Elsa sat at her table with a blank sheet in front of her, her quill in her raised hand and her eyes unfocused. A drop of ink dripped off her quill and landed on the sheet, staining it.

"Oh," she muttered, putting the quill back in the ink pot and blowing at the stain. She noticed the pot ice over, and controlled her anger at herself. Really? After all that Jack had taught her, she was still screwing up.

Tears welled up in her eyes suddenly, and she stumbled out the chair to go sit on the bed. She couldn't even remember what she had sat down to write anyway. She was wiping the tears furiously when the door creaked open. She cursed, not wanting to be seen in such a state. Anna stepped in and walked across the room. Elsa quickly turned her face away, giving herself time to compose herself. Even though she couldn't see Anna, she could sense her concern in the way her hand gently touched Elsa's shoulder and in the softness in her tone, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Elsa replied turning to her, her expression neutral but a hint of a tremor still audible in her voice, "Nothing at all."

"Really?" Anna's tone was now filled with anger and disbelief, "After all that drama and all those promises of not hiding anything anymore?" She stood with her hands folded, her expression waiting.

Elsa looked down at her hands, her face sorrowful.

"Tell me," Anna insisted.

"I'm so sorry, Anna," Elsa finally said, tears filling her eyes and dripping down her cheeks, "So many of our loyal soldiers died. Our kingdom was almost taken over - a section of the palace got completely destroyed. Your wedding, your special day, which I had promised would be perfect, was completely ruined. And above all, I performed so inadequately as a leader."

Anna longed to console her sister like she had several times before; to tell her that none of it mattered now that they had made it out victorious, and that she had done a splendid job. But she knew Elsa, and this was not what was bothering her, so she asked instead, "And?"

Elsa looked up, surprised; and then the tears flowed faster, "And yet all I can think about is that Jack vanished, and it's been so many days, and this time I think he isn't coming back. He has finally seen how much trouble I am, and decided I'm not worth it."

"Elsa," Anna cooed reassuringly as she sat down and hugged her sister, "That's not true." With a lot of effort, she suppressed the excited squeal that almost escaped her, that was ready to taunt Elsa that she had guessed the equation between the two of them correctly. They loved each other, Anna concluded; and from what she knew, true love always found a way. She was perhaps a tad bit overly romantic and optimistic, but she had got it right on her second try.

"Of course it is," Elsa was saying, "I almost got him killed."

"He's a Guardian, right?" Anna asked, "I'm sure he gets almost killed all the time. That wouldn't scare him. Doesn't he have enemies?"

"There was this guy called Pitch," Elsa ventured, her tone getting hopeful.

"Well, maybe he got busy with that guy and hasn't had the time to come over."

"You think?"

"Absolutely!" Anna said, and then she hopped off the bed and opened the window wide, "Nothing could keep him away from you Elsa. You are just like him when it comes to your powers! That makes you soulmates!"

Elsa looked at her sister affectionately, smiling despite her worries, "You have rather strange definitions when it comes to love and soulmates. I'm not sure I should be taking your advise - you are a bit overenthusiastic."

"But more experienced than you," Anna countered, and Elsa had to agree.

"Anyway, the reason I came over was to tell you that no, I will not get married this coming Sunday."

"But Anna," Elsa responded with a frown, "the wedding has already been delayed. We will not delay it further, and this time, it will be even more grander than before. We can't let Hans scare us, it makes us look weak. Besides, it will be something cheerful for the people to look forward to after last week's events. It will boost morale, and reinstate the faith of the people in us. And don't worry, Hans won't interfere. Our spies confirm that he hasn't returned to the Southern Isles. We have soldiers searching everywhere. We will find him."

When Elsa finished her tirade, she noticed that Anna was looking at her with a bored look.

"Can you please," Anna asked, "not be a Queen for five minutes and be my sister instead?"

Elsa blinked, surprised, then nodded slowly.

"I will not celebrate anything until that hideous man is behind bars, or better, dead. I will not let families of the dead cry unavenged while we make merry. I will not, Elsa, divert our efforts into parties when they should all be focused into looking for Hans. I don't care what's appropriate. I don't feel like getting married under the circumstances."

"You've really thought this through," Elsa commented slowly, transfixed by her sister's fierceness and determination.

"Well, it was more of a joint decision, between Kristoff and me," Anna admitted with a timid smile.

Elsa smiled back. "How is he?"

"Recovering quite well," Anna replied happily, "Even though he got a lot of wounds! You can't really blame him; how much does he really know about sword fighting - and he still did so well! But anyways, most of the wounds were superficial. I was very worried, to be honest. Which reminds me, that it's almost lunch time and I promised him I'd eat with him at the infirmary."

"You should go then," Elsa prompted with a chuckle. Anna nodded, planted a kiss on her sister's cheek, and left. Elsa placed a hand on her cheek, thankful for having such an adorable little sister, but also secretly hoping she could have run off to meet Jack just as easily as Anna had to Kristoff.

Not because she 'loved' him of course, she quickly claimed to herself, but because he had become a dear friend, second only to Anna and Kristoff; and dear God, did she miss him.

xxxx

Thanks for the great reviews guys. Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)