A/N: Yikes! This was a tricky chapter to start off. Hopefully, it's alright.

Elsa was brushing her long, luxurious platinum blonde hair. She watched herself in the mirror of the vanity as she brought her hairbrush down the length of her wavy locks and made sure not skip over tough knots. Lucky for her, she didn't have wild hair like Anna. Her sister's hair was a beast of its own.

She remembered fondly the first time they had shared a bed together before they returned to sharing a room together. That was in a time and place before they knew Kirsten and Karen; a time when they had their own private sleepover with each other. Everything seemed so simple and pleasant then, but now times were changing and Elsa had to be prepared for the Winter Ball.

Unlike her coronation ball, Elsa felt she would have to be obligated to dance at least once with some stranger, possibly someone who would want to try to be one of her suitors. But even they would be wasting their effort for Elsa would doubt she would want to entertain any thoughts of a possible courtship and eventually marriage. She simply wasn't for such an idea of getting "romantically" involved with anybody. Her main focus currently was building her relationship with Anna. She would want to make up for lost time and gain new time with her little sister before things changed in their lives drastically so much that they wouldn't have nearly as much time for the other as they do now.

While Elsa was stuck in her thoughts of what the future might bring, Kirsten rose from the ground and stretched out her limbs. She sleepily looked down at the two youngest of the group and found Karen quite content with the absence of her sister's body on her side whereas Anna' fidgeted a bit in her sleep. Kirsten noticed how dependent and accustomed Anna had become of Elsa's presence. To Kirsten's observation, Elsa's physical presence so close to her younger sister was the equivalent to Anna seeking comfort and warmth from a blanket to keep the coldness and darkness away from her body and mind. With this to think about, Kirsten suspected that without Elsa Anna wouldn't be as content with her life if she only had her friends and Kristoff to depend on for joy, whimsy and simple pleasure to experience in life. Kirsten was almost tempted to notify Elsa of this issue, but then realized Anna was not in any danger of being emotionally deprived of her sister's comforting body and so she made her way to her friend whom was her elder on a technicality and was not only the sole ruler of a peaceful and prosperous kingdom but also the role model among the four (or five) of them. Kirsten may have made it obvious, but she would look toward Elsa as her role model in secret when she had recently been trouble by how to resolve issues either for herself, her sister, or between each other.

Kirsten carefully stepped forward and leaned slightly over Elsa's right shoulder and looked at her through the mirror. The curl of a playful smile inched up the brunette's face.

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

Elsa glanced up at Kirsten in the mirror and smirked indicating she would play along.

"Good morning, Princess Kirsten. What brings you here to my vanity? Do you need something?"

Kirsten chuckled. "No, I'm good. Thank you though."

Elsa went back to focusing on brushing her hair.

"So, Kirsten, what brings you here? I thought you'd like to sleep a little longer."

"Well, it seems to me that both of us are early risers."

"Indeed we are." Elsa paused to look at Kirsten. "Would you like to join me on the bench?"

"That would be nice."

Elsa scooted to her left to make room for Kirsten and patted the empty space on the bench.

"Come join me then."

Kirsten glided right on the bench on Elsa's side with as much grace and tact that she knew. She spotted an extra hairbrush and gestured to it.

"May I?"

"You may."

Kirsten picked up the brush and began running it through her chestnut locks. Both Elsa and Kirsten looked at their reflections and the others' while carrying on the conversation.

"So, Elsa."

"Yes, Kirsten?"

"I've noticed how Anna twitches in her sleep while you're away from her physically."

"I'm only a few feet away from her though."

"That's not what I meant. I meant to say that you are not right there beside her. Is that new or has this happened beforehand?"

Elsa glanced over her shoulder in the mirror to spot Anna on the floor. She saw no suspicious movement at first, but when she waited for a time she saw Anna twitch a little. She went back to looking at hers and Kirsten's reflections.

"It must be a new reaction Anna has."

"Do you think it's because she's so used to having you right beside her during sleep that her body reacts negatively when your body is no longer present or is it possible she might be having a fitful dream?"

"I hope she's not having a nightmare. I loathe those moments when I have to wake Anna from a frightening dream. I don't like the idea that my sister is plagued by such dreams in the first place. I only wish for her to have pleasant ones."

"I understand your plight, Elsa, but we can't always prevent bad things from happening to our loved ones. Sometimes it's necessary for them to experience such things. All we can do is to be there for them and pray they get through the ordeal without much emotionally scarring left to heal."

"I suppose so. But, Kirsten, do you actually believe it's possible Anna might be twitching because she misses my body next to hers?"

"It's quite possible considering your relationship with her."

Elsa seemed pensive as she allowed Kirsten's words to sink in.

Kirsten went on to say, "I mean, you two are very close for siblings especially those who have been estranged for a significant amount of your formal years and I don't mean to put you down but I still just find it astonishing how well you and Anna have rebounded and mended the bond between the two of you so quickly.

Elsa thought for a moment before replying.

"Well, it seems to me that Anna and I have always had a natural attraction toward each other. I recall what my mother said to me when I was four that Anna and I had this engraved attraction to each other as sisters and as friends and that's why we instantly bonded when we met."

"Do you feel you and Anna have a very unique and close relationship as sister so much so that one might be jealous of your relationship?"

"Who's jealous and of what are they jealous about?"

"Well, he's not directly jealous, but Kristoff does feel a bit inadequate as Anna's partner seeing as she clings to you more often than to him."

"Kristoff's jealous of me?"

"He's not jealous of you in so many ways, but he does feel like second fiddle to you when it comes to receiving love and affection from Anna."

"But doesn't he know that there are different kinds of love and that people express those loves in different ways?"

"I told him that the last time Karen and I were here and he is getting it, but I fear he's not fully convinced."

"Why?"

"Let's see this in an objective view point, Elsa."

Kirsten had put down her hair brush and faced Elsa in which she got an equal response.

"Let's consider yours and Anna's relationship with each other as sisters. What do you two do? How far does your relationship go? Is your cuddling and picnicking the extent of your physical relationship with each other or is there more to it?"

"Well, as you may know, Anna and I also link arms together while walking side-by-side, we share goodnight kisses on either the forehead, cheeks, or nose or all of them if Anna feels especially touchy-feely and we occasionally hold hands while talking about our days and sharing secret jokes with each other."

"Is that all you two do?"

"We eat, sleep, read, and play together. We take turns doing things on the other's "days." For example, on Anna's days, we do more outdoor activities like horseback riding and throwing stones into the water. On my days, we play chess, drink tea and I read Anna a fairytale on a couch in front of a fire or an empty hearth with hot chocolate at our sides."

"Is there anything you two don't do together?"

"We don't bathe together. Well…except for that one time when-"

"My point, Elsa, is that you and Anna do an extraordinary amount of activities with each other for siblings. You do as many things as a regular couple would do."

"No, we don't."

"Are you sure, Elsa? Has Anna given you flowers or you have given her flowers on any given day?"

"No….However, Anna has given me flowers on days when we can't spend much time together and I give her flowers as a thank you for the flowers she gave to me or as an apology as to not being able to spend much time with her on a given day when I am busy from sunrise to moonrise."

Kirsten pursed her lips in jest. "Do you serenade each other and read romantic love poems aloud to each other too?"

"What? No! Anna and I are not a couple."
"I'm only teasing you, Elsa. But you have to admit you two seem to act like one."
"There's nothing wrong with what we do together as sisters. There are no rules as to what activities family members or lovers can and cannot do."

"You're right, Elsa. There's nothing wrong with what you and Anna do as sisters. Actually, many activities that family members and couples do are very much the same ones. There are only certain things couples can do with each other that families cannot do. Yet most families have more than two people so it's not as intimate or romantic as when a couple is together, but since your family is only you and Anna, Elsa, your relationship could be as intimate as a couple's relationship, but in a different way. However, there is the issue of how Kristoff may view your relationship with Anna. Do you see where I'm going with this, Elsa?"

"Yes…."

"And consider what both your priorities are. You and Anna have a strong desire to make up for lost time and to spend as much time with each other as possible. This doesn't affect your life that much as it would with Anna since she thought being happy meant leaving the castle gates away from you and find what she thought was "true love" with a man. Once she realized her flawed ways and thinking, she remedied her ways and reprioritized her life so you were her main priority which effectively left Kristoff pushed back as an "after-thought." But, of course, she only does this subconsciously. She is grateful for having Kristoff be in her life, but her subconscious makes her feel guilty of not thinking about your needs and the sacrifices you made for her during your thirteen years of estrangement in which she became naïve and oblivious to true nature of life. Once she realized that I think she is now holding back from Kristoff and taking things slow while he is stuck in a fairytale ending that he wants to happen soon but Anna is in reality."

"But Kristoff is a very logical and sensible man. Why would he be stuck in a fairytale land?"

"Maybe he had a certain grasp on reality before meeting Anna and then once he got to her, he not only found a new perspective of reality but also a perspective of fantasy. As soon as he got a taste of the sweet things in life, he wanted more and forgot what reality is. Both Anna and Kristoff were mentally isolated from society while interacting with the outside world through physical action. Right now, Anna is no longer mentally isolated from reality, but Kristoff is not. Until they get back on the same page with each other, they won't be a truly happy couple and in the meantime, Elsa, Kristoff might feel internally ignored by Anna and that you're stealing her from him. To be short, Kristoff wants to spend more time with Anna, but he thinks you're hogging her when the truth is Anna chooses you. You're not doing anything but being a wonderful sister to Anna and Kristoff needs to realize that. He also needs to communicate with Anna how he feels."

"Why hasn't he?"

"I have no idea. Maybe he'll figure out how to once he figures out how to deal with other people better. He's still on the anti-social spectrum and he needs to work on that."

"Oh. So, are you implying we should something about it?"

"No. But it wouldn't hurt for you to bring this to light to Anna."

"Should I do it now or wait until it's getting close to the winter ball?"

"Wait until it's getting closer to the winter ball. Maybe you should do so before we practice our dancing together as a group. That way Anna and Kristoff will hopefully resolve their issues as a couple."

"Okay. So, moving along from that….What do you suppose we shall do for the day?"

"Hm…I have no idea. Do you have any suggestions, Elsa?"

"What would you like to do? Should we go on a walk, go to town, have tea, or go horseback riding?"

"I think that whatever we choose to do it should be something we all like and it should be outside."

"How about horseback riding? We haven't done that as a whole group yet."

"I think that sounds like a promising group activity. We shall do that then."

"Good. Now, how about we wake up our sisters?"

"I think that is in order."

Both Elsa and Kirsten stood up from the vanity and walked over to their respective younger sisters and couched down near them. Kirsten gently shook Karen's shoulders and softly urged her to wake up. Karen opened her eyes and sat up straight stretching her arms behind her back. She looked toward her sister afterwards.

"Kirsten?"

"Good morning."

"Good morning. What time is it?"

"I would guess it's nine."

"Are Elsa and Anna awake yet?"

"See for yourself," Kirsten gestured toward Elsa and Anna for Karen's sight to follow.

Elsa brushed the copper fringe away from the Anna forehead and planted a feather-light kiss to the warm skin. Anna stirred in her sleep.

With an angelic yet firm voice, Elsa spoke to her sister. "Anna, wake up."

Anna stirred again and finally opened her eyes. She sat up and stretched her back before looking over at Elsa.

"Elsa?"

Elsa softly smiled at her younger sibling. "Good morning, Anna. Did you sleep well?"

"Good morning. No. Just moments ago, I had a dream where it was just you and I and we were surrounded by darkness and you told me of a task I had to undertake, gave me a lantern and waved goodbye before leaving me. I screamed for you to come back, but you ignored me and floated away into the darkness."

"Oh, I'm sorry Anna. I'm sorry you had such a terrible dream before waking. But you're awake and I'm here so you won't need to worry about me leaving you."

"Yes. I suppose you're right as always, Elsa. I really have nothing to fear, but it did affect me."

"Well, hopefully you'll forget about your terrible dream when we all go horseback riding! So, up and Adam sleepyhead and get dressed. The four of us will be horseback riding after breakfast."

"Really? That sounds wonderful!"

"Kirsten and I thought so too. Now, let's all get ready for the day."

Karen stood up and remained facing her sister. "Horseback riding?"

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No. I'm just surprised."

"Good then. Come on, Karen. Let's return to our room to get ready for the day with Elsa and Anna."

"Okay."

Kirsten and Karen thanked Elsa and Anna for letting them stay in their room and they promised to meet them downstairs at the breakfast table.

Once the Danish sisters were gone, Anna turned toward Elsa.

"This'll be so fun! You and I haven't horse-backed in a while. It'll even more fun with Karen and Kirsten."

"Indeed it will be, Anna. Now, come on. Get up on your feet and prepare for the day."

Anna hopped up to her feet and swallowed Elsa up in a big, tight, warm hug to point where Elsa nearly suffocated from the lack of air in her lungs. Luckily, Anna had let Elsa go just in the knick of time.

"You're the best sister ever, Elsa."

"I only try to do what I think is best for you and for us."

Anna took hold of Elsa's hands and looked at her lovingly.

"Thank you, Elsa."

Then Anna leaned in and gave Elsa a quick peck on the cheek before tearing herself away and skipped merrily into the curtains that led to the dressing room.

Elsa stood in place with a goofy grin on face.

I have such a weird sister. Elsa's smile grew at the thought. Then, she added in her head, but she's Anna and I wouldn't have her any other way.

At last, Elsa sauntered over to the shared dressing room to find a suitable outfit for the day.

To Be Continued…