A/N - So sorry for such slow updates, still taking prompts!

Thank you queenfixerupper for this prompt!

This takes place post Frozen.

There was so little to celebrate, and that made any milestone that much more important. It was the creation of joy, and the workshop of happiness. It was almost silly how putting up some colourful bunting ignited so much of a warm feeling in her heart, but it worked. She counted the days to making a grand and oh so magnificent masterpiece of cake to tie the homemade decorations together. The stubborn stickiness of icing that always led to Iduna aiding in the clean up, Anna treasured those moments when Iduna held her hands, her soft fingers tickling her own. Anna would get lectured to stop wriggling, that she was getting icing everywhere, that she was not to touch anything until she was sorted. But it always ended with giggles.

Celebrations brought out happiness Anna found rarely. It wasn't forced, it was real, and it was easy. Anna was allowed to dump the contents of her brain everywhere in the form of sparkles, colours and shredded paper. It was nice to have her undivided attention as they worked on their project before unveiling it to Agnarr, Kai and Gerda. If she were an only child, Anna was certain that this is what a normal family would do.

Today was her birthday. She was not here, and her absence was overwhelming. She would have loved to have seen her and Elsa together.

Out of their parents, Iduna was Anna's biggest advocate and cheerleader, she spent many a night going over the routinely questions over Elsa's situation. Agnarr, never showed much hope or acknowledgement to Anna's future plans with Elsa. Iduna on the other hand, probed. She loved to hear Anna's dreams, and always told her that there is a chance they could come true. She was the anchor that stopped her little heart from spiralling. Anna may have been the dreamer of what was once an improbable dream, but she was grateful to have Iduna be her soundboard, it was nice to say Elsa's name aloud in a positive manner.

It was 6am. The windows were wide open letting in the warm crisp air, as a bonus, the sunrise made for a less empty canvas casting square orange rays across the living room. She just needed her heart to get into gear. The box of decorations was beside her, she just needed to put them up.

But the bunting was withered and aged, the paper chain was in near tatters, the colours were faded and she was missing birthday cake ingredients. This wasn't the lively celebration she was hoping to throw. It was evident now just how much she had aged with the decorations, she was exhausted, having spent the night going over the floorplan, trying desperately to remember where every decoration belonged right down to the markings on the wall that had come with living. She wanted it to be a surprise for Elsa - getting up early was also included in that surprise - she never got to see the finished product. Iduna always spent the previous day with Elsa, it was to Anna's understanding, a small way of including her in the party. They would sit together, tying paper chains together, cutting and gluing. Elsa would pick the colour scheme, and Iduna would teach her new craft skills. She always left enough so Elsa could decorate her own bedroom.

"What are you doing up?"

Anna span round, wearing a forlorn look on her face. She stayed quiet as Elsa's smile dropped, her gaze turned to the box of decorations that Anna had just been rifling through.

"Oh."

"It's mum's birthday." Anna said, even in her knowing that Elsa understood already, she needed to say it aloud. To let it out in the air in other means rather than the diminishing decorations that had until now been collecting dust and would surely perish on contact.

"I see." Elsa was still processing.

"I wasn't sure how -" Anna started, but Elsa's eyes had glossed over, a frown was emerging. "- or if, to celebrate.". It was now dawning on her that she should have perhaps consulted her sister. This was a difficult day for the both of them, their memories of it were so different.

"No, we should celebrate." Elsa said resolutely. "What did you have in mind?"

"Decorate, and bake. But it's not really working out." She held up the bunting, only for half of it to slip away back into the box, only furthering her point. "We made these with mum. There's still some of her here." Anna tilted her head into her shoulder, letting out a painful sigh as she examined the remaining bunting in her hand. So much time had passed, and the decorations excruciatingly assured she knew just how long. "I wanted to put them up again, just as she did." It was becoming a growing problem, despite having Elsa now on the other side of the door, their family problem being resolved, Anna still longed to be able to recreate those snapshots of childhood. To be able to look into a room and be taken back to all those years ago, with her mother. The one who made her feel special when nobody else was able to.

Anna stood defeated, she was slumping as she spoke and leaned awkwardly in doorways. As Elsa listened, she caught eye of the dark circles that Anna had accessorised. This wasn't any way to start a day, let alone their mothers birthday.

"Have you slept?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, I have." Anna answered, straightening and giving an earnest nod. Elsa stayed silent, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "A little." Anna continued. But Elsa did not budge. "I tried - I just wanted to plan - which is crazy right? It's just really important, and I wanted to do it right because well, she deserves the best and it would have been her first birthday with us both in a super long time." Anna's ramble came to a grinding halt when she felt Elsa's cold hands on her shoulder.

"You need to get some sleep."

"It needs to be perfect, Elsa. I need to get ingredients and a whole bunch of new decorations." She protested, gesturing to the box behind her.

"We will. We have the whole day ahead, it's not a party or celebration if it's just me." Elsa assured, a warm smile brewing on her face.

Anna knew the words weren't meant to sting. "If its just me." Iduna wasn't here. Agnarr wasn't here. It was just them in a grand and empty castle. The hallways never felt so quiet.

"Okay." Anna gave in, heading back towards the bedroom she had forced herself out of. It felt a little bit like she was giving up, but Elsa was right. She needed energy to invest all she could into this day, not half heartedly battle through it. And truthfully, the less she saw of this day, the better. The birthday excitement still hadn't kicked in like she thought it would. It was just overwhelming grief.

It had been so underwhelming too, the castle had a way of amplifying the sound of Anna's lonely footsteps with a creaky floorboard at the most undesirable moments. It wrecked with her mindset, shaking her out of the reminiscent mirage she was happily settling into, and being snapped back into the lonely existence of a princess without parents. Elsa was here, and for that she could not be more grateful. But that loneliness was real, her childhood self and who she was now could not be more distant from each other, living two extremes of circumstances. Little Anna would be heartbroken, and joyful, and hopeful, and confused.

She didn't sleep, instead she was now just feeling guilty under the presumption that Elsa had taken lead and was now sorting everything without her. Elsa always did that, she was able to take lead of projects with ease, and all Anna wanted to do was help. She hated feeling useless. Selfishly, she worried that Elsa wouldn't be able to replicate the image Anna held in her head of her and Iduna's masterpiece.

This is now.

It would never be replicated, even if she did it alone. Iduna wasn't here. Elsa being here meant sharing again, and that was a blessing, in spite of the sometimes confusing feelings that coincided with the delight it brought.

Being relieved of her post, the much needed break brought tears. Soon enough, she was sobbing into her pillow. Grief had won. It had her by a chokehold that was making her throat sore and cheeks red. Iduna should have been here, to celebrate with both of them. How she would have adored it, how big her smile would have been. Her and Agnarr would have danced around the room, and Elsa and Anna would surely have crashed into them in learning how to dance by mimicking them. She and Elsa would make decorations in the same room, and Iduna would praise Elsa for her skills and Anna for her creativity. She didn't want to let it happen, but somehow celebrations had turned into another day of mourning. She vowed, as she stood by those gravestones that she would celebrate their lives, she would continue what they couldn't. She would bring happiness back into the castle. Her sadness wasn't meant to spill across the calendar, these days were off limits.

"Anna?" Concerned, Elsa spoke softly. The bed dipped, and now Elsa was hugging her.

"I just miss her." Anna croaked. This insurmountable grief was difficult to navigate. Maybe this was her last gift, Elsa. Bringing her back. The house had literally flipped, her parents had taken the place that Elsa once held, only there was no reversing or fixing it. There was never going to be a balance of a family of four.

There weren't any words. Anna wasn't even certain what she would want, or need Elsa to say.

And then, a song. A gentle melody filled with love.

Where the Northwind meets the sea,

There's a river full of memory.

Sleep, my darling, safe and sound.

For in this river, all is found.

The greatest gift, memories she had forgotten. Elsa continued in her song, Iduna's song.

Every verse, Anna felt more connected than ever. They had their individual memories of Iduna, they both knew what lengths she went to to keep both girls afloat, to keep them happy, or at the very least coping. This tied them together. They found Iduna in each other, and celebrated her each day that they shared.