Anna really didn't want to let herself get too excited. After years of rejection at the hands of the same woman she loved more than anything or anyone else in the world, Anna had trained herself not to become vulnerable with her emotions. This meant never relying too heavily on any concept beyond her control. That included Elsa. True, the older sister had given Anna more than enough reason to trust her above all else again, but there was still a survivalist mentality in the back of Anna's mind, and it was a secret she would share with nobody. Thus, even with the mere concept of wielding magic like Elsa could, Anna deliberately set herself up for disappointment by not allowing her naturally excitable nature to slip through. Therefore, the princess of Arendelle did the opposite until she knew with all certainty that she could command fire at will, if that was truly going to be her element.

Her heart flipped, and Anna recognized this feeling. It was the same feeling she had after Elsa's initial confession; the one Anna had rejected. She kept struggling to believe it was real, because it was just too good to be true. Anna had done everything in her power to convince herself Elsa was just confused, but the more she opened her heart to the idea, the more natural and obvious everything became. Would the same be true for her magic?

It seems even more surreal than Elsa falling in love with me somehow…

Elsa had always been in Anna's life in one way or another, and their friendship had simply evolved into a love unlike anything the younger sister knew. Magic, on the other hand, was Elsa's field of expertise. Anna had always thought she would like to have a similar power all throughout her childhood, but once her memories somewhat reconfigured themselves upon learning of Elsa's magic as a young adult, the idea of also being a magic user seemed simply too outlandish for even the daydreamer that was Anna of Arendelle.

Anna was fine with who she was. The only reason she would ever want magic at this point in her life, beyond the idea of it being just plain amazing, was to be capable of helping Elsa in any way, shape, or form. This current adventure was a prime example of Anna really wanting to have command of some kind of power if only to ease the burden of facing off against elemental spirits that Elsa carried.

'You're surprisingly quiet.' Kristoff made Anna jump, the man and she trailing behind Honeymaren, Ryder, Mattias, and Elsa, who took the lead for the group. Sven nuzzled Anna's face with his wet nose, Bruni gurgled cutely next to her ear, and the girl almost expected Olaf to make some kind of comment, but the snowman had remained back at the Northuldra camp, his tendency to be a bit noisy possibly detrimental to the confrontation with the Earth Spirit(s).

'Oh. I'm fine. Just thinking and stuff.'

'You doing okay though?' The man asked kindly, likely referring to Anna's apparent fit from the morning.

'Hup!' Anna skipped over an overgrown root in the path, the small party being led through a somewhat hidden walkway beginning to ascend into a more mountainous sector of the forest. 'Just dandy!'

'Huh.' Kristoff huffed. 'You know, I've started to notice something.'

'What's that?' Anna squinted her eyes, knowing she shouldn't find the place that had imprisoned so many people for a good portion of their lives beautiful but constantly mesmerized by the sheer array of warm colours surrounding her during this fall day within an unparalleled collection of botanous splendor.

'You oversell the whole happy go lucky shtick when you're hiding something.'

A chill ran Anna's spine, as if one of her most guarded traits had been exposed by an unlikely source. How closely was Kristoff watching her these days? Then again, they had dated for a decent amount of time…

'You think so?' Anna tried, grinning at the man and winking. 'Or maybe I'm just enjoying the epic journey we're on. It's been a while, you know?'

'A few years, I guess.' Kristoff muttered with Sven snorting in agreement, perhaps.

'Right?'

'The last big one was when Elsa ran away, huh?'

'…Pretty much.' Anna supposed the confrontation with Devil wasn't exactly a journey in the physical sense. And the Nattmara fiasco was recalled by only the royal sisters due to the nature of that crazy beast.

'At least she's with us this time. Kind of reassuring having her magic around, right?'

'That's an understatement.' Anna laughed.

'Everything alright back there?' Elsa called behind, and Anna knew her sister well enough to tell that she might be a touch jealous of Kristoff monopolizing her time and attention. Anna didn't want to leave Kristoff alone either, since that seemed just plain mean, but the path left little room for so many people to walk horizontally. Thus, the current setup for the party.

'Peachy!' Anna shot back, and her older sister's gaze lingered a moment longer before she redirected her attention to Ryder and Honeymaren's navigational monologues, Ryder seeming particularly keen about elaborating upon his various trips with his reindeer through this very spot.

'Looks like I got us in trouble.' Kristoff chuckled nervously, keeping his voice low.

'Oh, it's fine. She's on edge with everything going on. It's not you.' Anna tried to console. So long as Kristoff didn't bring that up, they'd all be honky dory. So, of course, as if on cue, the next question came with perfect timing.

'Is she mad because of what I saw?' The man muttered with enough volume for Anna to hear him but for the others to be left in the dark. He was trailing just enough to create the opportunity, and although the younger royal sister was surprised he was bold enough to bring it up, she wasn't completely caught off guard.

'Elsa doesn't like anyone see her getting warm and fuzzy with her sister. Ruins the whole queenly persona she's got going on, you know?'

'…That makes sense, I guess.' Kristoff seemed confused but willing to believe Anna's twist on the story no matter how much her stomach twisted at holding the truth back. It was near torture. She felt like the worst of hypocrites. However, the mountain man went on. 'I just…didn't know sisters did that kind of thing. Maybe I really have lived under a rock pretty hard all my life.'

Sven moaned, and Anna had to stifle the urge to grimace. This was seriously the worst. Once was bad enough. Having to eventually have "the talk" with Kristoff about her and her sister a second time? Beyond brutal.

'It's not…' Anna instinctively started, and with even more perfect timing, Elsa turned to the duo again, but this time, she stepped back, causing the party to stop momentarily.

'We're getting close, according to Ryder, so, can you come to the front with myself and Honeymaren, please?'

'Okay. Yeah.' Anna's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, caught in a moment of weakness where she didn't exactly want to be. 'We'll chat later.' She assured Kristoff.

'Sure…' He looked anything but convinced until Ryder practically pounced on him.

'I'm off tour duty! Now, before we get to the valley, I have a few questions for this handsome fella! Yes, I do! Yes, I do!' Honeymaren's brother started pampering Sven, who didn't seem to mind.

'You sounded flustered.' Elsa murmured, returning to Honeymaren.

'I-I was fine.' Anna tried, but she was well aware she could rarely hide exactly how she felt from Elsa anymore. It was at once both amazing and sometimes frustrating since, on occasion, Anna would prefer her older sister not be certain of her present mood when it was less than ideal. Still, the fact they had grown so close was a reality filled with comfort, and Anna subconsciously found her hand slipping into Elsa's, the older sister gripping her back tightly.

'Of course, you were.' Elsa hummed back slyly, and it was mercilessly alluring.

'We're almost there.' Honeymaren revealed, the way she kept her voice's volume low indicative of the implied caution that should be taken. Anna was relieved. They had been traveling for a little over an hour, and even she, with all her energy, was feeling more exhausted than usual. Was it because of her incident earlier in the morning? Because of the magic swirling within her possibly? The thought made it hard to focus on much sincerely.

The group came out of a thickly forested area to what appeared to be a mountainous ravine, the path lining a steadily inclining space that traversed into the sky running parallel with a similarly constructed piece of land on the other side of a hastily increasing drop into a stream. Anna swallowed, the height none too pleasant. She could handle being up high, there was no question there, but the fact the path was growing narrower didn't help matters, and unless the group wanted to be completely engulfed by a less travelled forest, this was obviously the simplest means of travel so long as one was careful.

With that, Anna tugged at Elsa's sleeve, the coolness of her garb calming to the younger sister's senses, and fell in behind her.

'Watch your footing here. Just stay close to the perimeter of the forest and you'll be totally fine.' Ryder instructed.

'Sven and I've done this kind of thing enough, right, Buddy?' Kristoff bragged as his reindeer snorted in confidence.

'We Northuldra refer to this part of the forest as Giant's Cradle.' Honeymaren explained. 'The Earth Giants seem to prefer to rest here when they're tired. They rarely move in general, but one can imagine Queen Elsa's powers have stirred enough spiritual energy that they couldn't help but wander when their laziness is a more common trait shared among them all.'

'My men just call this area "keep out".' Mattias joked, although Anna could understand why. What reason was there, beyond exploration, to not only scale a continuously mountainous piece of the forest, but tempt the gigantic fury of an Earth Giant? Even Devil's Rock Golems were nothing compared to the Earth Giants based solely on how much the earth rumbled with every step they took.

It wasn't much longer before Anna caught sight of something that seemed just a little off to her. The group was very high at this point, the running water below them at least five hundred feet or more away, and Anna spotted what appeared to be a piece of the earth they were climbing jutting out of the side abnormally. However, the more she observed, the more it looked as though the potential Earth Giant was simply a part of the landscape and nothing more. Had she not been actively looking for the spirit, she would have easily ascertained that the earth was just strangely formed in the area of interest.

'Keep your voices low.' Honeymaren suggested, pointing at the very spot just to the right of the party now that Anna was watching. 'That one's been here for years, but that doesn't mean he won't wake up suddenly.'

Anna swallowed. If the Earth Giant did get up, did that mean they'd have to dive into the forest or something? Because most of their path would be torn out with him, right? Crazy!

'Doesn't Queen Elsa just need to talk to one?' Mattias suggested.

'Oh, totally.' Ryder muffled a laugh. 'But she probably wants to chat with one that isn't groggy and clueless to what's happening. We gotta go further in where the more active guys are.'

'You've been tracking their patterns or something?' The lieutenant sounded impressed.

'Sure!' Honeymaren's brother answered flippantly. 'I mean, sort of knowing their routes and stuff helps us decide where to set up camp, right? I think one of your guys said "know thy enemy", or something? It's like that. Not that we're these guys' enemy, but we're too tiny to care about.'

'Like bugs.' Honeymaren sighed. 'The ones that tend to move around every so often are still a ways along the river. You can tell how frequently they roam by how clean they are. If there's a lot of earth growing around them, they've been stationary for a while, like the guy back there. Some indicators are less obvious than others, so that's why Yelana wanted Ryder and I along with you, Elsa.'

'That makes sense.' Elsa nodded, absorbing all this information with the elegance Anna still admired. She listened so carefully, and had always been the better scholar. Anna was starting to commit to her studies lately in order to help a little more competently around the castle, but Elsa was never a pain for their tutors, and was clearly the favoured student due to her amicable manners.

'So, beyond "talking" to the giants, what's the plan exactly?' Mattias continued the conversation as everyone followed Honeymaren's confident guidance at the head of the single file. 'These Earth Giants don't seem like the type to hold a conversation well.'

A moment of silence followed the inquiry, and Anna almost felt a wave of embarrassment, as if she and Elsa should have considered that very thing a little more carefully before. Yet, her older sister gave an appropriate response after only a secondary beat.

'Unfortunately, when it comes to otherworldly beings, like the four elemental spirits, we lack the necessary experience or knowledge to properly gauge how best to approach each individual concentration of power.' She paused, as if to let her evaluation and utter poise settle in proper. Anna never tired of just how incredibly "queenly" Elsa could be no matter how uncomfortable she claimed she was in the role at times. 'Therefore, we can only approach this next spirit with enough caution to promote everyone's safety until we need to do otherwise in the face of whatever danger we may confront upon making my presence within this forest wholly known.'

Another pause followed what Elsa said, but this one was clearly performed out of admiration, and it was Mattias who finally felt the urge to say something after the group finally made it to a somewhat leveled-out piece of their path.

'…Colour me impressed. Your father teach you to speak like that?'

Anna grinned to herself, her heart skipping in pride.

'You sounded concerned.' Elsa released the authoritative hold in her tone. 'So, I simply wished to calm your nerves.'

'Dang.' The lieutenant sighed.

'I didn't follow all of it, but she sounded smart.' Ryder confessed to Kristoff.

'A bit intimidating at first, huh? Still gives me chills sometimes…' The other man sympathized.

'Don't worry, everyone. Elsa's magic will help us if things get out of control, but hopefully we can just earn the Earth Spirit's trust and move on without any nutty business. Right, Elsa?' Anna reiterated her own security blanket in the face of the current conflict.

'Exactly.' Elsa's tone instantly softened.

'That's good to hear, because take a look further down.' Honeymaren stopped the group and pointed into the distance. Anna squinted, noticing some more odd shapes forming alongside the walls of the river they were traversing the edge of a mountain on.

'I see.' Elsa acknowledged. 'Quite a difference from the earlier giant. Their colour, even, is a shade darker.'

'Totally.' Anna agreed.

'Do you know the ones that do move around frequently enough to identify which Earth Spirit might be the calmest of the batch to interact with?' Elsa inquired further.

'Sure do.' Honeymaren beamed, slowing her pace some as the group began closing the distance between themselves and the rather impressive collection of no less than four Earth Giants seemingly resting in various parts of the river. One even looked like he was completely submerged save for his nose, if Anna was observing correctly. 'He's kinda short and stout, and when Ryder and I were taking notes on their movements one day, we noticed he was a bit less aggressive than the others. Like he was more interested in stopping and smelling the flowers, so to speak.'

'That's a funny image.' Anna giggled.

'Right. Show me this particular Earth Giant and then we can proceed from there.' Elsa kept focussed; another difference between the sisters that balanced them quite nicely.

'Oh, boy. Never thought I'd be actively seeking these things out when they've almost trampled my men and I more than a few times over the years.' Mattias whistled.

'You okay, Sven?' Kristoff asked, his friend whining a little but ending with a strong huff of courage.

The path, thankfully, began to open up at last, the forest to the left thinning just enough for Anna to be at Elsa's side without worrying about stepping into bushes or slipping into the river far down below.

'Only Anna and I will approach the Earth Spirit to begin with. I do not wish to intimidate them.' Elsa began laying down her plan, and the grunt of dissatisfaction that Mattias made indicated a notion of irritation.

'I would prefer to be at your side, my queen, should an attack take place.'

'Your bravery is noted, Lieutenant, but as Anna recently stated, my magic negates all other assistance beyond the guidance here.' The flat denial came back. It seemed a bit mean, if Anna were being honest, but the younger sister supposed men like Mattias needed such curtness.

'Are you well rested enough to use it in such a capacity again, if needed though?' The man countered.

'If the Earth Spirit proves too much for me at this given time then so be it, but we don't have the luxury to delay this journey forever. Your people and the Northuldra deserve to be free. The Arendellians waiting for their queen deserve peace of mind. And I…deserve answers.'

The silence of the afternoon was interrupted by but a small breeze, a slight giggling traversing alongside the breeze as if the Wind Spirit was watching everything taking place.

'Thanks, Mattias.' Anna turned to the man and smiled sympathetically, worried his pride had been damaged by Elsa inadvertently.

Once the small band was within approximately two hundred feet of the collection of Earth Giants, Elsa asked Honeymaren to stop leading them.

'This is far enough.' She started again. 'Can you indicate which one I should address first, Honeymaren?'

'Oh. Sure.' The Northuldra girl must've been a little thrown by "focussed" Elsa, since their previous interaction was likely a little more relaxed. 'See the one leaning in against the other side of the canyon? He's kind of stouter than the others?'

'Yes.' Elsa nodded.

'Try that one first.'

'Disturbing him might stir the rest though, right?' Mattias was pretty good at worrying about every little thing. Anna guessed that made him a reliable royal guard to her father. Maybe if he had been around during King Agnarr and Queen Iduna's final trip out to sea they might've made it back okay or considered the journey too dangerous to even attempt based on weather patterns or something…

'It definitely will.' Ryder sounded more serious than usual. 'And they are not happy campers when they first get up. There have been too many close calls to count amongst us Northuldra trying to get a handle on these guys and their patterns for moving around.'

'This adventure has been a risk since the beginning. Anna and I will be fine.' Elsa began stepping forward, and for a second, Anna hesitated, because she had a feeling Mattias – despite how much he liked her – probably didn't consider her tagging along overly beneficial to Elsa's ultimate safety. The fact her sister was so adamantly including her was wonderful, of course, but even Anna wondered if it was the absolute best idea, her personal feelings notwithstanding.

'Alright.' Mattias' tone was that of defeat. 'I'll trust you two. But if things get hairy, you better believe I'm jumping in.'

'Me, too.' Honeymaren declared.

'We're all here to help.' Kristoff made eye contact with Anna, and she smiled in thanks.

'The support is appreciated.' Elsa nodded with confidence. 'Ready, Anna?'

'Always.' Anna recommitted to her sister.

'Let's go.'

Anna skipped in beside Elsa, and the two royal sisters of Arendelle approached the collection of Earth Giants, no fewer than four within fairly close proximity of one another. The wind caught in the girls' capes once more, picking up suddenly and a less enthusiastic giggle passing through the breeze.

Bruni scampered into Anna's shirt behind her neck, gurgling in apparent fear.

'I think the two other spirits are freaking out a little bit…'

'They're not alone.' Elsa breathed out shakily, and when Anna glanced to her sister's clenched hands at her side as she walked, she noted the way they were trembling.

'Oh, my gosh! Elsa?' Anna immediately grabbed hold of the other woman, not caring if the rest of the group further back could see. She brought Elsa's hand up in front of their faces and clasped it between both of her own. 'You were acting so crazy brave back there I didn't even think you'd be nervous.'

'Neither did I.' Elsa relayed with a touch of apparent regret. 'But I suppose these Earth Giants are picking at some still rather raw fears of rock creatures and the like.'

'What? This is the first I've heard of that.' Anna shook her head in confusion.

'I was hoping to keep it that way.' Elsa extracted her hand, glancing back to the group they had left with consideration.

'Are you talking about Devil's lackeys? Because you totally crushed those guys!'

'Not before they hurt you and then distracted me long enough for Devil to…' Elsa grimaced, closing her eyes and squinting before opening them wide in a seeming attempt to focus. 'I'd rather do this alone, to be honest, but we made a promise, so, I'll stay committed to that. However, I can't…I simply can't fathom even coming close to losing you again. Yet, I need to see this journey to the end so desperately for so many reasons. I'm at war with myself at this moment, and it's taxing, to say the least.'

Anna had no idea. She should have been better at reading Elsa by now, but maybe she was too distracted by her own newly revealed potential to notice the minor nuances in her behaviour leading up to this moment.

'I'm so sorry, Elsa. I was…thinking about a bunch of other stuff and didn't even realize how you might be feeling.'

'Oh? Like how your whole life you've been possibly capable of harnessing fire magic?' Elsa laughed in relief. 'I think that's more than enough reason not to be hyper sensitive to what I might be experiencing approaching these Earth Spirits.'

'Still…' Anna mumbled before Elsa touched her shoulders and replaced her moment of weakness with ambition and strength.

'I'll be fine.' She reaffirmed. 'We'll be fine. My magic on its own is enough to detract any real danger. And having you close allows me to ensure your safety as well.'

'True enough.' Anna had to confess. 'And you know? I'm pretty good at getting away from sticky situations…relatively speaking.'

'That you are. I recall you suddenly having a profound burst of energy anytime we needed to abandon a late-night adventure back as children. This practically guaranteed you made it to bed first and safe from the wrath of our parents.'

'Don't underestimate the power of a good adrenaline rush.' Anna giggled.

'Believe me, Anna, your mere presence reminds me more than consistently of that.'

Anna blushed at the compliment once she understood the implications, and then took her sister's hand once more, intertwining their fingers affectionately as they both turned to face the next elemental spirit together.

'We got this. Only two more to go and then we're ready for Ahtohallan, right?'

'Presumably, yes.' Elsa answered.

'I'm here, Elsa.'

'And I never want that to change, Anna.'

'Heh! Same! Now, let's go!'

Anna walked side by side with her sister, the sheer size of the Earth Giants becoming clearer as they closed the gap between the behemoth beings and themselves. Both the Wind and Fire Spirit had been no joke as far as pure power went, and with at least four beings the height of Arendelle castle next on the list for "taming", Anna had to admit her initial courage was beginning to fail her. Bruni and the Wind Spirit's clear anxiety didn't help matters either.

However, with one look at her beautiful sister, Anna knew she was right where she needed to be. She wouldn't let Elsa confront these beings that transcended history alone. Elsa had been forced to confront too many hardships on her own. Not anymore. Not when the royal siblings had committed to a lifetime of love for one another. This was just another obstacle to overcome together. With Elsa's magic, they could do anything. Together they could overcome any and all challenges. Anna believed that with all her heart. She always had. And always would.