Patty sat in silence between Kristoff and Anna as the sleigh slid along. While she was still a little miffed with the big man, his concern for Anna nearly rivaled her own. He sat comfortably in his seat as Sven, his reindeer, trotted along pulling the sleigh. When he talked to Anna, however, it was like he thought she might break at any moment. Anna needed support, not the handling he gave her. Treating her like glass wouldn't hold up under the weight of the princess's guilt. They had been almost lovers before Queen Elsa's accident that had changed everything.

Maybe accident want the right word, but it was close enough. The brotherhood of Handelin had attempted to assassinate the queen when she refused to give up her throne. Elsa's feverish delusions had become terrifyingly real. The physician had called them fever dreams, but anybody close to Elsa or Anna were quite closed lipped about the details. It hasn't taken long to learn about people named "Hazel" and "Della". Apparently Hazel died helping to protect Anna, and Della had questionable motives. If lips got any tighter about those two, you could use them as a tight rope to walk on.

Then there was that Duke who tried to manipulate Anna. The only good thing about that man was it allowed her to meet Anna in the first place. The twisted little man had done a real number on Anna's emotions. Hopefully it wasn't permanent. It might take a real shock to snap her out of her current mood, but nobody knew for sure what wouldn't make Anna even more closed off. She barely talked as it was, although Patty was proud that she was starting to get more smiles from her and the occasional actual answer.

Patty felt blessed to have seen what she believed to be the "real" Anna before the Duke's manipulations shredded Anna so thoroughly. Anna had been a friend and protector while they were trapped by him. She knew she would have been dead if she was put in Anna's place.

It still felt awkward the amount of trust Anna, and later Arendelle's leadership, had been willing to place in her. Now that trust bound her to the princess as she attempted to recover. While it appeared a monumental task for Patty, she couldn't say she minded. It allowed her to repay Anna for her trust, and she had to admit she was quite fond of the poor girl.

She herself was just a street urchin the duke kidnapped out of convenience to elevate the manipulations he imposed on Anna. Anna was so easy to consider a friend, despite how they met. When the duke neared the end of his plan to take over Arendelle, he had pushed Anna too hard and lost control over her. The result was the silent, guilt ridden girl she now looked after.

Patty glanced down at the horrid outfit Anna clutched in her hands as though her life depended on keeping it. It was the only outfit Anna had to wear with the duke and Patty regretted ever telling her it was commonly used by assassins. It was also a reminder of Patty's own failure that resulted in the death of another companion. Only the princess and her had survived the Duke's machinations. The other two young girls Anna had been trying to protect had died, as well as several other young girls the duke had tricked. Anna had once again lost the drive to live after she no longer had to be responsible for anybody else.

Patty was still a little Leary about visiting the "trolls" Kristoff thought of as family. There was the thought that maybe they could help Anna by teaching her to control the magic she had. Her magic was wild because she didn't know how to control it, although they had determined it was trying to help Anna in a primal sort of way. It could cause more harm than good because of the wildness, which only added to Anna's guilt.

Two days after leaving the capital, they finally reached Elsa's ice palace. Patty chafed at the slow pace they had to take so the supply wagons could keep up. Some servants had gone ahead to help set up, but the bulk of the supplies were in the next three wagons. Only a few items and the food had gone early. Despite Patty's best efforts, Anna hadn't said more than a handful of words while she was awake. The attempts to sleep were another matter as Anna frequently woke screaming or talking in gibberish. The gibberish would return to silence shortly after waking. The way Anna's luck went, the ice palace would collapse just as they came into sight.

As they arrived, a servant quickly pulled Kristoff aside, repeatedly glancing toward the others.

"What do you mean the food wagon never arrived?" could be heard over the constant light much for Anna's luck changing.

"Sir, the lead wagon snapped a runner in the snow. The second wagon got stuck trying to go around it. The damage it received getting loose would have prevented it reaching here so it both wagons diverted to town for repairs. Neither wagon reached town, and with all the ice haulers travelling to fill Queen Elsa's orders for ice exports we were unable to tell where they went."

"How long can we last with the food you did bring?"

"We were able to purchase enough food for the next five days or so, from a local town. They couldn't afford to sell us more and still survive."

"Any other concerns we should know about?"

"No sir."

'Not yet anyway,' thought Patty.

"Sven and I will go get more food and send for more from Arendelle. That'll take two days if we're lucky, likely three."

"Very good sir" was his prompt response. Kristoff kept the colorful language quiet and to a minimum as he returned to his sleigh.

"No food?" Whispered Patty as he returned to the wagon.

"You heard us? Thought I was quieter than that. Who put this guy in charge? Two days with minimal food, and he hadn't sent word back to the capital for more?"

"So you're running out on Anna again... to get food of course?"

"I have to. I'll return as fast as I can," mumbled Kristoff. Even he couldn't miss how Patty felt about him having to leave. He was almost out of earshot when he thought he heard Patty quietly say "coward".

A servant approached to lead her and Anna to their shared quarters and rapidly ensured Anna would be comfortable. Cushions and throws were already placed on couches and chairs. A fire had been laid in a stone hearth, which the servant had recently lit before their arrival. For a palace made of ice, it rapidly became quite cozy.

Because of the princess's unwillingness to talk, Anna and Patty had unintentionally learned to communicate in near complete silence. When Anna appeared to need something, Patty would quietly ask. Often Patty only needed to ask by putting a hand on her shoulder. If she was okay, Anna would shake her head. If she nodded, she would then look at what she wanted. Patty usually kept up a running monologue on anything and everything she could think of. Not being used to this, she was running out of positive things to say. Silences had been getting longer and longer. Fortunately this had become so routine that any silence was fairly comfortable so long as they were alone.

"Anna, you know that this 'Pabbie' is going to need you to actually talk with him. Are you going to be able to do that? I can't answer for you or things could get very confused when my answers are a little off."

Anna took a minute before she responded. "Mm-hmm."

"You know, it may be easier for you if you practised by talking to servants. . . or me. It may make talking to Pabbie easier later."

A moment later, Anna responded with a nod and another "Mm-hmm".

Patty finished the unpacking as they "talked". When she was done, she came up behind Anna's chair and placed a hand on each shoulder. Without a word, Anna lowered her head and gave Patty room as the girl started massaging her shoulders. While Anna enjoyed the attention from Patty, she didn't feel she deserved it. She did care enough for Patty to not let it show though.

When she was done, Patty took Anna's hand and gently led her to the bed. She didn't protest when Patty stripped her down to the undergarments and laid her in the bed face down. Anna was always so tense that Patty felt more than a shoulder rub was a good idea before bed, and Anna never objected. She extended the rub from Anna's shoulders to her back and then arms. She then moved to the her way up, she stopped at mid thigh. She smiled when she heard Anna's quiet snore. This was becoming a regular bedtime routine as Anna had trouble falling asleep any other way. Patty quietly readied herself for bed and carefully crawled in beside the princess. She put one arm over Anna to help her feel safe before going to sleep herself. It didn't take long for the second snore to quietly join the first.