Someone in the crowd at the docks of Rizucia had recognised Joanna as the girl who burned the kingdom. The crowd was moving towards her. The soldiers moved around the royal families and held up their lances. Without hesitation, Elsa cast a thick wall of ice between themselves and the crowd. It was at least nine feet high.

The soldiers guarding the king and queen stood aghast. One of them tapped the ice with his finger, convincing himself that it was real. The crowd were stunned by Elsa's magic. They'd never seen anything like it before. Some ran. Others weren't put off, and they started to chip away at the ice with whatever they could find.

"What sorcery is this?" the king asked. "So, Elsa can remove curses and conjure ice from nowhere? Incredible!" he enthused.

Anna knew there was no time to marvel. "Now what do we do?" she asked Elsa.

"I'll talk to them," the king declared. "Afterall, they are my people, I will explain and they will understand."

Elsa made an ice staircase so that the king could reach the top of the ice. He climbed up the stairs and looked out over the crowd. They gasped.

"It's the king!" someone shouted.

"Sire! You're in danger!" someone else called.

"Get them out of there!" came another call.

The crowd chiselled away at the ice with increased urgency. The king tried to calm them down.

"My friends, please! Everything is fine," he tried to reassure them. "Please leave us be!"

"We have to free you sire!" someone cried out.

"Please, we are fine," the king continued. "The girl...she is not…"

The king trailed off as he couldn't find the words to say. The crowd grew noisier and more agitated as they tried to free their king from the ice. He went back down the steps. Joanna looked at him with fear in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," the king said with his head bowed. "I couldn't think of what to say to them. I couldn't tell them about Joanna. They don't even know we have a child!"

Elsa quickly turned to Anna. "You need to talk to them," she said. "They'll respond to the Queen of Arendelle!"

Anna thought for a moment about what she was going to say. "Okay, I'm ready," she said, determined. She went up the icy stairs to address the crowd.

A chink appeared in the ice as one of the Rizucians managed to break through. Elsa flinched then used her powers to repair the hole.

"Anna!" Elsa called. "We don't have much time!"

"Give us the girl!" someone shouted. "She destroyed our kingdom! You need to get out of there and leave her to us!"

Anna appealed for calm. "Please, let me speak!"

The crowd slowly calmed down to hear what Anna had to say.

"Er, hi everyone," Anna said nervously with a little wave. "I am Queen Anna of Arendelle."

The crowd started to mutter. The fact that they were in the presence of a foreign queen shocked and surprised them.

Anna continued her speech. "Yes, the young girl with us is the one who attacked your kingdom. She attacked ours too."

The crowd became restless again. "Monster!" came a cry.

"But," Anna continued, raising her voice, "she was cursed!"

The crowd fell silent. "Cursed?" someone asked. "What do you mean?"

Anna had to think on her feet. She couldn't let them know that Joanna was really their princess.

"She was cursed at birth with dark magic," Anna continued. "My sister Elsa, who knows more about magic than anyone, found out how to break the curse. The girl with us now is not the same girl who burned down our kingdoms. She is not a threat anymore. If she was, we wouldn't be here. She needs help. Rizucia is her home. If your king decides that she needs to be punished, then I'm sure she will be. Justice will be done."

Anna held her hands to her heart and leaned forwards, imploring the Rizucians to leave them be. The crowd talked amongst themselves, and many started to back away.

"Now please, let us pass!" Anna insisted.

The crowd continued to back away, and Elsa slowly made the imposing wall of ice disappear. The soldiers escorted them to the waiting carriage, where they all just about fitted in. The carriage began its journey to the castle.

"Phew, that was close!" Kristoff exclaimed as he put his hand on Anna's knee. "We're safe thanks to you. You handled that like a true queen!" he said to her.

Along the way Joanna looked out of the window and saw several houses that had burned to the ground. She turned and looked up at her mother.

"I want to make this right!" she said earnestly.

"All in good time sweetheart," her mother replied as she held her hand. "All in good time."

The carriage made its way to the imposing gates of Rizucia castle. The guards saw the carriage approaching, and began to open the gates. Once they were open, the carriage went through and into the castle courtyard. The guards didn't hesitate in closing the gates as quickly as possible.

Joanna noticed people in the far corner of the courtyard still cleaning up after the fire. She bit her bottom lip and swung her arms a little as she felt the urge to go and help them. Anna, Elsa and Kristoff looked around to take in their surroundings. The king took his handler to one side for a moment before joining everyone else.

"You are in luck!" the king bellowed. "The recovery from the fire is going well, and the castle kitchen is stocked with the finest food and drink our kingdom has to offer. With many of my personal favourites, I might add! We may have been closed off, but we are self sufficient in all manner of culinary delights! But first, how about a walk around the courtyard?"

"Certainly!" Anna said. "I think we could all do with a short walk to calm down after all that excitement!" she said as she smiled. They slowly made their way around the recently tidied courtyard while the king told them all about the history of the castle. Joanna listened attentively too, she knew that she had a lot to learn.

Once they had made their way around the courtyard, they were invited into the castle itself. The staff tried not to stare as they all made their way in. The king led them through the main castle corridor and into the dining room, where they found a butler finishing off laying the table. He finished his work and slinked away.

They all took their places. The king and queen sat on one side of the table and Joanna slid in between them. Elsa, Anna and Kristoff sat on the other side. Elsa smiled at Joanna who looked at both of her parents then smiled right back.

"I can't tell you how happy we are to have Joanna back," the king told them. "Thank you so much!"

"It's been our pleasure!" Anna replied. "It has been an eventful few days…" she admitted.

"How on earth did Joanna get to Arendelle?" the king sputtered.

"I can tell you Dad," Joanna said as she put her hand on his arm. "After I did what I did here, I got a man to take me out to sea. He told me that Arendelle was the closest kingdom. I arrived in a place called Northuldra a couple of days after we left."

"And that man is the one who recognised you at the docks?" the king asked Joanna, who nodded quickly.

"Hmmm, we shall have to do something about him," the king said sternly. "But that can wait. I hope you didn't do too much damage in Arendelle!"

Elsa, Anna and Kristoff looked at each other awkwardly, not sure if they should say anything.

"Well, actually Dad," Joanna said nervously while she held her arm and looked away. "After I reached the forest of Northuldra I set fire to a lot of trees…"

"Well, trees are one thing!" the king scoffed. Then, Joanna continued.

"After I burned the trees, I went south to Arendelle," Joanna said as she looked her father in the eye. "There, I...I did some bad things…" she stuttered.

"Oh dear," the king said somberly. "Such as…" he said while rolling his hand in front of him.

Joanna was about to answer, but Anna interrupted.

"Your Majesty, before you judge your daughter too harshly," Anna said consolingly, "there's something you need to know. We all understand what she was like with her powers and how different she is now, and we've all forgiven her." Elsa and Kristoff nodded in agreement.

"Well, Dad," Joanna continued as she looked down. "I arrived in Arendelle on the day of Anna and Kristoff's wedding," she said as her voice started to tremble.

"I was awful. I set fire to the town and ruined the wedding," she said as she looked down despondently.

"You burned Arendelle too?" the king boomed. "Joanna!"

"I said I'm sorry!" Joanna shouted back, starting to get upset.

"Now, now you two!" the Queen of Rizucia said softly as she leaned across Joanna. "We all know what Joanna used to be capable of. Fresh start, remember?"

The king grunted and sighed while he stroked his beard. "Yes, fresh start…" he huffed.

"We've been through so much," said Anna. "Arendelle will recover, the damage wasn't as bad as it was here, thanks to my sister Elsa," Anna said as she gestured towards her.

"Ah, thanks to the magical ice powers I presume?" the king asked, to which Elsa nodded. "Small mercies I suppose. Please let me know if there is anything Rizucia can do to assist Arendelle," the king said in a conciliatory tone.

"Of course we will," Anna assured him.

"But I must admit I'm curious," the king admitted as he narrowed his eyes and leaned forwards, "how did Joanna lose her powers?"

"Oh that's a long story!" Elsa said. Just then the food arrived.

"Ah, you can tell us as we eat!" the king declared. "Oh, I do hope this is to your liking. This is my absolute favourite. Cured salmon from the lakes of Northern Rizucia. Delicious!"

Everyone except Elsa began to eat. Joanna ate hers with relish. Elsa continued to tell the story of how Joanna lost her powers.

"Joanna found out about a magical river of ice called Ahtohallan," Elsa began to explain. "That river contains all memories and the answers to the past. She found out about the potion there."

The king and queen shuffled awkwardly in their seats as Joanna glared at them.

"I found her there, and she fell into a room in Ahtohallan called the Chamber of Emptiness," Elsa continued. "That's a special part of Ahtohallan where no magic can exist. It was there where she lost her powers," Elsa said before tasting the salmon.

Joanna smiled at Elsa and gave a little nod, happy that Elsa had spared her parents the details of the story.

"Well, we're so glad everything worked out for the best, aren't we sweetheart?" the queen said as she looked at Joanna, who had her mouth full of salmon. Joanna nodded and held her napkin up over her lips.

The queen laughed a little. "We shall have to teach you some manners!" she giggled. "After all, certain things are expected of a princess!"

"All in good time!" Elsa concurred as she politely left half of her salmon. Kristoff had already polished his off. A butler came in and took the plates.

"That salmon was lovely!" Anna declared. "I'm sure it would be very popular in Arendelle!"

"Ah, but the best is yet to come!" the king said proudly. "And it would go very well with a drop of wine."

The king snapped his fingers and a butler walked over, impeccably holding his hands behind his back.

"Fetch a bottle of the vintage Malbec from my private reserve, would you?" the king asked the butler. "Only the best for our guests!"

The butler bowed and went to fetch the wine.

"Ah, I do hope you'll like this wine!" the king enthused. "For generations the vineyards in the south have given exceptional vintages!"

"I must say Your Majesty," Anna smiled. "You are quite the salesman! Will you be opening Rizucia up to trade now that Joanna is back?"

"Well I think that's a foregone conclusion, don't you?" the king joked as a beaming smile came across his face. "Yes, I must admit I'm looking forward to getting out there again. I shall love to trade with Arendelle. Your textiles are exquisite. In fact, I still have an Arendellian winter cloak in my wardrobe, but it's seen better days. I should very much like to purchase a new one…"

"I'm sure we can work something out!" said Anna. Just then, a butler arrived with the wine.

"Ah!" the king said as he rubbed his hands together. "Now, I'm sure we all know how to appreciate wine!" he said as the butler poured a little into everyone's glasses. He only left out Joanna.

"Now, cup the wine with your hand and get a good sniff of it!" the king instructed. "Really get your nose in there!"

Everyone did as they were told. Anna and Elsa smiled at each other nervously.

"Mmm, hasn't it got a wonderful bouquet!" the king enthused as he wafted his hand towards his nose. "Now, we taste! Just get a little sip, then roll it around your mouth so you can really appreciate it!"

Joanna sat back in her chair, folded her arms and looked at her nails. "Is he always like this with guests?" she whispered to her mother.

"He misses an audience!" her mother whispered back. "He used to love telling foreign guests how good our food and wine is!"

While Joanna and her mother whispered to each other, the three Arendillians were trying to appreciate the wine. Anna and Elsa weren't quite sure what to say, but Kristoff piped up.

"Yes, excellent!" he enthused. "Full bodied with good tannins, very nice!"

"Indeed it is!" the king replied, happily surprised. "I see you know your wine, sir!"

Kristoff nodded towards the king as the food arrived.

"And what better to go with our finest red wine but our best steak!" the king beamed as he rubbed his hands together again. "This is our prime fillet, served with sauteed potatoes and mixed vegetables. Tuck in everyone!"

The king continued to talk trade, while everyone else sampled the food. Joanna didn't much care for the steak, but she loved the sauteed potatoes and was devouring them.

While the king continued his lecture about how great Rizucian cows were, Anna leaned over and whispered to Kristoff.

"Where did 'full bodied with good tannins' come from? I didn't know you knew anything about wine!" Anna said to Kristoff.

"I don't," Kristoff admitted as he whispered back. "I did some reading while I was preparing to be a prince. I read a book that said if in doubt about red wine, say that it's 'full bodied with good tannins'," he whispered to Anna.

"Do you even know what that means?" Anna asked.

"No idea!" Kristoff replied. Anna tried to stop herself from giggling. "I thought a tannin was someone who makes leather!" he confessed.

"That's definitely more your thing!" Anna replied as she gave Kristoff a wink.

While the king continued his animated speech about trade, Joanna finished her potatoes. Noticing that her father was distracted, she carefully picked up her fork and moved it towards his plate. She surreptitiously stabbed a few of his potatoes and stuffed them in her mouth. Anna and Elsa noticed and put their hands to their mouths, giggling at Joanna's antics.

The king noticed their laughter and stopped his speech. "What?" he said, noticing that Anna and Elsa were both looking at Joanna. "What did she do?" he asked as he turned to face her.

Joanna was chewing, and she rolled her eyes back and looked around, as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. The king looked down and saw that some of his potatoes were gone.

"Did she just pinch some of my potatoes?" the king smiled. Anna and Elsa gently giggled and nodded.

"Well, looks like I need to keep my eye on her!" the king declared as he put his arm around Joanna and laughed. Joanna finished her mouthful and laughed along with him.

"Sorry dad!" she laughed. "They're just so delicious!"

"Well, never mind! I suppose I need to cut down on the fried food anyway…" the king admitted.

They all finished their main courses and continued their conversation.

"Your Majesty," Elsa asked the king. "Do you know what yourself and Joanna will do next?"

"What will you tell your people?" Anna added.

The king sighed. "I haven't thought that far ahead…" the king confessed.

"I want people to know the truth about me," Joanna declared as she looked downwards. "I don't want to live a lie all my life. I need to face up to what I've done."

"Joanna," Elsa said firmly while looking at her, "you saw what happened at the docks. You can't just tell everyone what you did. You know what they'll do!"

"I think we need time to decide what we're going to do," the queen chimed in. "After all, we've got time now, we don't need to rush things. We can do that catching up, can't we sweetheart?" she asked Joanna.

Joanna looked at her mother, gave a slight smile and gently nodded.

"I think that's a very sensible suggestion," Elsa said sagely as she nodded her head in Joanna's direction.

"I remember when I was made to appear in public before I was ready," Elsa said slightly forlornly. Anna reached across and held her hand. "Everything will be so much sweeter if you wait until you feel comfortable with who you are!"

Everyone agreed, and quietly nodded at Joanna. Then, the next course arrived at the table.

"Ah speaking of sweet," the king piped up. "here comes dessert! It's another course we've got our wonderful cows to thank for. It's creme brûlée!"

"Oh, excellent!" Anna enthused. "My favourite!"

Joanna picked up her spoon and tried to scoop through the hard caramel top. She turned to her mother.

"How do you eat it?" she whispered. "I can't get my spoon through the top of it!"

"You tap it," her mother told her. "Like this!"

The queen picked up her spoon and gently tapped the top of her creme brûlée so that she made a small dent in the caramel. Joanna opened her eyes wide and smiled.

"That is a satisfying sound!" she said excitedly. "Let me try!"

Joanna hit hers quite hard and the spoon went right through the caramel, through the custard and onto the bottom of the dish, making a fairly loud noise. Joanna looked up, slightly embarrassed. Everyone else looked at Joanna and one by one they tapped the tops of their desserts. Joanna smiled at the satisfying noise they all made.

"Make sure you get some caramel and some custard on your spoon at the same time," the queen told her. "It tastes best that way!"

Joanna did as she was told, and took a bite. Her eyes lit up as she sampled it. "This is amazing!" she exclaimed while her mouth was still full.

"It's good to see someone enjoying their food!" said Kristoff.

"Everything has been delicious!" Anna concurred.

"Thank you so much!" the king smiled. "It's been wonderful to have foreign guests in the castle again!"

"Well, when we get back we must organise a trade envoy," Anna said to Kristoff, who looked slightly bewildered. Anna turned to the king. "Our kingdoms have a lot to offer each other!"

"They certainly do!" the king agreed. "By the way," he said almost slyly, "you're the first to know that Rizucia is open for business. You're first in the queue!" he declared as he winked.

"I'll keep that in mind!" Anna giggled. "Well, what a wonderful meal!" she declared.

"Amazing!" Kristoff agreed.

"Delicious!" Elsa nodded.

"Well, thank you for everything but we must be getting back to Arendelle now," Anna solemnly declared.

"Yes of course," the King replied, "want to get working on trade, eh? I'll arrange a carriage to take you back to your ship."

Everyone went down to the front door of the castle where a carriage was waiting in the courtyard.

"Thank you so much again," the queen said. "You've done so much for us and our kingdom. If there's anything we can do for Arendelle, please let us know!"

"We will!" Elsa smiled.

Anna took a step towards Joanna and looked a little sheepish. She had one more thing she wanted to do before she left.

"Actually, before we go, Kristoff and I have something we'd like to give to you," Anna said to Joanna. She handed her a small envelope.

"Really, you don't have to do anything else for me, you've been so kind!" Joanna insisted. "What is it?" she asked, curiously looking at the envelope.

"Open it!" Anna said playfully as Joanna began to carefully open the envelope. "We both know you've had a very tough life, and we wanted to, well, give you something to look forward to," she said happily.

Joanna finished opening the envelope and read the card inside. She immediately raised her hand to her mouth in shock and gave the card to her parents, who eagerly read it.

Joanna was so happy she couldn't say anything, so she just ran towards Anna with her arms outstretched. Anna met her and they shared a huge hug.

"I...I don't know what to say!" Joanna said through happy tears.

"Just promise me one thing," Anna replied gently. "When we see you again, I want to hear about all the good things you've done, okay?"

Joanna nodded and hugged Anna again before turning to Kristoff.

Kristoff and Joanna didn't know what to say to each other, they just smiled awkwardly before Kristoff gave her one of his bear hugs. "See you soon," he said gently. Joanna just smiled and nodded.

Joanna had saved her biggest hug of all for Elsa. She threw her arms around her and held on tight.

"Thank you," Joanna said softly. "I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you…"

Elsa took Joanna by the hands and smiled at her.

"Before we go, I've got something I'd like to give you too," Elsa told her.

"Oh, you really don't have to," Joanna insisted, "I already feel so spoilt!"

Elsa let go of Joanna's hands. With a wave of her fingers she crafted a statuette out of ice. She then cast her permafrost magic over it so that it wouldn't melt. Joanna held her hands to her heart when she realised what it depicted. It showed Elsa holding Joanna when they were back on the ship, the first time that Joanna truly felt at peace. Elsa handed it to her.

"It's beautiful!" Joanna said as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Thank you Elsa!"

"Here's what I want you to do," said Elsa while looking into Joanna's eyes. "Take this and keep it somewhere safe. Whenever you feel that you're alone, look at it and remember that there is someone who knows what you went through, that there is someone who understands."

Joanna looked at the statuette and held onto it tightly. Finding it hard to speak, she just looked up and nodded at Elsa.

"You heard what my sister said," Elsa said gently. "All you have to do is your best to make things right. And I know you can."

Joanna looked up at Elsa, nodded, softly smiled then gave Elsa another hug. Elsa, Anna and Kristoff then made their way to the waiting carriage while Joanna went back to stand with her parents.

"Goodbye!" Anna called as she got into the carriage. "See you soon!"

As the carriage set off towards the harbour, Anna, Kristoff and Elsa waved for as long as they could. As Joanna and her parents waved back, the king and queen each put a hand on Joanna's shoulder.

Once they were out of the castle courtyard, Anna sat down and sighed happily.

"Well Elsa, you were right about her. She did need our help," Anna said contentedly. "And seeing that family reunited has made this all worthwhile."

Elsa just sat there and smiled at Anna. She knew that she had been right all along.

"I can't wait to get back to Arendelle!" Anna said playfully as she grabbed Kristoff by the arm. "We've got another wedding to plan!"