A/N - Still taking one-shot prompts, I actually really enjoy writing these! So please do leave ideas! (Especially if its angsty!)

This isn't inspired by any particular prompt, 400ish words of this have been sitting in my doc manager for about a month. Truth be told I'm intimidated about continuing the next chapters of Bring Her Home and Falling Into Darkness as they're both significant, I don't wanna ruin it lol

So here's another one-shot. Exercising my writing brain so tomorrow I should be able to write the next chapters for the two stories mentioned above :)

queenfixerupper - It was a great prompt, right? Thank you! I will get to your prompt when I can. You mean All is Found right? That lullaby?

Jt2300 - You're more than welcome! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for the great prompt, I enjoyed exploring it!

Angelina38 - Thank you thank you thank you! I would totally do a book of it if I trusted my ability to execute it well. Sadly, I don't know that I could figure out the logic of how everything works - even though its made up. Like in Doctor Who, it's all whack but it makes sense. I see it didn't come across in the fic, I should have had K and Sven try the barrier - but they couldn't get through. My reason for Anna not being able to cross was because just as Elsa was the fifth spirit, Elsa mentions "and the spirits all agree..." that Anna should have been Queen of Arendelle. The dichotomy of their roles, and not wanting to risk another fog or dam situation, it shuts out humans. Kinda like a chameleon, it's shut itself off. Just like Arendelle have their lives, Northuldra have theirs. Not very bridgy but that was my thinking haha. It would be awesome to explore more but my expertise is angst not fantasy :( I'll have a think though! Maybe it will come to me! Also I agree, I love that Anna's "power" is her heart. I think if Anna had an active physical power then the story wouldn't shine so much on their relationship, there's a perfect balance. I'm glad they didn't do it for the movies, but it makes for an entertaining read.

whumpydump - Jt2300, are you hearing this, whumpydump is calling you out are you ashamed of yourself? Kidding! A collective thank you from us to you for a great prompt. Masterpiece? Holy - Thank you so so much! Means the world!

JGR - Firepowers for Anna! Cool concept isn't it! I'm intrigued to read other stories - as I'm sure there are - exploring it. Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Cloud - well my heart is a puddle. How long did that take?! You have come to the right place for sure! I write Anna angst all day everyday. It became a problem because I had to check what I had wrote before continuing so not to confuse the Anna angst. (Gotta keep it organised at least, there's a hefty amount to read through). I'm not sure if you've just read this fic, or like all the others (if its the latter huge props to you, and thank you!). I was gonna recommend what one to read purely for Anna angst but truly its all of my stories. If I had to pick one I'd go for Falling into Darkness - 'cause it explores the fuckery that was Anna going through that Cave situation and being totally chill with Elsa and all she did. I fixed it! Then ALTCHUTW. Then Bring Her Home. I can't thank you enough, you really brought a smile to my face today. It means the world to hear reviews like yours.

Now I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders.

One day it was all gone. The world around her shifted for the worse and she had no clue why. At such a young age, Anna had done everything she could to make things better. What she wanted more than anything was to fix things, for her best friend - her big sister - to come out the door. She tried making figures of snowmen, to let Elsa know she was thinking of her. She tried asking her to play, it didn't matter what they would do. She suggested riding bikes around the halls, and then opted for the calmer activity of building snowmen when she realised Elsa wasn't as adventurous. But nothing changed, the small girl in pigtails was met with a closed door at every opportunity. It towered over, and having stared at it for so long she ended up memorising the patterns and marks that scattered on it. It was the closest she would get to Elsa.

But it wasn't just that, her parents had become more subdue, secretive even. The gates were shut and she was abruptly cut off from the rest of the world. She couldn't have done something wrong, could she? On of the off chance she did make eye contact with Elsa in the halls, the elder sister would look at her big sad eyes and retreat from the scene. Anna could stare as much as she wished with tears in her eyes, Elsa wouldn't bat an eyelid, she wouldn't comfort her like a big sister should.

Love meant an open door. It meant an open heart, sharing and togetherness. Everything she was lacking.

That was her first heartbreak. From her early childhood right up to her parents death, Anna had spent years trying to work out what went wrong. How everything so good had changed in an instant. Every plan to coax her sister out of her bedroom, every idea to reignite her relationship had failed. The world around her had tumbled down, with only paintings on the walls and books for company; Anna felt more alone than ever. For someone who led with her heart, who thrived on meeting people and making friends it destroyed her. She would make friends in her fantasies, and get as close as a relationship as she could with the staff.

Her heart flipped when he saw her. The door was wide open and she ran head first into it. They wanted to know her, to spend a lifetime together. She wasn't invisible. She wasn't hated. Someone was running to her and she was sure to welcome them. Unlike her sister, who turned people away.

It was her first experience of love being weaponised against her. How he had drawn it out of her and used it for his advantage, to tear apart an already severed family. Only 18 years old, her first close connection with a stranger almost resulted in death, and he had enjoyed it. Her already fragile heart was smashed to a pulp in a matter of hours of leaving The Castle. Much like her parents, her first voyage beyond those four walls had punished her.

What can you do when your good isn't good enough?

When all that you touch tumbles down?

Her theory was proved wrong. She had measured love through physical attributes,, focusing purely on what she was receiving, it was reductive to ignore underlying motives behind someone's actions, what she couldn't see. Elsa had shut her out, out of protection, she loved her so much she climbed a mountain and spent life a of solitude to protect her. Love was wanting to be around someone all the time. Love was putting others first. It was seeing the good, despite all the bad. It had stamina through difficulties.

Then he came along, and it was as though the stars were shining down on her. Kristoff. Who's love survived the most impactful hardships. But it stayed with her, the worry that she might not be good enough. Some days, she felt as though she was waiting outside a bedroom door again, holding out hope that the person on the other side of the door loves her just as much as she loves them. When Elsa came out of the door, she had froze an entire kingdom and pushed her away. Having heard about the honeymoon period, Anna couldn't help but wonder just how long it would be until something would go wrong. He shared her traits, her speaking too soon, stumbling over words. Some days, it was cute. Others, it ignited a fear in her. Creating a cycle of thoughts that she would spin round until it would come to a grinding halt, throwing her onto a road of wrong conclusions.

How many times will it take, to get it right?

She kept trying, over and over again to ensure that relationships were secure, that everyone was happy. It was a checklist she went through daily, she was constantly on look out for anything that might go wrong, dangers that might threaten what she had worked so hard to create. Anna loved, she loved deeply and wholeheartedly. She didn't hold back because she knew how quickly it could go away. Even when all was seemingly fine, she couldn't help but wonder when she would be able to love comfortably, when her heart might settle.

Her childhood dream had come true, Elsa was finally the big sister she had wished for. They spent hours upon hours together, in friendships they expanded their family. They could hug, the doors were open and she learnt so much about her sister. It was everything.

My best intentions keep making a mess of things.

Saying 'no' was difficult. It felt horribly wrong to tell Elsa she couldn't do something - especially when so much of their lives had been ruled by limitations. Those final months before her parents deaths, Anna had stopped trying to coax Elsa out her bedroom door. She had accepted the pain, accepting its residence in her soul, she opted to believe that this was simply what life was, and will be. How wrong she had been. She knew how it felt to be pushed away, so every rejection of Elsa's next grand plan felt like she was nudging Elsa closer to the edge of a cliff. But she couldn't lose her. And Elsa certainly would, had she of followed through with her dangerous ideas built on a whim. What stabilisers were to Anna were the equivalent of putting a knife into Elsa's tyres, withholding her from spontaneity, which at times is a crucial element to growth.

That forest. Their deaths.

Learning that Elsa died, it all too quickly came to Anna's realisation that their last conversation had been argument. It had been Anna pleading for Elsa to stay, to work it out together. Anna's love clung, and couldn't let go with as much ease as Elsa's could. Her co-dependency was a dark shadow that hung over every major event of their lives.

I just want to fix it somehow.

Her love for her kingdom. The place she grew up in. She would have to salvage it, there was no clue what would be waiting for her upon her return after breaking the dam - if anything at all - she loved her people. If they were to find out she broke the dam, it would put every relationship she had formed with the community at risk. She had often run into problems head first to solve them, believing wholeheartedly she could save Arendelle from an eternal winter just by having a conversation with her sister at the top of a very tall mountain when she herself had no experience of climbing. Her heart took the lead once more in saving Elsa, sentencing herself to death. Losing so much, she couldn't risk more. It required thought, an energy she couldn't spare. She had been brought to her knees. Her love for others had backfired in the worst way possible. She would follow her family anywhere, anytime. She didn't realise just how much damage she would inflict on herself in doing so.

It was here she truly understood just how much stamina love had. How much it had survived, how frequently it could be tested. People leaving, it was a fear of hers. A theme that had haunted her even as a child, losing Elsa, her parents, her first love. Her heart had been abused in that forest, losing Olaf and Elsa to death simultaneously whilst under the impression Kristoff had left her. She lost her family all in one, and was expected to pick up the pieces. Her co-dependent self had become independent unwittingly in a way she couldn't ever be ready for. The universe had ripped her of her support system. She couldn't lift herself off the floor. Everybody she loved was gone, and likely wouldn't be coming back.

Somehow, through ways she still didn't understand. Arendelle had been saved. Elsa was alive, Olaf too. Kristoff had even proposed. Love endured. Love won (it always does).

Unexpectedly, she would face one final test.

Elsa would leave Arendelle for the forest.

It was unimaginable. After everything they had gone through, that Elsa would ever consider leaving her side. It shook her, how much certainty Elsa had about leaving. When Anna herself still felt as though she was clinging to every second. It was so difficult, her tender heart tried not to take it personally. But they had withstood the worst years, they could withstand this. Elsa was coming into her own, brave enough to step into the unknown rather than fleeing from the familiar, her big sister was speaking to her, Anna had listened to Elsa frequently talk about how lucky she was, how happy she was that Anna was her sister and Arendelle was her home.

To be in communication with Elsa to plan an evening for charades an kingdom apart was closer than sitting opposite a bedroom door without knowing each other, without speaking.

She had learnt that the term family was flexible. It included a snowman, reindeer and her now fiancée, who had once just been a stranger. She was now coming to learn that the definition of home was flexible too, it wasn't a place. It was the feeling of being together. Knowing you can call upon them, knowing that they care about you.

Attachment issues something Anna had for so long - and was continuing to struggle with. Co-dependency, that had its benefits and problems. Both she had become well attributed with, both were a life-long struggle. But she was winning, and the universe continued to remind her of that frequently - albeit through catastrophic means.

She had learnt long ago that love didn't require physical evidence. Her parents had been proof of that, her grief was love everlasting.

This was just a variation of that.

Love was so much more than an open door.

A/N - Okay well this ain't a fic so much as a character study? I just find the evolution of Anna and "love" so interesting, I don't think I even really delved into it as much as I could have. Heck, I wrote this on a whim, it's kinda on the surface analysis. Anna and attachment, her co -dependency, its fascinating to me and I do feel Disney haven't acknowledged it as much as they probably should. Yes, we as audiences are most definitely smart enough to come to our own conclusions and draw stuff from screen ourselves, but I think one line addressing it at least would make all the difference.. If there's a third movie, I want focus on that.