Anna's accusation of Elsa behaving like their parents did rang in Elsa's head long after Anna left the room to oversee the preparations for Christmas. This caused her to remember every single argument Anna had with their parents whenever they had caught her trying to see Elsa unsupervised, ending always the same way: Agnarr's hand on Anna's backside and Anna going 'ow!' and the older Anna got, the spankings progressed to slaps across the face, but the same always transpired: Anna said 'ow!' and Agnarr rationalizing it by saying if Anna just listened to them, she wouldn't have received such a harsh punishment. Having to hear the sounds of Agnarr's hand across any part of Anna's body and justifying it broke Elsa's heart to its core. But the problem was that, while yes they were merely trying to protect Anna, they also weren't being open with the real reason why she needed protection and they should have given the truth when they felt Anna was ready. Elsa reckoned they probably would have told them the truth when they returned from the voyage, but obviously, they were killed before they got that chance and she did admit that she was proud of the woman Anna did become visually, but in her mind, Anna was still the same little girl she swore to always protect. She smiled as she thought back to when Anna was born and as she held her in her arms, she made a vow she told herself she would uphold. "I'll protect you, Anna, from any danger that should arise in our lives. I will ALWAYS protect you", she remembered telling baby Anna. That's why she returned to Arendelle: She still had a debt to pay. Leaving the study, Elsa went to look for Anna to clear the air.

Meanwhile, Anna was in a hustle and bustle, overseeing preparations for the winter ball. Yelana, Honeymaren, Ryder, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf were assisting whenever possible, although Olaf seemed more interested in trying to get a surprise out of the staff, who repeatedly told him "Not yet!", than any actual helping. Yet unbeknownst to Anna, Elsa was trying to find her and she was so wrapped up in preparing everything she didn't feel Elsa's hands touch her face. "HOLY COW! YOUR HANDS ARE COLD!" Anna said.

"Can we talk?"

"No, I'm busy. Right over there, `` she pointed where she wanted the plates carried by a manservant to go, oblivious to the fact that Elsa was tapping her foot, waiting for Anna to acknowledge her.

"Are you done?" she asked, getting annoyed.

"Nope, still many more preparations,'' she didn't finish that sentence because Elsa had grabbed her arm and was dragging her back into the castle. "Elsa, let go of me!" she squirmed, but Elsa won't let go until they were back in the castle, but even then, she gripped her hands on Anna's arms and didn't release her lest she run off again.

"I am going to make one thing quite clear to you: I made a vow when you were born to ALWAYS protect you from any danger that would have arose in any of our lives. So, don't you DARE accuse me of not caring about you. Why do you think I isolated myself from you? Why do you think I sent you away at the final stretch when we uncovered where our parents were really going? I was afraid that something was going to happen to you if I let you come on the final stretch and my powers could have hurt you," she said.

"I never accused you of not caring about me,'' Anna said.

"Actually, you did. When I came back to Arendelle to check on you, you had accused me of not loving you and not caring. I didn't say anything to you at the time because I knew it was the nightmare talking, but that still hurt me. It's like what Yelana had said, we're empathic. Second, you called me our father!"

"I was using that as an example of you pushing me away, using that excuse of 'just trying to protect' me! Before they left on their voyage, I had asked him one more time to tell me what was really going on. He said I would find out eventually after they returned. They never came back, so I never found out until after you snapped. The reason why I went off on you was because I needed answers and no one was willing to explain what was going on, so you can't fault me for what I did," Anna said. Elsa sighed.

"Anna, I had every intention of telling you everything at the coronation ceremony. I just didn't want to say anything in front of him and all the people," she admitted. Anna's eyes widened as her mind flew back to the coronation ball.

"May I talk to you, please, alone?" she had asked but Anna's mind was still on, in her mind, the upcoming wedding and to her, Elsa had lost her sister privileges after the death of their parents, something Hans had subtly been encouraging throughout their earlier interactions.

"No! Whatever you have to say, you can say to the both of us!" Anna had said, clinging to Hans.

"Fine! You can't marry a man you JUST met!"

Back in the present, Anna's eyes welled up with tears as their argument over the courtship played back in her head. Regret for not listening to Elsa and dropping the issue and remorse for buying all of Hans' boloney about being the only one she could trust. Elsa released Anna from her grip. "Take over the preparations. See you at the ball,'' she said and ran off to her and Kristoff's quarters, which had been their parents' old room.

"Anna," Elsa said before turning on her heel and walking back outside to take over the preparations for the ball and carnival.

Meanwhile, Anna threw herself onto the bed and sobbed, berating herself for taking Hans' words over her own sister. If she had been more willing to listen and depending on Elsa's state of mind as well, she could have gotten her sister back that evening and had their adventure in the Enchanted Forest a LOT earlier and uncovered their destinies in that same time frame, because that was what she really wanted was the sisterly bond they both shared. She cursed herself for being so short-sighted regarding Hans and letting him emotionally manipulate her against her own sister. Even though she had been able to fight off his manipulative tactics long enough to go save Elsa, but after her frozen heart occurred, there was enough doubt about Elsa's intentions that allowed Hans to emotionally manipulate her again, albeit only briefly. Anna got up off the bed and went to follow Elsa outside.

AN: What I meant when I said 'depending on Elsa's state-of-mind' that they could have mended their relationship at the coronation, some fanfics that usually go the 'Elsa tells Anna everything' route usually go two ways: 1. Elsa mends her and Anna's bond or 2. She still insists on the status quo being kept, even though Anna is in the loop. R&R and Happy Holidays.