Chapter 39

Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen.

Everything is ready. Elsa has made the preparations for it. Every little detail must be absolutely perfect. Now she has to go over her checklist.

Banners? Check.

People? Definitely check.

Gifts? Check.

Sandwiches? Check.

Chocolate sandwiches? Check.

Chocolate cake? Chocolate fondue? Chocolate bread? Chocolate eclairs? Chocolate pudding? Chocolate chocolate? Wait, what? Never mind. Check, check, check, check, check, and check!

Oh yeah. Elsa is ready for this. Nothing can go wrong. At least... She hopes not. No! Nothing will go wrong as long as she keeps a positive mindset. Everything will go according to plan.

"Oh!" Elsa blinks in surprise and, with a flourish and wave of her arm, she creates a decorative statue of her sister being her happy bubbly self. After all, this is her day.

The young monarch takes one final look at her work. She's set up the statue and several icy decorations in the ballroom.

"That's pretty." Olaf says, looking as well. "So shiny..." He slowly reaches his arm out to touch the statue, in a mezmerized state.

"It's good?" Elsa asks, nervously folding her hands together. "It isn't too weird, or anything?"

"What?" Olaf turns and looks at her in disbelief. "Weird? It's not weird, Elsa! It looks absolutely perfect!" He says with a bright grin, taking her hand.

Elsa smiles at the snowman. "Alright, let's wake up Anna." She says.

"You go on!" He smiles. "I actually think that this should be a very special, private, sisterly, intimate moment between you guys." He tells her.

"Okay, Olaf." Elsa lets go of his hand, knowing he's right.

"I'll just stay here, maybe then walk around for a bit." Olaf says, turning back to the statue in awe. "... So shiny."

Nothing will go wrong today. Elsa is going to make sure that her sister's birthday is the best birthday ever. It's the least she can do, after all.

Now, time to get her sister.

"Anna." Elsa gently shakes her slumbering sister. "Anna, it's time to wake up."

"Mmmm..." Anna sits up and smiles sleepily at her sister, her reddish hair in a wild mess of tangles. "G'morning, Elsa." She yawns and stretches her arms high into the air.

"Good morning." Elsa grins. "Happy birthday." She adds in a soft voice.

"Oh yeah." Anna twists, stretching her torso. "It is my birthday, isn't it? Yay! Hmm... I wonder what you have planned? I mean, of course you and I have been planning the ball tonight, and I can't wait for that, but you're Elsa, and that means that you're intelligent and thoughtful and so I just assumed that you would have something else planned because you're Elsa and it's my birthday."

Elsa giggles at her sister's ramblings. "Well if you want to find out, you need to get up. We still have to get ready for the party."

Anna smiles and hugs her sister. "This is the best present I ever could have asked for."

"What? A party?" Elsa asks. "I'll throw parties every day if it makes you happy. Even if it makes me a bit uncomfortable."

"No, not that. I mean, I do like parties. I'm a people person! But, I like- my absolute favorite gift, is well, you. Spending time with you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You coming out of your room to spend time with me on my birthday has always been my dream present."

Elsa smiles sadly. "It's what I wanted to do as well. But my fear always trumped what I wanted."

"It's a good thing we're past that, now." Anna grins. "Isn't it? I mean, there's nothing stopping us from being best friends anymore."

"That's right." Elsa looks away, thinking. Getting an idea-look and a mildly sinister grin, Elsa turns to her sister.

"What are you thinking?" Anna asks suspiciously.

"Oh, I think it's time to give you your first gift." Elsa tells her, a faux expression of innocence replacing the mischievous one.

"My gift?" Anna deadpans. She isn't buying it. "... Well... What is it?" She asks, trying not to sound too excited. Okay, maybe she is buying it.

"You told me that spending time with me would be your ideal gift."

"Ideal gift, absolute favorite dream present. Whichever works." Anna shrugs. "So..."

"So you need to close your eyes." Elsa gives her a grin, her eyes half-lidded.

"Ugh." Anna shuts her sea blue eyes. "You're dragging this on and on. Just tell me, please?" She juts her bottom lip out, her eyes still closed.

Elsa doesn't reply. She stands up, a smile still prominent on her mouth.

"Elsa? Are you still there?" Anna turns her head, straining her ears to hear any trace of her sister. "Elsa I don't see how necessary it is for me to keep my eyes clos- AH! Ha ha ha ha!" Anna breaks off her sentence into a fit of giggles as Elsa begins to feverishly tickle her sides.

"Happy birthday!" Elsa shouts, tickling her younger sister. "This is your first present!" Anna laughs uncontrollably, kicking her feet. This wasn't something she would right away expect her sister to do.

"Ha! Ha! El-Elsa! That tickles!" Anna squeals.

"I know." Elsa says with a smirk. "It's supposed to." Grabbing one of Anna's ankles, Elsa lightly begins to tickle the sole of the princess's foot, causing the girl to giggle like crazy.

"E-E-Elsa!" Anna thrashes, her laugh sweetly echoing throughout their shared bedroom.

"Yes?" Elsa asks her, sounding completely innocent, despite still mercilessly running her fingernails across the heels of Anna's feet. Letting her sister breathe for a moment, Elsa steps back, only to begin tickling her sister's stomach even faster than before.

Anna pulls her knees up to her chest, laughing loudly and trying to hold her sister's hands away.

"O-okay!" Anna gasps and manages to speak through her laughter. "I give up! P-p-please stop!"

Elsa ceases the tickling of the younger girl and stands back. "Okay, Anna." She says, sitting on the bed next to her.

"Well. That was unexpected." Anna notes. Elsa nods quietly. A soft grin creeps onto the red haired girl's face. "But fun."

Elsa smiles back. "Was it really?"

"Yup. Just a little warning next time."

"Psh!" Elsa waves her hand, abolishing the thought. "The fun's in the surprise of it."

Anna considers this. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." She agrees.

"Come on." Elsa stands and takes her sister's hands. "You should get ready. The party starts at one, and there are a few details I'd like you to check over."

"Elsa, don't worry." Anna places a hand on the older girl's shoulder, giving her a reassuring look. "I'm sure everything looks great."

"I just want to make sure everything is perfect."

"And knowing you, I bet it is."

"Oh I'm not perfect." Elsa excuses, but it's not like she's affected by that in any negative way. "Oh no. That perfect girl is gone."

"... You did that on purpose. Didn't you?" Anna accuses her, pointing a finger in Elsa's face.

"Preposterous. I've done nothing of the sort." Elsa looks away, smiling like she has a secret.

"Yes, you did!" Anna laughs, knowing she's lying.

"Oh please Anna, just let it go already." Elsa says, rolling her eyes. "But seriously, it's time to get ready."

"Okay, Elsa." Anna smiles. "I'll be out in a minute." She waves as Elsa leaves the room.

Anna begins to leaf through the dresses in her closet, but she doesn't have to. She's picked out a beautiful green dress earlier that week. It has a dark bodice, with a lighter green rosemaling extending down to the hem. It has short, puffy sleeves that cut off just below her shoulders. The length of the dress stops just below her knees. Paired with a hair ribbon and flats the same color as the trim on her dress, Anna's outfit is gorgeous.

But beautiful dress or not, this is going to be the best birthday ever. Anna just knows it.

"Wow! Elsa this looks amazing!" Anna gasps when she gets a look at the sight of the ballroom. She runs to the center of the room and twirls in a full circle, her eyes trying to take it in all at once. "I love it!"

Above their heads are several clouds, magical snowflakes cascading from them, drifting down, but disappearing before they reach the ground. On the walls, draperies of ice hang around the entire room, all in multitudes of shades of blue, pink, and purple. Frozen ice statues reside in all four corners, towering high above the sisters, but still reaching well below the tall ceilings.

"Is there anything else you want?" Elsa asks nervously. "Anything I need to add?"

"Oh no, no, Elsa. This! This is absolutely perfect." Anna nods, still looking around in a very impressed way. "You did a great job. Hey... Is that me?" The princess points to the ice sculpture of herself.

"Oh! I told Olaf that the sculpture would be too much! Don't worry, I'll go get rid of it." Elsa briskly starts to walk over there.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Elsa!" Anna stops the nervous queen. "I didn't say I didn't like it. I do, like it, that is. Just calm down." She holds the queen's arms, looking her directly in the eye.

"Calm down?" Elsa repeats it as a question.

"Everything looks great." Anna says.

"Everything's great?"

"It's better than I could have imagined. Okay?"

"Okay." Elsa says, nodding and taking a deep breath. She has on a dark blue dress with a black ribbon wrapped around her middle. The dress stops just above her ankles and a black trim stands flush to the bottom and also to the neckline. The sleeves cut off halfway at her upper arm, while a lighter blue floral pattern climbs up the length of the dress.

"Well, I don't know about you, Elsa, but I'm starving." Anna declares.

Elsa smiles. "I have a birthday brunch already set up."

"Does it hav-"

"Pancakes? Yes, it does. And toast. And fruit. And even chocolate sandwiches. But the rest of the chocolate is strictly for the party." Elsa reminds the princess in a determined tone, as if also reminding herself.

"Strictly?" Anna cocks an eyebrow.

"Well, we could bend the rules a little if we wanted to, since it is your birthday, after all." Elsa says, folding her hands together. "But I'd rather save it for the party."

"You're probably right, Elsa." Anna says. "I mean, what would the guests eat if we devour all of the chocolate?" She shrugs and holds her hands out. "Snow probably."

"We wouldn't let it come to that." Elsa gently tells her.

"I know. There's no way we'd allow our people to starve!" Anna exclaims. She quickly realizes she may be a bit too excited and immediately calms down. She clears her throat. "Ahem. Let's go and eat brunch now. Shall we?"

Elsa leads her sister to the dining hall. They sit at the table, Elsa at the head and Anna to her right, and Anna gapes, staring at the massive variety of food before them. There isn't a lot of just one thing, but a lot of different foods set up.

"Wow, Elsa." Anna begins to pick foods from the spread (a little bit of everything) and put them on a plate. She starts to spread a berry jam onto a piece of toast. Taking a quick bite, then swallowing the food, she looks back at her sister. "You've really outdone yourself with this brunch."

"It's only what you deserve." Elsa brushes away the compliment. "I haven't been the greatest sister, but I'm trying to make up for it." She glances out the floor-to-celing windows that line one of the walls parallel to the long table. It's cloudy outside. Hopefully that won't affect anything.

"Are you kidding me?" Anna asks her sister. She quickly swallows the food in her mouth and gives her sister a look of disbelief. "Elsa, you're a great sister! Sure, you're not perfect, but neither am I. Nobody is! We're all just a bunch of fixer-uppers."

Elsa considers this. "Wow, Anna. I never knew you could be so insightful. Where did you hear that?" Anna shrugs meekly.

"Oh... You know. Trolls." She says, shrugging with a light smile.

"Hmm." Elsa says, giving this some genuine thought.

"Elsa? You okay?"

"We're all just a bunch of fixer-uppers." Elsa repeats. "And nobody's perfect."

"That's right!" Anna shouts happily. She takes a bite of a chocolate sandwich.

"Well... I already told you that perfect girl is gone." Elsa says, a cunning smirk appearing on her lips.

Anna smacks her palm to her forehead. "I should have seen that coming." They both start to giggle. Anna takes the liberty to fill another plate, this one for Elsa, since the queen hasn't done so yet.

"You really don't have to do that." Elsa says.

"Yeah, but I want to." Anna smiles and hands her sister the plate. "Eat up, Elsa. The party's going to start soon and you don't want to be not energized."

"Okay Anna." Elsa says, looking down at her food.

"Good morning, everybody!" Brandr walks into the dining hall. "Ooh, sausage." He sits down and begins to put some sausages onto a plate.

"Good morning." Elsa says.

"Morning, Brandr!" Anna waves at the young man.

"Happy birthday, Princess." Brandr tells her happily, starting to eat a piece of sausage.

"Oh, no need for formalities. You're living here now. Just Anna will do." Anna says, nodding slightly.

"Whatever you say, Princess." Brandr says. He grabs an apple, takes a large bite from it, and turns to Anna with a grin.

"Oh I get it. You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Anna folds her arms. She can figure out his mind tricks. "Trying to get to me? Well it won't work." She smiles back.

"Get to you? No, no, no." Brandr shakes his head. "I'm not doing anything except call you 'Princess,' which you are, Princess."

"Brandr?" Elsa calls the boy's attention away from lightly pestering Anna. "Are you ready for the party? Have you chosen the clothes you're going to wear?"

Brandr looks down at his usual scruffy, dusty shirt and pants. "Well, I didn't give it any thought. I just figured I'd wear this."

Elsa raises an eyebrow. "No offense, but those clothes aren't, well, clean."

"That was kind of offensive, actually." Brandr places a hand to his chest, falsifying hurt emotions.

"Aw, are you going to be okay?" Elsa asks.

"Maybe."

"Am I, um, interrupting anything?" Kristoff walks in, holding something behind his back.

"Kristoff!" Anna beams and rushes over to hug him.

"Hi there, feisty-pants." He says back to her, hugging her with one arm. "Happy birthday." He's wearing a green shirt today with his black vest. Anna's favorite shade of green.

"Look, Brandr. Kristoff is wearing clean clothes." Elsa points out. "And it looks like he took a shower, too."

"I shower regularly." Kristoff retorts. He pauses for a moment. "But I did try a little extra for today." He admits.

"Aww." Anna smiles sweetly.

"Come on, Brandr. Let's get you some new clothes." Elsa stands up.

"I don't need any new cl-"

"Come on." Elsa repeats.

"Fine."

"And a shower." Elsa adds. Brandr begrudgingly rises from his chair, and the two leave Anna and Kristoff by themselves in the dining room.

"I got you these." Kristoff pulls a bouquet of white flowers from behind his back.

"Irises!" Anna gasps, and inhales the scent of the flowers. "My favorite. Thank you."

"Elsa told me I have to wait to give you my other present. So this is just for now." He explains.

"They're beautiful, Kristoff."

Kristoff gives her a slightly nervous, but mostly relieved, smile. "I want to make today as special as possible for you."

"Elsa does too. And you guys are doing a wonderful job." Anna tells him. "This is more than I could have ever asked for."

"Well, the party hasn't even started." Kristoff sounds, desperately trying to sound excited, which he isn't.

"I thought you didn't like people." Anna inquires.

"I don't." Kristoff says. "But I love you more then I'm annoyed by them, so I'll be okay."

Anna smiles again and gives the blond man a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Kristoff."

"Eh." He shrugs like it's no big deal, but he feels overjoyed. "You're worth it, feisty-pants."

"Wow." Anna gasps. "Just look at all the people!" Dozens, no, hundreds of people are milling about in the courtyard, gazing excitedly at the castle as they begin to enter.

"And they're all here for you." Elsa gently nudges her shoulder.

"Oh yeah." She'd almost forgotten about that.

"I invited Rapunzel and Eugene, but things were pretty busy in Corona." Elsa explains.

"They usually are in those big countries." Anna nods understandingly. They both sigh happily. "Ooh! There's Marie! I'm going to say hello." She says, spotting the auburn haired girl.

"Go mingle! It's your party." Elsa smiles and gently pushes her to the crowd.

"Oh, excuse me. Pardon me. Just try- oh hello to you too. Thank you for coming." Anna weaves through the mass of people until she gets to the familiar girl.

"Happy birthday, Anna!" Marie smiles at the princess. "I brought my sister along today." Marie gestures to the younger girl, her simple navy blue dress ruffling slightly.

"Hello, Princess." Ingrid curtsies in her white dress.

Anna drops to her knees and looks at the twelve year old. "You know you don't have to call me that. I'm just Anna."

Ingrid smiles. "Okay, Anna."

"So," Anna stands up. "How are you guys today?" She asks.

"We're fine." Marie says, holding out a package for the princess. "Here. We got you this."

"Oh no." Anna holds her hands up, shaking her head. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"Anna, it's only banana bread. My mama made it." Marie continues to hold out the gift.

"I don't know..." Anna says, wanting to take the bread. Mrs. Christensen is an excellent cook.

"It's a gift. Take it, please." Marie requests.

Anna smiles and accepts the gift. "Okay." Anna then escorts the two inside the castle. "So Elsa and I have been planning this for a while, but she's done an amazing job decorating." The two Christensen girls gasp as they see the ball room. A group of people were playing instruments in the back, giving the air a festive mood.

"Wow!" Marie gapes.

Anna nods and smirks. "I know, right?"

It doesn't take very long for the party to get into full swing. People from all classes of Arendelle are celebrating and enjoying themselves, dancing, gazing at the decor, and trying the refreshments. Anna also looses track of Marie, but that's alright. She loves spending time with the other guests.

"It's was so kind of you to host this party and invite the entire kingdom, Princess Anna." One of the villagers she was chatting with comments.

"Actually, it was Els- the queen's idea to have the ball." Anna tells the woman. She has dark hair, skin, and (what Anna believes to be) a lovely purple dress.

"The queen?" The lady asks, seeming surprised. "Really?"

"Yep." Anna nods. "She knows how much of a social butterfly I like to be, so she thought inviting all of Arendelle would be fitting. And I totally agree."

The villager smiles. "It was a very good idea." She says. "We all love seeing the castle after it's been closed for so long."

"Trust me. We are never closing the gates again." Anna assures her.

"Hey, Anna!" Kristoff calls the girl, standing on his toes to see above the people. "Elsa wants to talk to you in the other room." He points. Finally reaching her, he gently holds her shoulder and takes her through the crowd.

"Oh Anna, good! You're here." Elsa smiles giddily.

"Hi, Elsa. What did you need?" Anna wonders. Olaf and Brandr (who is now wearing a fresh grey shirt and pants) are there too.

"We wanted to give you your presents now." Elsa tells her. "Olaf wished to go first."

The snowman waddles over to Anna and hands her a purple flower. "It was the prettiest looking one I could find!" He says excitedly. He puts his little twig hands together patiently and waits for her to smell it. "Do you like it?" He asks.

"I love it, Olaf." Anna tells him truthfully. She puts the flower behind her ear.

"Yay!" Olaf hugs her.

Brandr then quickly walks up to Anna, places a messily wrapped present in her hands, then walks away, not making eye contact.

"Okay..." Anna eyes him strangely, then tears the paper off of a clear vase. Little flowers and ivy vine designs are etched into the sides of the glass object. "Oh wow! This is lovely. Where did you get it?"

"Made it." Brandr mumbles. "I just used my powers and melted some sand to make glass. Then I engraved a design into it... It's just for flowers and stuff. No big deal." He hastily stuffs his hands into his pockets.

Anna walks over to the boy and gives him a hug, much to his surprise. "It's beautiful. You did a wonderful job. Thank you."

"You're welcome, I guess." Brandr says, his words almost indistinct.

Anna steps back and spies three dress mannequins, each with a different dress on them. One green, one pink, and one black with colorful flowers.

"That's from me." Elsa says, seeing her sister's gaze. She walks over to the black dress. "This is from Spain. The green one is from the Northern Isles, and the pink one is from Corona. All of them are custom made." Elsa says excitedly.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you kept these dresses even after your ship wrecked?" Anna asks. Elsa nods quietly.

"Well Brandr helped." The queen adds.

"Elsa, they're beautiful!" Anna says softly, going over to admire the dresses, one at a time. She hugs her sister tightly. "Thank you."

Kristoff coughs, mistakenly drawing everybody's attention. "Well... I guess it's my turn." He says and then hands Anna a neatly wrapped gift. "It's a lute." He says after she had opened it. "A little smaller then the one I have. I've been saving up for it for a while. And... I thought you might like it." He clears his throat nervously.

"Kristoff this is amazing." Anna smiles, looking at the instrument and holding it carefully. "Of course, I don't know how to play." She hints.

"Oh right, well I'd be teaching you, of course! That is, if you'll let me." He wonders.

"I wouldn't let any one else." Anna smiles.

"I'm gonna go get some chocolate milk." Brandr excuses himself from the room, relieved at finally having his gift given.

"Ooh!" Olaf gasps, following Brandr. "I think I see one of the ice harvesters! I'll go say hi!" He runs off.

Kristoff's eyes widen. He sighs and shuts them. "I'll go keep an eye on him." The blond says. He smiles fondly at Anna and hugs her. "I'll see you later." And he leaves.

"Well," Anna looks at her sister. "We'd better return to the party too." She starts to walk away.

"Hang on." Elsa stops her. "I have one more thing I want you to have. And hopefully, this will help make up for all of those years I'd missed your birthday before." She opens up a closet and brings out an old box. Anna guesses she had put the box there earlier. She hands Anna the box, for once showing absolutely no nervousness whatsoever.

Anna shakes the box a little. "What is it?" She asks.

Elsa giggles. "Why don't you open it and find out?"

"I knew that." Anna sets the box onto a small black table and gently removes the lid. "Books?" She wonders, staring at the dusty leather-bound objects that were inside the box.

"Open one." Elsa tells her.

Anna does so and begins to read aloud. "January 21, 1831. 'Dear Anna, today I-' wait a second." She continues reading in her mind. "Your diaries?" Anna looks at her sister in confusion. Elsa nods, a soft smile on her lips. "I can't accept this. These are your most precious and most secret thoughts from your childhood."

"They are." Elsa says calmly. "I'm giving all my secrets away. To you."

"But, Elsa..."

"You're who I wrote them for. It's everything I've ever wanted to say to you but couldn't. So technically, these letters are yours. I'm just finally sending them."

Anna smiles at her sister and wraps her arms around her, hugging the blonde as tight as she possibly can. "Thank you." She says. Elsa hugs her back, just as tight. "Come on." Anna pulls away, but still maintains a grasp on her sister's hand. "Let's go dance."

"I don't dance."

"Well you do today!" Anna laughs and pulls her away, both of them giggling.

Anna admits it. Hands down. Best birthday ever.

(A/N) Hello! Wow the journals! That was way back in Chapter Three! So if you guys are still sticking around, thank you. You're all amazing. Farewell my icy fireworks.

Until next time I guess...