bit, I went two weeks without touching any food or water out of curiosity… and nothing happened. Granted, I lost some weight, but I never passed out, or felt tired or dizzy. I just…don't have to eat, and I'll still live."

Anna found herself once again staring like an idiot. After a painfully long pause, she stated bluntly, "Yep. You are a demi-goddess. I don't care what you have to say about it – it's the truth. And actually, that answered my question about how you were so ok with staying up on the North Mountain with, like, no supplies whatsoever."

Elsa laughed. "I would have learned how to hunt eventually," she said defensively.

Anna snorted with laughter. "You? Hunting? I'd pay money to see that!" she struggled to say as she nearly fell over with joy, "No, no, wait! I want to see you fishing! I bet you'd be a natural at ice fishing!"

Elsa crossed her arms in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," she sighed, "The next time you're being chased by a pack of wolves, don't expect me to help you."

Anna suddenly stopped and sat back up. "Ok, I'm sorry," she said quickly, "You were actually really awesome out there. Don't tell Kristoff this, but if I ever have to fight off dangerous creatures again, you're my first choice as a sidekick."

"Wha– Sidekick?" Elsa sputtered, visibly taken aback by the title, "I seem to recall you doing nothing but cowering behind me…not that I wanted you leaping into action and doing something stupid, but…" She trailed off when she noticed Anna's loving smile. "What's that look for?"

"For my sister," Anna replied calmly, "I'm glad to have you back, Elsa."

Elsa's smile grew as she leaned in and pulled her younger sister into a hug. "I'm glad to be back, Anna," she whispered. Anna responded by hugging her tighter, refusing to let go for another few minutes.

Gerda then knocked on the door once again before entering with a tray of chicken soup and chocolate. "Now I want you to eat all of that soup before you even touch those chocolates, Princess Anna," the maid said strictly, noticing Anna's hand reaching toward one of the delectable treats. Anna sighed in annoyance while Elsa struggled to contain a giggle. Gerda was the only member of their staff who could get away with speaking to either of them like that, since she had practically acted like their grandmother ever since they were born. Even Kai, though the butler had been in their lives just as long, still found himself bound more by his job than any sort of caregiver feelings he had for them.

"Don't worry, Gerda," Elsa assured her, "I'll make sure she does. Although she'd better hurry and finish that soup, otherwise all of these chocolates will be gone." With that she took a round piece of milk chocolate and popped it in her mouth, casting Anna a sly smile as she savoured the taste.

"Hey, no fair!" Anna whined. She then picked up the bowl of soup and began to down it as fast as she could.

Gerda rolled her eyes as she left them to their own devices. As she left the room, she cast one final glance at the royal siblings. They were no longer the regal Queen or the adventurous Princess: they were Elsa and Anna – two sisters full of love and happiness. "I'm glad to know that some things don't change," the maid murmured to herself. She stepped out into the hall and her eyes fell upon the portrait of the late King and Queen at its end, watching protectively over their youngest daughter's door. "You two would be very proud," Gerda sighed.

What the maid, or anyone for that matter, did not know was that those words were truer than anything. The vow made on the deck of that doomed ship three years ago held strong even to this day: King Adgar and Queen Idun never left their daughters, and they could not be prouder or happier for their girls.