"Oh my gosh! Are they at it again?" Kristoff asked one winter day as he met Anna in the castle courtyard.
"Yes!" Anna told him with a look of frustration and disgust on her face while holding on to the leashes of Rane and Bryn. "They're both so passionate they rattle the castle like the wind. It just keeps going on and on too. I-I just had to get away and take the poor dogs as well. They certainly didn't need to hear that. I didn't need to hear that. Honestly, if the fjord wasn't frozen over for the winter, I would write Olaf or Rapunzel to get away for a while. The castle can get pretty small with all of that going on in there!"
Kristoff laughed. It was sort of funny watching Anna be all flustered about something regarding her sister. It was a fairly cold day, and he had been hoping to spend some time by one of the gigantic fireplaces in the castle, but having been present a few times when Elsa and James were "at it," he assumed the cold would be preferable. "Hey, do you wanna go for a sleigh ride, Feisty-pants?"
Anna jumped up to hug him. "I thought you'd never ask!"
"Is she gone?" James asked from behind where Elsa stood at the window, as he drew his arms around her waist, burying his face in her neck.
"She just left with Kristoff for a sleigh ride. We have a good hour or two before they get back, I imagine. She turned around to run her hands along his chest. "Whatever will we do with all that time?"
He smiled down at her, making sure his single dimple appeared. "I have something in mind," he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her. Then he stopped. "I'm going to get you to see reason, Elsa!"
Elsa stood back, disappointed at his respond, and anger burning on her cheeks. "We've been over this and over this, James. We are not sending an envoy to Weselton to open relations with the new Duke."
James turned away, pounding his fist on Elsa's desk. "You are so reasonable when it comes to anything else! Why will you not see it here!"
"James, the man tried to have me killed! He has exploited Arendelle for decades! There is no need to resume trade with Weselton!" her voice was getting louder again.
James matched Elsa's volume and exceeded it. "That man is dead, Elsa! His son had nothing to do with what happened at your coronation! We won't be establishing unbreakable alliances, just sending an envoy to see if we even want to open the door to relations with them again!"
Elsa's voice managed to grow louder than James'. "My answer is NO!"
James' voice grew quieter and very serious. "Elsa, Weselton has suffered under your trade embargo, while at the same time Arendelle has been extremely prosperous. I understand what the previous Duke did was reprehensible, but the people shouldn't have to pay for his crimes up to the seventh son. You know as well as I do that is when revolts and rebellions occur. If that happens, they'll be looking for someone to blame for all of their suffering. It could lead to dire consequences for Arendelle if we don't at least attempt to show mercy."
Seeing the reason behind what James was saying, Elsa conceded. "Fine. When the fjord thaws, you'll lead an envoy to Weselton in order to explore reopening relations with them. " She walked back to him, running a finger through his chestnut hair. "Now, can we please get on to more enjoyable topics?"
He ran hands down her arms, clasping her hands into his. "Yes. When do you plan to make you and I more public knowledge?"
"Soon!" Elsa told him. "It's so nice just having this between us. I don't want to spoil it with every nobleman giving his opinion on our relationship."
"What about Anna?" He asked, pulling her close to him again.
"What about Anna?"
"She's going to be angry that you didn't tell her right away. It's been months, Elsa. You need to tell her. If she finds out some other way, it will hurt her. It will be like slamming a door in front of her all over again."
"She's going to be even angrier when she finds out that we learned how to get her out of the room when we want to be alone," Elsa laughed.
"Elsa," James said. "You know how I hate disguise of any sort." Elsa pulled his head down to meet hers to make him stop speaking her favorite way.
She came up for air, "I will tell her tonight. I'm sure she suspects something anyway. She has stopped hinting that we should get together. It seems odd."
"That seems good enough. I don't care when you want to make us public. You know I don't want anything but you, but you and Anna have been estranged long enough. I wouldn't want to be the cause of that happening again."
"That," she told him with a coy smile, "my dear, dear man is why I care for you so." She couldn't bring herself to tell him that she loved him. He had been unable to hear her the one time she said it at the North Mountain. She didn't have to tell him, not yet. He knew that she would when she was ready. Everything would progress when she was ready for it to. She was worth waiting for.
That evening James took dinner in the village, at the home of the President of the Grocer's Guild, giving Elsa the perfect time to fill Anna in on everything going on in her life that she had yet to.
As they ate their dinner, Elsa found it difficult making small talk with her sister, knowing it was to lead to a deeper discussion. "So, did I see that you went on a sleigh ride with Kristoff and Sven this afternoon?"
Anna cut her meat and answered absent-mindedly, "Yeah. Things were so heated here, I needed to get out and get some air. Thankfully Kristoff came by and was willing to oblige me."
"Where'd you go?" Elsa asked trying to extend the small talk.
"Oh you know, the usual. We drove around the city, stopped for hot chocolate, then came back home. I should have invited Kristoff for dinner, but he acted like he wanted to go home. You know, nobody likes to be in the castle when you and James go at it like you do."
Elsa almost choked on her wine when Anna said that. Some day she was going to have to acquaint her sister with the double entendre. "Well, about that, Anna…"
Anna slammed down her knife and fork. "What? Please don't tell me that you've grown so fed up with arguing with James that you're sending him back to Corona. You know he's the best thing that's happened to you, or he could be if you weren't so blind!"
"What do you mean by that?" Elsa asked, suddenly indignant.
Anna shook her head and went back to her food. "'I'm just saying that I've never seen a man more in love than James is with you. If you'd only take your blinders off, you might see that."
"As a matter of fact, Anna," Elsa told her very matter of factly, "I am well aware of how James feels about me."
Anna smugly sat back in her chair, utterly disregarding etiquette. "Well, what are you going to do about it?"
Elsa gave her sister an equally smug look. "What makes you think I haven't?"
Anna exchanged her smug look for one of confusion. "Wait, what?"
Elsa went back to eating her food for a moment, watching Anna dangle in suspense. "James and I don't just argue when you leave during our arguments."
Anna crossed her arms across her chest. "Really? What do you do, play chess? Do you discuss Shakespeare?"
Elsa rolled her eyes, thinking. "Yes, and yes, but there has been kissing."
"Kissing?" Anna asked, unable to believe what Elsa was telling her.
"And… and some touching."
"Touching?" Anna repeated. "What else?"
Elsa sat up straight. "That is all. I am the queen. I cannot allow any more liberties than that. What if I were to fall with child? That child would be, well I'm not going to say. I still have more than myself to think of, even then. Besides, James is a gentleman."
"Elsa loves James!" Anna said in a sing-song voice. "So, when did this happen?"
"The day I almost killed him."
"Wait, what?" Anna asked.
"The day he came home from his journeys. I had gone up to the North Mountain, because I needed to bring down my ice palace. It created a waterfall and rapids. I didn't know that James was there too. I didn't even know he was back in Arendelle. He came looking for me as soon as he got off the ship. I had taken Argus, so he rode Kari up the mountain. Anyway, I didn't know he was there, and he got caught up in the rapids. The only way I knew to help him was to freeze the water. Then I was so scared that I couldn't unfreeze the water until I admitted that I loved him."
Anna's eyes grew wide. "You told him that you love him? I haven't even told Kristoff that yet!"
Elsa rolled her eyes and turned her head. "Well, he didn't actually hear me, and I haven't been able to say the words again. Still yet, we're together… sort of. I'm not ready make it public yet, but we knew you needed to be told."
Anna got a mischievous look on her face, "You two have been sneaking around!"
"You make it sound so dirty!"
Anna laughed. "Hey, maybe we can have a double wedding. You know, if we ever get that far with our respective paramours."
Elsa laughed, knowing that Anna wouldn't want to share her spotlight with anyone whenever her wedding day ever came. "Let's just take it all one day at a time, Anna. One day at a time."
Anna's eyes grew huge. "You know what this means, Elsa? I'm going to have a brother! Not just the kind of adoptive brother who was our former-enchanted-snowman brother that Olaf is! One who actually lives here and I can be mean to!"
"You're already mean to James," Elsa informed her.
Anna laughed. "Yeah, but now it'll be official."
"One day at a time, Anna!"
"OKAY!" Anna responded with a low, authoritative voice.
See? That wasn't the end after all! There are still many unanswered questions to answer, and honestly we are FAR from the end. When we do come to the end, you'll know it. I plan to come full-circle with the beginning. In fact, the last chapter has been written for quite some time. The in-between chapters sometimes grow and change a little bit as story dictates, but in all it is as I planned it before I started this journey. Just keep up the good work with the reviews!