Disclaimer: Raiponce et La Reine des Neiges sont la propriété de Disney.

Chapter 10: Trust exercises Part 1

"Wow! So you two are from Corona? That's amazing!"

If Maximus and Pascal were saying anything with their looks towards one another, Olaf didn't catch them.

It was the morning after the winter in Arendelle had ended at the hands of his creator, Queen Elsa. Olaf had just spent the night walking around the kingdom and town, taking in all the sights and sounds of the summery home of his creator and her sister. Being a snowman, Olaf didn't need to go through the habits of human beings: resting, sleeping, nourishment for the sake of nourishment, and whatever else they did. So ever since his creation, Olaf was wide awake and full of energy. As such, he continued jabbering away to the horse and chameleon he had met yesterday. The two had just woken up and were now at the stable where they were during the first night.

Maximus neighed, to which Olaf responded "Oh, well, Queen Elsa created me, so I guess some of her knowledge was imparted onto me. That's how I know what Corona is."

Pascal chirped, to which Olaf also responded "I don't know…can Elsa understand animals? I was able to talk to Sven just fine." Pascal chirped again and Olaf looked surprised, pushing his head up to the stunned duo. "Your princess can understand you? My gosh, does she have magic to understand you?"

Maximus and Pascal stared at each other again and the two turned around to converse with each other. Olaf remained in his comical pose, face of surprise still etched on his head. The two turned around a few seconds later and Maximus neighed again.

"Oh, so you, nice chameleon, just lived with your princess and she just picked up communicating with you?" asked Olaf with curiosity. Pascal nodded and Olaf crossed his stick arms in deep thought. Maximus and Pascal stared at Olaf before the snowman wildly laughed. "Oh well! Maybe if it is magic, nobody needs to explain it!"

"Anyway, horse and chameleon, it was nice seeing you again! I'll head back to town. We should talk again about your home and other places with wonderful summers! Like Uganda! I don't know where that place is but I hear it has a great summer there!"

Olaf turned around and waddled away. While still walking forward he yelled "Bye, uh…what are your names?"

Maximus and Pascal neighed and chirped respectively.

"Maximus and Pascal! OK! Bye Maximus and Pascal!"

As Olaf left and was out of sight, Maximus and Pascal looked at each other in bewilderment again. Just then they were interrupted by the stable-keeper coming in with horse feed (and apples, at Rapunzel's and Eugene's request). Pascal jumped off Maximus to scrounge around the stable for bugs.

"Live snowmen…" said the stable-keeper, shaking his head."Next thing they'll say is there are such things as trolls."

Week 1, Day 7 of the Fitzherbert's "Honeymoon".

Knock…knock…knock...knock

Eugene awoke with a start. So did Rapunzel.

"Yes?" asked Eugene. "Who is it?"

"It's Kai, Prince Eugene." said the aide. "Mr. Bjorgman is awaiting your presence in the courtyard and I am to escort you to him."

The couple looked at each other in puzzlement. "Who?" asked Eugene.

"Kristoff, sir. The royal ice deliverer?"

"Yeah, sure." sighed Eugene. "I'll be out soon." Eugene shuffled out of bed and started changing while Rapunzel sadly eyed her husband.

"Must you really do this?"

"It's Elsa's orders." he said dismissively. At that, Rapunzel threw off the bed covers and ran towards him, tossing away Eugene's shirt and shaking him by the shoulders.

"Orders nothing!" she said desperately. "She can't boss you around like that! What makes her so different that you need to do what she says? We're not even from Arendelle, can't you just bring that point up to her?"

Eugene stared at Rapunzel and her green watery eyes. He could put it off. He could absolutely refuse to do what Elsa ordered. But either way he felt bad.

"Rapunzel." he said, pulling her into an embrace. He didn't want to admit it, but she had a point. He could always ignore her orders completely. He could always refuse to go through with it and spend the rest of his time with Rapunzel, and finally have their blissful honeymoon after the harrowing events of the past few days. Truth be told, there was one way he could worm out of his "punishment", but he felt he didn't deserve to use it.

Rapunzel gave a shaky sigh. "It's just not fair. What kind of a queen is she to punish people outside of her kingdom? You didn't do anything bad to her, and neither did I."

"We did break her trust, though." pointed out Eugene.

Rapunzel stared at him, utterly confused. "Trust?" she asked. "What does trust have to do with this?"

The two sat down on their bed as Eugene rubbed Rapunzel's shoulders. "Listen, I don't think it's just a matter of politics and all of that. I think she is just...I dunno..."

"Dunno what?"

"Hurt."

"Hurt?" she repeated. "How?"

Eugene was about to open his mouth when there was a knock on the door again. "Prince Eugene?" called Kai. "If you are ready..."

"Coming!" said Eugene and, with a flash, he grabbed his discarded shirt and donned it as he went towards the door. Rapunzel was taken aback by her husband's swiftness and was still sitting on the bed. She looked agitated again.

"Wait!" she yelled. "You can't go! You still haven't told me why!"

"Rapunzel..." said Eugene exasperatedly."Trust me on this."

Rapunzel looked at him incredulously and was about to open her mouth before Eugene cut her off. "I can't explain it, but...just try to talk to Elsa again. I know you don't want to, but maybe you'll find out why then. Please?"

She closed her mouth, tears still spilling, before she silently nodded.

Eugene gave one last sad smile before he opened their bedroom door and left, shutting it behind him. Rapunzel stared for a few seconds at the door before throwing herself down on the pillows, sobbing.

"What's taking him so long? We should've gone to pick up the ice by now."

"Beats me. But what do you expect from a thief like Flynn Rider?"

"You're absolutely right, Sven."

Kristoff was leaning against his new sled, tapping his foot impatiently, while Sven was standing obediently attached to the sled's harness. He was not in a good mood; he tried to wake up Anna before he left but she thoroughly ignored him, and he was not able to sleep due to his mulling of the events the night before. But he put his thoughts aside as he clung to one fact: Flynn Rider was working for him now, and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

He was pacing around the fountain in the courtyard before he finally saw Rider being accompanied by Kai. "Here is Prince Eugene, Mr Bjorgman."

"Thank you Kai." said Kristoff, as the aide bowed and left. Kristoff took a look at Rider. He was wearing a green vest with a white shirt underneath, and beige pants. Kristoff noticed that Eugene looked a little sad and the ice man hesitated again. Kristoff was thinking about the princess, Rapunzel, but he straightened up and addressed the matter at hand.

"Well, Rider. Glad to see you finally showed up. You might as well have taken three months to get here."

Rider nodded as he stared up at Kristoff. "Sorry, I'm late. I had a few things to take care of first."

Kristoff scoffed as he said. "Forget it Rider, let's just get started. Our job today is to deliver ice around the kingdom. Because of the last blizzard, there are not a lot of orders for ice, but we are also running low." Kristoff walked towards his sled and grabbed a pickaxe, a saw and tongs. He tossed them behind his back unceremoniously at Rider, who was taken by surprise and failed to catch them.

Ignoring the clattering of tools and Rider picking them up, Kristoff continued "We will make our deliveries in the morning, and then come back here to pack for a trip to the East Lake and gather more ice." He pulled out a piece of paper that was given to him the day before by Elsa when he was made the Royal Ice Deliverer. "According to Elsa, I will lead a convoy of other ice harvesters and equipment to the lake and begin harvesting there. We will set up camp there and spend the night and the following morning, then return to Arendelle for it be stored and delivered."

He pocketed the paper and turned around to find Rider scooping up the items in his arms. "Well?" Kristoff asked. "Don't just stand there. Get your horse and your sled already."

"Right, right…" Rider sighed.

"And just to make sure you won't run off like a coward, I'll be keeping an eye on you. Don't think you'll be able to run away from me."

Rider, maintaining composure the whole time, flashed a brief look of anger that made Kristoff flinch, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "Don't worry," he muttered. "I won't be going anywhere." And with that, Rider walked towards the castle stables. Kristoff, confused, told Sven to stay put and followed.

"We've got work to do. Are you up for it?"

Maximus looked confused, and Eugene explained the details to the horse and Pascal. The two animals were in utter shock by the events of the previous night, and without preamble, Pascal jumped off Maximus and scuttled towards the castle. The two watched the chameleon run off, likely to go straight to Rapunzel, as the horse turned back to Eugene. Kristoff stood back, waiting impatiently.

"I'm not sure how long we'll be doing this," explained Eugene, "But we'll be doing this until Elsa and this guy says otherwise". Maximus neighed and gave a salute. Eugene smiled.

"Thanks buddy." he said as he patted the horse's mane. "I don't know what I'd do without you." Maximus neighed, and Eugene caught a hint of laughter. Eugene smiled again. He was grateful for Maximus's company; at least he had a friend to count on during what he was sure was going to be utter torture.

No thanks to-

"Are you about finished?" demanded Kristoff. Eugene and Maximus turned around, the latter giving Kristoff a filthy look. Without a word, the two Coronians walked past him. Kristoff was taken momentarily taken aback, then he followed them to the sheds where a sled was waiting.

She was in pain. She wanted to cry.

Everything around her was white and howling. She tried to find him, and attempted to shout and cup her mouth with her hands. To her utter horror, she felt the feeling in her hands disappear as she looked at them. She felt another sharp pain in her chest. She stumbled on, desperately searching for him and yelling out his name with whatever strength she had left.

She barely registered that the howling white suddenly stopped, because all of a sudden, far into the distance, there he was. Every movement she made toward him, and him toward her, was torture beyond imagination. The tears from the pain quickly ran down her cheek and were solidified in seconds, but these were also tears of happiness. She was going to make it...

Suddenly, she heard a scraping of metal that diverted her attention. She turned to see-

No.

She turned back towards him. For the briefest of moments she hesitated. Whatever part of her brain was not gone yet made a decision.

No.

Pain? What pain? It was as if she was immune to it. It was nothing. Nothing mattered to her now, except-

The last of her strength flung her into the path of the metal, and her vision fogged.

"NOOOOOOOO-" yelled Anna...

"-OOOOOOO!" ...as she woke up, flush with sweat and panting heavily. She quickly ran out of her bed and stumbled into her room's water closet. Slightly manic from her nightmare, Anna ran her hands under the faucet and peered at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was chalk white with fear, and her hair was completely untidy and sticky with sweat, but it was all blonde. No white streak in sight. Anna sighed as she calmed down and turned off the faucet, color returning to her face.

She went back to her bed and tried to sleep, but to no avail. Anna grumbled as she went to her window and drew back the curtains to see the village across the castle already awake too. People walked out of their houses, men of the household went off to their jobs, and the marketplace was beginning to have its stalls set up for another day of commerce. Anna looked back to check the hanging clock on her wall; it was just a few minutes past 6:30am. Her attention was diverted by the sound of the gates opening, and Anna brightened up at the thought of them being open again. But she looked down, saw and remembered.

There went Kristoff, on his new sled pulled by Sven. And trailing behind him was Eugene, also on a sled pulled by another horse. Anna shook her head. She was still angry at Kristoff for being the cause of all this trouble, for pretty much ruining her friends' honeymoon, and was disgusted by the amount of joy Kristoff seemed to take in this. In a way, she also took pleasure in him being gone for a good portion of the day. She really did not feel like talking to him right now.

Instead, she had other plans. She quickly ran water, bathed herself, put on a simple dress and brushed her hair a bit, and dashed out of her room.

Elsa walked with Kai and Gerda, the two giving her royal itinerary for the day. She was to meet with the remaining dignitaries that were still staying in Arendelle, and she was to meet with the village representative to discuss and catch up on the past three years and various problems in the village, such as reconstruction after the blizzard, and the possibilities of her powers being used for the betterment of Arendelle. The village representative, according to Kai and Gerda, was also the local theater director.

They had reached the main hall and staircase when they ran into Anna. "Oh, Anna. Good morning." Anna stopped short, hesitant to reply back.

Elsa sensed where this was going and turned to Kai and Gerda. "Please tell the dignitaries I will be with them shortly." The two heads of household nodded, greeted Anna, and walked off towards the conference room. Elsa and Anna stood opposite each other for a few seconds, deaf silence in-between them.

"So..." mumbled Anna, twiddling her thumbs. "'Morning, Elsa." Elsa nodded back, trying to smile.

"So what have you got lined up for today?"

"Well, I'll be meeting with the remaining dignitaries and finalizing diplomatic agreements. I'm also heading to the village to meet with some of the people there." replied Elsa.

"Good...good..." said Anna, not making direct eye contact with Elsa. Elsa hesitated again, trying her best to handle the incoming elephant in the room.

"And you, Anna?"

"Me? Well, today I'll be with...you know."

"Of course." Elsa turned around and walked off before she threw caution to the winds.

"Anna, look. I'm sorry for what happened last night. Really, I am, but I had to do it."

Anna was taken aback at the bluntness before she retorted, trying her best to keep calm "But why, Elsa? You're queen; shouldn't you have the power and authority to do whatever you want? You can just revoke Eugene's sentence and everything will be fine."

"It's not that simple Anna. You must understand this; a queen just can't simply do what she wants with her power. Especially me, with my powers and all. I need to know how to use my royal powers responsibly and with great control. I do not want to come off as a spoiled dictator. You understand?"

Anna nodded, still disappointed, and turned away to face a nearby suit of armor. She stared at a spider that was coming out of the armor before she continued "That still doesn't answer why you have to be hard on Eugene and-"

Elsa interrupted before Anna finished "I had to do it Anna."

"But...why?" Anna asked again, finally staring directly at her.

Elsa hesitated and mulled it over. Truthfully, she did not know why. Or rather, she could not bring it to words why. Last night, she was extremely hurt by what she found out from the Coronian royals. Thinking back she thought the sentence was a little too harsh, especially for a person that was technically not under her jurisdiction. But she can't turn back on it now.

"It's because...because..." she sighed again."Look, Anna, please listen. I need to think this through. But can you please do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Please get Rapunzel to open up again. I think, after what happened last night, she must hate me right now. She likely won't want to talk to me again for the rest of her stay."

Anna was stunned. "Hate? I don't know, doesn't that seem to be going too far for her?"

"Whatever the case, I need to be on her good side. I really honestly don't know myself why I did what I did, but when I'm ready, I want to talk to her personally. And you will be there with me."

"OK..." Anna was still puzzled. "I-I'll see what I can do."

Elsa nodded. "One more thing, then I'll be on my way."

"What?" asked Anna. Without preamble, Elsa ran to her with a hug as she pleaded. "Please, Anna. Don't hate me too. We just got back together again after all these years. I won't want us to be separated again because of this. Please...please..."

Anna was surprised, and then smiled as she hugged her back. "Oh, sis. Don't worry. I don't hate you. I can never hate you. I promise to help you in this, whatever you need." The two sniffed as they dabbed the tears from their eyes. The two broke apart as Anna said "Besides, we're siblings. Siblings always end up fighting at one point or another."

Elsa gave a small shaky laugh as she continued dabbing at her eyes. "Thank you Anna."

"Don't worry, I'll talk to Rapunzel. We're already close and I'm sure she has no beef with me. I'll try and get her to talk to you again."

Elsa smiled, all worries gone. The two gave a brief hug again, broke apart and said their farewells to each other without a word.

Anna stared off at the hallway that Elsa went down. Emboldened and happy that the forced drama with Elsa was done with, she hastened to Rapunzel's room.

She reached it just in time to notice-

"Hey, aren't you that chameleon from the night of the coronation?" The chameleon looked up at her in surprise. Anna knelt down at the floor and scooped it up. "You're still pretty adorable. Are you here to see Rapunzel too?"

The chameleon nodded, and Anna nodded back, and did a double take. "Wait, you can understand me?"

Another nod. "Ha ha, that's cool. So I'm not crazy and I was not just imagining it. Are you Rapunzel's pet?"

Another nod. "I see. What's your name?"

The chameleon chirped, to which Anna replied "I...don't understand that." Anna laughed. The chameleon shook its head. "Well, anyway. Let's go see Rapunzel, shall we?" The chameleon nodded, and Anna faced the door and gave a knock.

"Rapunzel?" There was no answer. Anna and the chameleon looked at each other before Anna knocked again. "Rapunzel? Are you in there?"

There was still no answer. Anna put her ear to the door to hear the sounds of sniffles and crying. She hesitated before the chameleon gave another nod, and she opened the door.

There she was on her bed, her face buried into the pillows as she was crying and sobbing. The chameleon jumped off of Anna's hand and scuttled towards Rapunzel and onto the bed. It appeared that she did not hear them entering. The chameleon climbed onto her back and rubbed it while chirping.

"Oh...hi Pascal. I'm so happy t-t-to see you." Rapunzel gave a shaky sniff as she stood up and cupped him in her hands, rubbing his head.

"So that's his name? Pascal?" asked Anna. Rapunzel gave a sharp gasp as she quickly set Pascal on the bed and covered herself with a blanket.

"Ah! Anna. H-hi. Good morning."

"Good morning to you too, Rapunzel. So, Pascal's his name?"

"Yes, it is. He's always been here for me."

Anna smiled, and then cleared her throat. "So, are you alright?" Rapunzel's smile was wiped off her face and she seemed to deflate. She bowed her head and threw off her blanket. The only answer she gave was a sniff as the tears began anew. Pascal jumped back on Rapunzel's shoulder and started to chirp sounds of sympathy.

Anna turned back and closed the door before she went to the bed and sat down next to Rapunzel. She made a move to touch her shoulder, but Rapunzel jerked out of her reach and slid further away from her. "Rapunzel, don't worry. I'm sure Eugene will be fine. If the story you told us last night is true, your husband is made of tough stuff."

"It's not j-j-just that," Rapunzel said between breaths. "Wh-who knows what other guy is doing? That iceman. I'm sure he's going to give him a hard time. I just know it..."

Anna hesitated, thought about it, and then replied "I don't think Kristoff will give him that much trouble." Anna gave a small laugh as she remembered. "He may seems a little socially impaired and grumpy when he talks, but deep down he's got a good heart." Rapunzel looked up in surprise as Anna plowed on.

"I guess that's just the way he was, you know. When he used to be alone, with nobody really to take care of him, he just had Sven. Sure, Bulda and Cliff was there, but most of the time it was just him and Sven. But I'm serious, Rapunzel. Kristoff is really a nice guy. I'm happy he and I are together, but I don't know if I'm ready to fall in love properly. Not after all what happened with Hans. Can Kristoff and I even stay in the same room yet? I mean, that's just totally bizarre! I don't know how you and Eugene can do it, it just seems so weird and-"

Anna's monologue was interrupted by a small laugh. She turned around to find Rapunzel giggling. Her eyes were still a little red and puffy, but she was smiling. "What?" asked Anna.

"It's nothing" grinned Rapunzel. "But I do feel a little better now. Thanks". Anna smiled in return, and she attempted to embrace Rapunzel again. The latter did not hesitate as the two hugged, Anna rubbing Rapunzel shoulders and ironing out her last bit of pain. Pascal stared at the two princesses with interest.

"I just hope you'll be right about Kristoff, Anna." said Rapunzel. The two broke apart. "According to Eugene, the first time they met he wasn't anything like you said."

"I trust him enough that he won't fly off the handle. He is most certainly not the kind of person to make other people's lives miserable."

"That's good. But-ugh. No offense Anna, but after what happened last night, trust is certainly something I don't associate with your sister anymore."

Anna braced for this and did her best to calm Rapunzel down. "Rapunzel, I think Elsa's just under the weather right now-"

"Under the weather nothing." she retorted. "What right does she have to punish Eugene? He didn't do anything wrong to her. I didn't do anything either. Why can't she see that? You know Eugene said the same thing too before he left. He told me to try and talk to her, but forget it. If she wants to talk, SHE should be the one to come here!" Rapunzel was flush with anger as she turned around, panting.

Anna waited.

"I'm-I'm sorry," apologized Rapunzel. "I just really don't want to talk to Elsa right now. After what's been happening these past few days, I don't know if I'll ever forgive her."

"I forgave her." whispered Anna. "I forgave her for a lot of the things she's done. She's my sister and best friend. And aren't sisters and best friends supposed to forgive?"

Rapunzel gave no response. Anna realized she wasn't going to get anywhere like this and decided to take another approach. "Come on, let's go".

"Go? Where?"

"Oh I dunno, just around." smirked Anna. "You're my guest and I'll give you the time of your life. Forget about Elsa right now and just relax."

"Fine." said Rapunzel crossly.

"Ooooh, trust me. I'll be showing you around the castle, and later the kingdom. In fact," said Anna. "Come with me!"

And without preamble, Anna grabbed Rapunzel's arm and dragged her out. Pascal jumped on her shoulders just in time as the door swung closed.

The two princesses spent the rest of the morning in the castle. First, the two went to Anna's room, where Rapunzel was given a bath using Anna's cosmetics. At Anna's insistence, Rapunzel tried on her clothes. Soon enough, Rapunzel forgot her troubles and just gave herself to the fun. The two ran back to Rapunzel's room and grabbed her clothes and swapped. Rapunzel also brought her sewing kit and taught Anna how to sew, creating a lot of failed and misshapen lumps of fabric that ended up going to Pascal. The two laughed heartily as Pascal looked unimpressed with Anna-made dress wear.

Later the two did each other's hair. With help from the castle barber, Anna and Rapunzel essentially switched hairstyles. Anna showed Rapunzel around the castle to her favorite places to hang out as a child: The library with the ornate grandfather clock, the portrait room (Where Anna introduced a bemused Rapunzel to "Joan"), and the gardens. Gerda brought the two loafs of bread from the kitchen and the two fed them to a duck and her ducklings.

"So how are you able to understand Pascal?" asked Anna, as the last loaves of bread were tossed in the river. Pascal was next to the pond, lashing his tongue out to get some grub.

"Come to think of it, I don't really know myself" laughed Rapunzel. "One day when I was a child Pascal just crawled up to my room and started eating the bugs in there. I guess we just stuck together and we started to communicate since then."

"But can you, like, REALLY understand him?" implored Anna. "When I talked with him awhile all he did was nod and shake his head. When he would chirp I had no idea what he said."

"Well..." mulled Rapunzel."I actually kind of do understand him. I guess we've been together for such a long time, I eventually understood him. It was because of him that Eugene and I found out about Hans's plot. It's strange to explain, to be honest. But regardless, Pascal has always been there for me in a bind, and is kind of like my conscience."

Pascal just slurped up a cricket and rushed back to Rapunzel's shoulder. "You know," said Anna "That kind of what Kristoff does. He has this habit of talking to his reindeer Sven, even making up his own voice for him. I don't know if Sven ever understood it, but he would play along and the two would be fine."

Rapunzel laughed. "Hey, maybe I can do that with Pascal, too!" She cleared her throat and said, in the dopiest voice possible "Hey, Rapunzel? Is it OK if we talk like this from now on?"

There was a long silence as the two princesses stared at Pascal. The two awaited a response. All Pascal gave was a small chirp and an unimpressed look. Rapunzel laughed, knowing that that it is so not OK to talk like that.

"He says that it is so not OK to talk like that," said a voice.

The two gave a start as Rapunzel looked around in alarm. Anna however knew who it was. "Olaf? Is that you?"

"Yes!" said Olaf's voice. "Hi Anna!"

"Where are you?"

"Just in these bushes. I'm observing all this greenery and bugs up close."

Pascal gave a chirp to nobody in particular, to which Olaf's voice responded. "Hi Pascal! Nice to see you again. Sure, I'll grab some of those bugs for you. You sure do eat a lot, it's surprising you're not fat." Pascal let loose a string of angry chirps in protest.

"Wait, this Olaf man can understand Pascal too?" asked a stunned Rapunzel. "How is this possible? He's only really ever conversed with me."

"Er-well, see, it's-" stammered Anna. Then Olaf jumped out of the bushes in front of Pascal and the princesses.

"Oh that's simple! See, Elsa created me. She has magic, so somehow I must have gotten the power to understand animals. That's how I can understand Pascal here. He's a really nice chameleon to talk to, actually."

Anna took a deep breath as she looked sideways at Rapunzel, who stared at Olaf at a loss for words.

"Oh, you must be the princess that Pascal was talking about." Olaf jumped with his stick arms out and exclaimed "Hi, I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"

Rapunzel promptly fainted.

A few minutes later, the princesses, Pascal and Olaf were at on top of the castle's roofs, observing the scenery, taking in the fresh air and (In Olaf's caste) sunbathing. Rapunzel was properly introduced to Olaf again, and had a much better reception towards him than at the pond. Later, by lunch time, Rapunzel brought Anna to the kitchens to prepare Hazelnut Soup with Pascal's help. Anna, as Rapunzel expected, loved it and continued eating and eating. Rapunzel and Pascal slapped a high five. All Olaf did, as he could not eat, was bask in its heavenly scent.

By the afternoon nearly at 1PM, the princesses decided to go around the village. They took Anna's two-man bicycle and rode across the moat. The villagers waved to them, happy to see Anna around and about for the first time in forever. Rapunzel waved too and, if it was possible, attracted more waves because of Rapunzel's good deeds during the storm. Anna grinned back at Rapunzel and she smiled in return.

They turned around a bend near the kingdom's gates to notice a large crowd of men and horses standing by. Rapunzel saw they had tons of bulky equipment, saws and picks. "Hey, Rapunzel." said Anna. "They must be the ice harvester convoy that Kristoff was talking about." Rapunzel nodded without a word. The two propped up the bike and walked towards them.

The harvesters were silent when they saw Anna.

"Oh, Princess Anna!"

"It is good to see you, your highness."

"We will do our best to bring ice back."

"Thank you, thank you." said Anna. She cleared her throat as she hesitated to speak. Rapunzel gave her a nudge and thumbs up and Anna continued "Brave men of Arendelle, I-er, wish you godspeed and the best of luck on your trek!" The harvesters waited for more, but got none and awkwardly clapped, with help from an enthusiastic Rapunzel.

"Thank you," said Anna. "Well then, carry on." The harvesters got back to work. Rapunzel walked up to her as Anna exhaled. "That was a good try," she encouraged.

"Whew, speech making is hard. I sure hope I'll get the hang of it later on." laughed Anna.

"Rapunzel?" The two looked up and saw Eugene, tired, wet and haggard, but still standing.

"Eugene!" gasped Rapunzel as the Coronians embraced each other. Anna smiled.

"Well, I think I'll leave the two of you alone then." she said, as she sauntered off. Eugene and Rapunzel broke apart as Eugene examined her.

"Wow," he laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I might as well have been hugging Anna." Rapunzel smiled shyly as she fidgeted with her hands behind her back.

"I'm just so happy you're OK." said Rapunzel. "But it looks like you'll be going away for a while. Where's Maximus?"

"Over there," pointed Eugene. Rapunzel saw that Maximus was attached to a sled, staring enviously at the other horses. Maximus seemed absolutely miniscule next to them. The two walked up to him and Rapunzel patted him affectionately. Each of the sleds and equipment were in single file, and Eugene's was near the tail-end of the convoy.

"Will you be alright? Has that iceman been giving you a hard time?" she asked.

"Not really." admitted Eugene. He and I just ignored each other during the ice deliveries. But I'll keep an eye out for trouble once we hit the forests on the way to the lake." Rapunzel was unconvinced, and Eugene held her hands. "Listen, I don't want you to worry yourself sick over me. You seem to be doing well for yourself right now."

"That's right." said Rapunzel. "Anna helped me since this morning and I've never felt better. But..."

"But what?"

"I'm still not sure if I want to talk to Elsa. It is still not fair that she's forcing you to this. Do I really need to talk to her?"

"Well," said Eugene as he got onto the sled. They would be leaving soon. "I'd say it's your call. If you don't want to talk to her, I can understand. But whatever decision you make I hope you'll be ready to accept it. Just think about it, won't you?"

"OK" said Rapunzel, grudgingly. "And you be careful. Maximus, keep an eye on him, will you?" Maximus neighed and saluted. Rapunzel climbed up and Eugene knelt down and kissed.

Meanwhile, Anna was searching for Kristoff and found him at the front talking with Sven. The two were sharing a carrot.

"Hi Kristoff."

Kristoff started and stared at her, surprised. "Er, hi Anna. Uh, wow, you, uh-look, uh-" Anna smiled, and Sven poked Kristoff. The iceman promptly changed his voice. "You look beautiful, Anna!"

"Thanks for the compliment, Sven" giggled Anna, and she patted Sven's nose. Kristoff went up to her. "So everything's going well so far. We've made all our deliveries. Rider surprisingly was no trouble, but I don't know. He might start something during this trip. I've asked every harvester to be wary and on their guard."

Anna shook her head. "When are you going to give this up Kristoff? Isn't it obvious by now that Eugene has no intention of harming and stealing from anyone anymore?"

"You never know," Kristoff warned. "I'm just making sure. I don't trust him at all."

"Rapunzel trusts him," reminded Anna. "She's his wife. What kind of a wife would she be if she doesn't trust him?"

"Well, if he's going to earn that trust for me, he's going to have to prove it." Kristoff clambered up to the sled.

"But that can't happen if you won't lay off him." pleaded Anna. Kristoff remained grumpy. "Kristoff, please. You can hate him all you want, but can you at least try to trust him? Give him a chance." Sven looked up to him and made a few sounds. Kristoff thought for a moment, and then sighed.

"Fine. I'll try to give him a chance. But no guarantees."

"Thank you." said Anna. "Oh by the way, Kristoff. Um, I've been thinking. I know that we are together and all, but I think maybe it's a little too soon for us to be sleeping together. I don't trust myself enough with fair judgment on love and I think I may have moved too soon."

Kristoff nodded. "So you're saying that you don't want us to stay together just yet?"

"Oh, no! Not like that!" stammered Anna. "I just mean, well, not in the same room at least. I'll ask to have a separate room set up for you, that's all. You can still stay in the castle if you want, but if you don't, I understand that too. I just don't know if we are ready to take our step to the next level. I mean, after what happened with Hans and all-"

Kristoff climbed down and kissed Anna, surprising her, and then she gave herself to it. After a few seconds they broke apart. "Anna. About what you said about trust? I know this much. I may not trust Rider, but I trust you. Whatever decision you make, I trust you do for a good reason."

Anna sighed and she and Kristoff gave goofy grins. He composed himself and cleared is throat. "Well, I'll be seeing you soon. Take care, Anna."

"You too Kristoff. Good luck."

Anna and Rapunzel stood at the side of the harvest convoy. Kristoff shouted something indistinguishable before each of the harvesters shouted in return. And off the convoy went. Eugene and Maximus departed last and followed. Eugene turned and waved farewell to Rapunzel. Rapunzel, fit to burst in tears, waved in return. And soon, the convoy was out of sight.

"He'll be alright," said Anna. "I talked to Kristoff. He'll try to take it easy on him."

"Thank you so much Anna." sniffed Rapunzel. "I don't know what I would've done without you." The two hugged again as the street became busy again with citizens.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Rapunzel.

"Beats me. This is the first time in a long time I've been out in the village. Let's just play it by ear." suggested Anna. The two princesses grinned as they hopped on the bike and sped off.

The day was far from over.

Author's Note: I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

Hope you enjoyed the new chapter and I also hope this makes up for the three month hiatus.

Don't forget to review! Any and all kind of feedback is welcome to improve my story-telling and give you a better story!