Absolutely living for the lovely responses to last chapter!

Well, most of them. Guys, I've told you. A review thats just "more"/"plz update" etc... they literally turn me off a fic, sometimes for days at a time. I got one while halfway through writing this chapter, and I couldn't bring myself to touch this for like a week afterwards.. I'm not a machine, don't treat me like one.

-IEA-

Kristoff was definitely feeling last nights indulgence the next morning, groaning and downing water like it was going out of style. Anna could feel last night herself, but it was in a very different sense. She just felt extra satisfied and happy... and maybe still a bit tingly from early-morning fumbles with her sister. Elsa had even found the time to join them for breakfast, so Anna's morning was even better!

"Did you enjoy your party mother?"

"I did, even if it was rather taxing by the end of the evening."

Elsa nodded at Iduna with a soft smile, stirring the crushed berries in the bottom of her glass to flavour her milk better. Olaf was surprisingly well behaved himself that morning. He'd probably got a lot of energy out at the party last night, so Anna expected him to perk up by lunch again.

"Well, you have plenty of time to recover. I am sadly out of time this morning, but I will see everybody for lunch."

Elsa trailed her fingers along Anna's arms as they hugged goodbye, leaving Anna with a pleasant shiver on her skin as Elsa left to tend to her duties. Anna watched her go before turning back to her food, chuckling as Kristoff groaned again.

"What are we doing today?"

"I'm due for reading hour at the school this morning. You want to come along mother?"

The former queen blinked in surprise, spoon stopping mid-stir of her yoghurt.

"Oh. Yes, that would be... nice."

Anna smiled. She knew Iduna must be going stir-crazy never leaving the castle, but still wasn't quite physically recovered. The school wasn't very far, and sitting down for a whole hour wouldn't take that much out of her, and was a nice way to start re-integrating herself into Arendelle again.

Stopping off in Elsa's study to steal a few kisses from the Queen, Anna paced back and forth outside their mothers room while she waited for Iduna to finish getting dressed. Alice insistently pressed an apple upon Iduna before allowing her to leave, which Anna saw her mother slip into her pocket as she fell in to step alongside her daughter.

"I married in to the Royal family, so it's quite strange to be going from Queen to Princess."

"It was that or come up with some weird complicated title to reflect you returning from the dead... plus, being a princess rocks! Just ask me."

That made her mother smile, which made Anna smile in turn. Linking their arms together, the two royals left the castle, and Anna didn't really mind waiting in the courtyard while Iduna gathered herself a little bit, and turned her face up toward the sky to feel the sun for a minute or two.

"It's been a while since I just... enjoyed the sun."

"Well, we can just do that later if you want? There's a nice spot around back for relaxing, maybe we can do picnic lunch!"

"Perhaps. Which way is the school again?"

It had been a few years since she'd strolled these cobbled streets, especially in the daylight. Her late night desperate stumbling toward the castle when she first returned probably didn't count. It wasn't tough to find the castle. Not even at night, thanks to Elsa's shimmering dust of ice that sparkled in the dark.

"This way. When you're up to it, we'll go walking around the whole town until you could get around with your eyes closed! I don't know why you would, but you could and thats what counts."

That earned her a vaguely bemused expression from Iduna, but then they were making their way through the little gate that led to the school.

"Princess Anna! Princess Anna! Are you here to read with us?"

"You bet I am! And I brought my mother to watch. This is Princess Iduna."

Pretty much every child there had seen her at the party the day before, but all managed to be courteous in their greeting to the former Queen, giving their sweet little bows and curtsies before all being shooed back in by the teacher to get to their seats. A second big chair was hastily erected near where Anna usually sat, which she led her mother to before heading to greet the children properly, hearing tales of their time since she last read with them, all with heartfelt promises they had been practicing their reading at home too.

"Alright, who's ready for story time?"

"Me!"

Was chorused back at her several times over, each school child straining to look the most attentive and well-behaved in their seat. Beaming at their little faces, Anna took the book from the teacher and flipped it open to where they'd left off the week before.

She was almost as sad as the kids were when it came time for her to go, though Anna was utterly thrilled by how they all insisted Princess Iduna come back next time too, and maybe she could even read to them? Seeming pleasantly surprised by it herself, Iduna promised to think about it before Anna went about escorting her back to the castle.

"So, how was it?"

"Lovely. You have a wonderful way with them."

Anna glowed with the praise; they might have outgrown needing her approval, but her mothers praise was still pleasant to receive.

"Really? Thanks! You should give it a shot next week if you feel up to reading for an hour. I don't know how used to talking you are yet."

Luckily, Anna was used to doing enough talking for two. Or maybe three people at once. She'd had so many conversations with Elsa's locked doors after all.

"We will see. I think I will rest for a little while before lunch, I'm still feeling the long day yesterday."

"Ok. Try to eat that apple or Alice will have my head! And I am very attached to my head."

Chuckling and shaking her head, Iduna did dutifully pull the fruit from her pocket and take a bite as she headed off toward her room. Seeing Finn catch her at the top of the stairs to ensure she made it there, Anna was content to go and find whatever it was she was doing next. She wasn't sure what it was yet, but when had that ever stopped her?


The horse beneath her seemed to be in a lazy mood, and only started to trot along after a good few nudges.

"Trying to get out of work again?"

Anna asked, perched happily astride her horse as a skilled, confident rider. Elsa smiled, nodding and trying not to get distracted by how pretty Anna's freckles looked in the sunlight, or how beautiful her smile was.

There were only so many times one could almost fall off their horse and blame inexperience, after all.

"I think so."

"He usually gets into it after a little while. How are you feeling up there?"

"Very good. Not sure I'm ready to be left unsupervised though."

Anna giggled.

"Don't worry, I won't let you ride alone."

The one morning a week Elsa took just to spend time with Anna was absolutely vital to her life by then, and the kingdom kept ticking just fine without her for those precious few hours where she was just able to be with her lover, Anna. And while there were occasional twinges in her chest about why she couldn't already ride a horse, that hollow ache of loneliness through all her years locked away, Elsa was honestly so happy to be learning from Anna.

And though she probably wouldn't admit it, Anna clearly loved to teach her. Elsa knew Anna sometimes felt like the spare, the backup, and even more so since Elsa was coronated as she felt like a princess in the shadows. But to Elsa? Anna was the shining star, the pride of their family. If learning to ride a horse as a grown adult meant making Anna realise just how special she was, then Elsa would take the occasional tremor of loneliness that haunted her memories.

Besides, there was an incredible positive in just going out to the stables, and that was Anna in riding trousers. Elsa wasn't entirely sure it was legal for her to look that good, but Anna went and did it anyway.

"How are your legs feeling?"

"Better than last week, and much better than last month."

"So you're getting used to it. Awesome!"

They took the horses back to the stables so the staff there could tend to them - Elsa was learning to do that too, but their ride had gone on a little longer than usual and she needed to clean up and be ready to host a couple of visitors right after lunch. Really, she shouldn't have spent her morning outside at all, but after the harsh words exchanged with their mother the night before, the sisters needed that time to just be together, to be free of any other expectations.

Waiting for the water to be prepared so she could have a quick wash between outfits, Elsa leant against the wall and sighed to herself, focusing on not letting her powers eek out as last night came back to her again.

"We have to talk about this!"

Elsa had, foolishly and definitely with a touch of denial, hoped the matter had dropped when their mother didn't say anything about it for a full two weeks. Alas, it seemed she had only been waiting to regain some of her strength before tackling it all over again.

"There is nothing to say!"

"Elsa, you are the Queen of Arendelle. You cannot continue on with this... deviance! If your father were alive-"

"Well he's not! You two left me here alone after locking me up for all those years. I didn't ask you to go and get yourselves killed!"

The fact Iduna was not actually dead didn't really matter just then - Elsa had thought they were both gone, and lived as an orphaned, terrified child trapped in the body of an adult about to be coronated for over three years.

Though healthier than she'd looked even a mere two and a half weeks ago for her 'return' party, the previous monarch was still a little thin in places, some of her bones sharp against her nightdress when she gestured broadly and the tension in her jaw pulling her still-slightly-sunken cheeks even tighter. It added to the tension of the moment with guilt; Elsa was angry at her mother every time the presumptive demands about she and Anna came out, but the woman was still not recovered from spending three years at sea and going through awful things to get back to them.

But neither were backing down, it seemed. If the staff couldn't hear them, she'd be amazed.

"No, you didn't. But we... that isn't the point! If you think this thing with Anna is because you were kept apart, then what difference would it have made if your father and I had survived and returned two weeks later, as planned?"

Elsa baulked. The feeling she had for Anna... she had no doubt they would still have been there, but even if Anna had returned them still, would she have had the nerve to do anything like they had with two sets of watchful eyes, and no cushion of her own status as Queen to quiet the staff?

"No difference at all. You'd just be two more people we had to hide it from."

"You know you can't keep this up. You're the Queen! You have to marry well for the kingdom."

"What for? I'm never going to produce an heir, so what you are saying is I should not only force myself in to a loveless marriage, but I should do it to a man who will then never be able to have his own children. Is that really what you want for me, mother?"

It went back and forth like that for several minutes before Anna's distinctive knock sounded at the door, peering in with wide eyes and a worried expression.

"Uh. People are getting nervous about the snow outside. Everything ok?"

Elsa had asked for five minutes to speak with their mother alone; she didn't want Anna having to listen to reasons they shouldn't be together. Why upset both of them?

She looked to the window, wincing as she saw the fat flakes of snow falling quickly and heavily. Already, Arendelle was starting to look white again. Anna didn't hesitate, crossing the room and wrapping her arms around Elsa's middle. Her warmth and love thawed Elsa instantly, and the snow seemed to vanish as quickly as it appeared when Elsa managed to reign herself in. Anna shivered slightly as Elsa returned her hug, the ice still glowing at her fingertips until they landed on Anna, melting the Ice Queen until Elsa felt like herself again.

"Better?"

Anna murmured.

"Yes. Thank you. I'm going to bed, goodnight mother."

Anna held her hand as they left, their mothers voice following them.

"This isn't over!"

"Your Majesty? The water is ready."

"Thank you Gerda. I'll be fine to do this alone."

"As you wish."

Left to clean herself up, hearing the maids next door picking out an outfit just in case Elsa opted not to form her own dress, Elsa sighed to herself as she traced a small mark on her inner thigh. Anna left it there the night before, rather fond of those intimate little secret bruises on them both. Something nobody else could see, but that they took with them wherever they went.

Perhaps Anna had realised how badly Elsa would need the reminder that day.

-IEA-

Tasty tasty fluffy angsty.