All the way back to Arendelle, Anna was completely silent. She was not used to it; oftentimes, she was quite perky, ready to speak as quickly as she could think up words to say—and sometimes, she even spoke before she thought.

Actually, more often than not, she spoke before she thought.

Perhaps that was what had caused the newly-formed rift between her and her sister. Anna bit her tongue at the memory, still fresh in her mind. The hurt she felt now was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

She knew what pain felt like. When her parents died, she had felt it. When Hans had betrayed her, she had felt it. Every time for over thirteen years that she had approached her sister, only to be rejected every single time, she had felt it.

But this pain was different. Each of those times, she knew she would get over it. Hans was ugly anyway. Her parents dying had to happen sometime or another. There was always tomorrow to try again with Elsa.

Now, though…

Now Anna just wanted to find a nice corner, curl up into a ball, and never move again. This was a kind of pain deeper than anything she had gone through before. Her heart ached within her chest; it felt as if someone was constricting it. Her mind, usually full of thoughts and ideas, was uncharacteristically blank; she didn't even notice the time pass as she led her horse down the path back to Arendelle.

It was as if she had suddenly been replaced by a shell of herself. And she didn't care. Elsa had broken her heart.

Anna kept telling herself it wasn't Elsa's fault. Elsa never asked to have her powers, and so it only made sense for her to try and find out why she had them in the first place. At first, Anna had been interested as well; she and Elsa had never been able to do anything together before, so this was a great opportunity to bond as sisters.

But the more time had gone on, the more Elsa had become obsessed with it. The more Elsa obsessed with it, the less she cared about Anna, and the less she cared about Anna, the more Anna hurt.

We finally have the opportunity to be together, for the first time in our lives. And she doesn't care. Anna closed her eyes, blinking back tears. She doesn't care about me.

When this journey had begun, Anna had hoped that they would find what they were looking for quickly, so that she and Elsa could go back to being sisters. No distractions, no epic quests of self-discovery, no trolls, and no constant heartache—just Anna and Elsa.

And part of her still hoped for it; every now and then, Anna thought she heard someone behind her, and quickly turned her head in anticipation. But every time, nobody was there, and she was left once again lost in her thoughts.

The days seemed to pass in mere seconds to Anna. She camped when she needed to, ate and fed her horse when the appropriate times came, but otherwise, her journey back was uneventful. The closer she got to Arendelle, the more hopeful she became that, at any moment, Elsa would rush up behind her, apologizing profusely, begging for the Anna to forgive her and, above all, finally saying those few words that Anna had longed to hear come from her sister's lips.

But those hopes were dashed when the day came that she saw Arendelle's castle on the horizon, at the bottom of the mountain range. A part of her—a very small part—was relieved to see it. She missed Kristoff and Olaf and the castle staff. She missed the scenery and the library and all that she had held dear. She was looking forward to seeing it all again.

Maybe it will distract me from Elsa.

An hour later, she arrived at the castle gate. As she walked up, the stationed guard approached her hurriedly. "My lady!" he called. "How are you, Princess Anna? And where is Queen Elsa?"

Anna blinked. "Oh. Elsa. Um…" She cleared her throat, mentally kicking herself for not coming up with a reasonable excuse earlier. "She held back for a few days. There's some stuff in the Northeast Pass that she finds interesting, but that I really, really don't." She grinned as widely as she could, trying to assure herself that it wasn't a lie—not really.

The guard seemed satisfied by the answer, and gave a stern nod. "Yes, your highness." He turned to his left and whistled loudly. A few seconds later, one of the stable boys ran up to take away her horse. "How long will it be until we can expect her? The kingdom needs her guidance right now, Princess."

"I honestly don't know." Anna kept her fake grin up, ignoring the pain in her cheeks. She shrugged and continued, "She made it clear she has no idea how long it will take. And you know, queens being queens, she's not exactly entitled to stay on anyone else's schedule. I mean…" The blunt of the guard's statement finally hit her, and her grin faded. "What do you mean, the kingdom needs her guidance?"

The guard opened his mouth to speak, but instead of his voice, Olaf's yelled out, "Anna!" Anna turned in the direction of the voice, and smiled—this time genuinely—when she saw Olaf bounding up to her with stick arms spread wide. "You've grown so much, I hardly recognize you!"

Anna couldn't help but chuckle; leave it to Olaf to be the one to cheer her up. She gave Olaf a big, warm hug, before replying, "It's only been a week since I saw you. If anything, you're the one who's gotten bigger."

Olaf beamed with pride. "Yep! Look, I gained a whole inch!" He reached up as high as he could, patting himself on the head—only to brush off the extra inch of snow that had settled there. His smile didn't disappear, however, and he let out a laugh. "Well, I did tell them to take an inch off."

"That's fine." Anna patted Olaf's head gently. "Maybe you'll grow up a little faster now that summer is coming. Most things grow faster in the…" Anna found herself having a hard time patting Olaf's head in the same spot; the snowman was cocking his head back and forth, as if trying to look behind Anna. "Is something wrong, Olaf?"

Olaf stopped moving his head and looked into Anna's eyes. If his face had an expression of worry, he was using it now. "Where's Elsa?" he asked. "Weren't you two supposed to do your thing together?"

Anna had to force herself to keep smiling. "She's staying behind for a few days." Before Olaf could start worrying, she added, "But she misses you and she promised she'll see you as soon as possible!"

Satisfied, Olaf grabbed Anna's hand and led her through the gate and into the castle courtyard. "Come on, Anna! There's a surprise inside waiting for you!"

Anna winced in pain; she had just spent several days riding a horse across mountains, and had not yet gotten used to walking again. "Can we go a little slower?" she begged as Olaf dragged her along. "I don't think Kristoff is much of a surprise."

"It's not Kristoff, silly," Olaf insisted. "And it's not Sven, either. But it is a guy!"

Olaf's excitement worried Anna. "I'm not interested in a guy, Olaf. What I'm interested in right now is a hot bath." Two palace greeters opened the front doors for Anna and Olaf, bowing slightly in courtesy. "A hot bath and all the chocolate the kitchen can find." They rushed through the doors, down the hall, and around the bend. "Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate…" Anna barely noticed as they entered the throne room; her mouth began to salivate. "Chocolates from exotic parts of the world." They finally came to a stop in front of the throne. "I want nothing more than a hot bath and chocolate and…"

Anna came to her senses, and she lost her train of thought. Sitting in the throne, dressed in his most formal attire, Ivan was busily jotting down on official royal paper. Despite Anna's talking all the way inside, he had not yet noticed her and Olaf standing before him; he was too preoccupied in his work.

No, Anna realized. It was not his work. The stationary was reserved only for the monarch of Arendelle to use; even Anna herself was not permitted to use it except in Elsa's absence, and even then, only if Elsa had given her explicit permission beforehand.

And yet here Ivan was, writing down on it as if he owned it. As if he owned the entire stack of papers. As if he owned all of Arendelle.

The only reason Anna didn't yell at him right then and there was because Olaf was present, and she did not want for him to see her angry. Instead, she opted to clear her throat, though she did go out of her way to make it as loud as possible.

Ivan glanced up from his work. "Yes?" He jumped at the sight of Anna, sending stationary flying in all directions. "Anna!" he squeaked. "What a surprise. I thought you and Elsa were—"

"Yes, we were. But I'm back now." Anna walked forward, grabbing one of the pages from the air as it floated past. Without permission—it wasn't like she needed any—she gave it a quick read, mumbling some important words out loud as she came to them. "Arendelle offers…Trade with you…What may be considered…" She came to the end of the page and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Weselton?"

Ivan slunk further down on the throne, trying to avoid meeting Anna's gaze. "Well, Anna, you see—"

"Get out of that chair!" Anna yelled, to which Ivan instantly obeyed. Suddenly, Olaf being present wasn't that big of a hindrance to her. She angrily ripped the paper in half, then in half again, then ripped the remaining pieces into as many tiny bits as she could with her mittens still on. She stomped up, plopped down on the throne, and kept fighting to miniaturize the paper, mumbling gibberish under her breath.

Ivan softly cleared his throat. "Anna, if I may—"

"It's Princess Anna to you!" Anna snapped. She shredded off her mittens in a rage and continued working on the paper.

Olaf, unsure of what to think about the situation, slowly began backing away. "I think I hear Sven calling for me!" He removed his head from his shoulders and hid it behind the nearby doorway. "Olaf! It's me, your pal Sven!" he called in as deep a voice as he could manage, before plopping his head back on and smiling. "Yep, definitely Sven!" Then he turned on one snowy heel and darted, his personal snow flurry following close behind.

Ivan once again cleared his throat. "Princess Anna," he tried again, "if I may explain myself—"

"I don't want you to." Anna held up the biggest piece of paper that was left, which coincidentally was only big enough to show the word Weselton. "Arendelle has stopped trading with Weselton—forever. That means never again. Forevermore. Constantly. Perpetually. Eternally. Need I go on?"

"Of course not, your highness!" Ivan gulped, knowing he was in trouble. "But they are a valuable trade partner. We traded with them only up until a little less than a year ago, and I presumed it was due to—"

"You presumed too much, whatever it was." Anna ripped the final piece of paper in half twice and threw her arms out, sending the pieces flying. "The Duke of Weselton called my sister a monster and almost had her killed! We ceased trade with his kingdom as a result."

Ivan bowed his head. "Forgive me, Princess. I did not know—"

"Of course you didn't! You weren't there! And you're not supposed to be dealing with trade anyway. That's Elsa's job!"

"Elsa isn't here," Ivan replied. He stood up straight almost instantly. "You two were gone and Arendelle needed a figurehead. Kristoff volunteered me and Kai approved."

For the first time since arriving, Anna was speechless. "Kristoff…Kai…Chocolate…" She growled under her breath, and vowed to hunt Kristoff down and hang him by his pointy boots if she ever found him. Then she raised her voice again. "What else have you done in our absence?"

Ivan cocked his head in thought. "I cancelled trade with Croatia, given their rather low export numbers in recent years. I had to turn down an appointment with Princess Moana, as I figured she is too far away to be worth our time. And I also—"

"That's enough!" Anna couldn't bear to hear anymore. She rubbed her temples. "Ivan, Croatia has a low export because we have exclusive rights to their goods. And Moana was looking at an alliance with Arendelle, not a trade route!" She slammed her fist on the armrest, cracking the wood somewhere in the framework in the process. "You've done everything wrong! If I hadn't returned when I did, you would have brought Arendelle to ruins!"

Ivan blinked, but otherwise showed no weakness. "Forgive me, Princess, but this outrage of yours seems rather uncharacteristic."

Anna curled her hand into a fist. "Oh, I'll show you uncharacteristic. How would you like a knuckle—"

"This isn't about me, is it?" Ivan's soft-spoken question caught Anna off-guard. "I made a few mistakes, but it's not really as bad as all that, is it? You're not angry at me, are you?" When Anna didn't immediately answer, he smiled warmly. "You're angry at Elsa. She did something to you, and you're taking it out on me."

Anna realized Ivan was right. Her heartache, the enraged feelings roaring through her body—it was all Elsa. Without her sister's love, Anna felt empty inside, like her life was completely worthless. In the days it took to return to Arendelle, she had coped with it by simply not feeling anything. Now that she was back, she was forced to feel something, anything.

And she felt anger. Anger not at Ivan, the man who had made a few honest mistakes, but at Elsa—the one person in the world whose love Anna wanted more than anyone's, and the one person who had completely rejected her.

She collapsed in the throne, tears threatening to fill her eyes. "Elsa…" she whispered.

Ivan approached her gently. "She hurt you?" he asked. "She hurt me, too. I want her love, but she refused to give it to me." He sighed. "Sound familiar?"

Anna looked at him. "How could you possibly know how I feel?" she asked. "I've begged for her love for fourteen years. Fourteen years!" She wiped her nose on her sleeve, trying her hardest to make it look like she was scratching it. "She's rejected me time after time, and now, after finally giving me a sliver of hope that things will work out, she made me feel more distant from her than ever."

Ivan patted Anna's shoulder. "You're right. I don't know how that feels." His hand moved from Anna's shoulder to her cheek, his fingers cold to the touch. "We don't have to worry about it, though." Anna glanced up to meet him in the eye. "Elsa isn't here. Arendelle needs a ruler. You can rule in her place. You can prove to the kingdom that they don't need her as a ruler." The corner of his mouth twitched up, ever so slightly. "How would it feel to force her to be rejected for a change? The people love her. It doesn't have to be that way."

The proposal would have sounded tempting to anyone else, but Anna knew better. Elsa knew full well what it felt like to be rejected—and Anna had fought to keep that from happening all her life. Instantly, she dismissed the notion, but her curiosity overcame her. "Tell me more," she insisted.

Ivan's mouth curved into a smile. "Imagine an Arendelle without Elsa. Imagine a country that doesn't have to worry about her or her magical powers."

He left Anna and walked over to the wall. A painting of Elsa, done just after her coronation, hung there. It showed her not in her formal clothes, but in her favorite blue ice dress. Her braid fell down her right shoulder, her gaze looking just past the viewer. She seemed happy—happier, at that time, than she had ever been in her life.

"Imagine forgetting about Elsa. Erasing all records of her existence, so that nobody will ever know about her. Or her powers." He turned back and met Anna's gaze once again. "Or the hurt she made you endure."

Now, Anna was genuinely tempted. Elsa had gone through a lot over the years—but the more she thought about it, the more Anna felt that maybe Elsa had gotten off easy. All Elsa had done was lock herself up in her room for her entire life. Anna had had to endure far more. She had gone out of her way to love Elsa, and what did she get in return?

Perhaps Elsa had just rejected her for the last time. Perhaps banishing Elsa would be the best thing for both of them.

Perhaps then the hurt would stop…

Anna blinked. What am I talking about? Elsa's been through far worse than I have! She shook her head, mentally kicking herself for even considering such a horrible thing. She just needs some time, that's all. Once she comes back, things will be better.

She stood up and walked up to Ivan. She grabbed his shirt collar and pulled his face as close as possible to hers. "Ivan, you are relieved of duty."

Ivan's smile disappeared, replaced by an expression of confusion. "From being Arendelle's figurehead?"

"From all your responsibilities." Anna narrowed her eyes. "And I don't want to see your face in Arendelle again. Is that clear?" Ivan opened his mouth to protest, but Anna tightened her grip. "I said, is that clear?"

Ivan slowly closed his mouth and nodded. "Yes, your highness."

"Good." Anna released her grip and threw Ivan to the side. "Now get out."

As Ivan turned to leave, Anna sighed. Well, that's over. Now, just to wait for Elsa to come back, so things will be better. She shuffled her feet back and forth. Things will be better, right?

What if Elsa never came back? What if she wandered around the Northeast Pass for the rest of her life? What if she did come back, but nothing changed at all? What if Elsa did find what she was looking for, and lost her powers?

It slowly dawned on Anna that the odds of things working out for the better were far lower than any number of things going wrong. Arendelle had Elsa as its leader, and Elsa was an emotional mess.

Arendelle needed a strong, sensitive ruler. And, especially after Ivan's recent screw-ups, time was of the essence.

Arendelle can't wait on Elsa, Anna decided. She sighed. And neither can I.

Ivan was already at the door. Anna quickly called, "Ivan, wait! Come back." Ivan quickly did so, standing at attention in front of her. Anna took a deep breath, prayed she wasn't making a mistake, and said, "I need to make one thing clear: Elsa is the Queen. She will remain the Queen." Anna gulped, dreading saying the next words out loud, but knowing she had to. "But in her absence, both physically and emotionally, we must do what's best for Arendelle."

Ivan smiled. "As you wish, Princess."