Elsa sat on a padded bench, her fingers splayed out along the ivory keys of a mahogany piano. Her parents had brought the piano into her room not too long after the accident with Anna and it was a constant source of comfort during all those years of loneliness. Her loneliness was no more now that she had Anna back in her life, but she still kept the piano in her room because she preferred playing in privacy over having a watchful audience. Since her ascent to the very important title of queen there was very little time for her to play anymore though, and when she did play it was usually because something was bothering her and she needed a distraction, something to soothe and calm her troubled soul.

Now was definitely one of those times.

Her fingers were poised to begin playing but they refused to move, uselessly hovering in place just above the keys. No matter how hard she tried, Elsa could hardly think or function properly after what transpired at breakfast. Her emotions were chaotic, unsettled, bouncing from feeling happy, to upset, to utterly disgusted and confused. Pounding her fists against her knees in frustration, she dropped her head on the piano keys, creating a jumbled mess of sound and she couldn't help but think that the disorganized melody matched her feelings perfectly.

What she had wanted to do to Anna under the table… What she had fantasized in great detail doing to her little sister… Elsa groaned with want just thinking about it. Oh, and then there was that kiss! Elsa had no idea how that happened or whether it truly happened to begin with. It certainly felt real but for all she knew it could have been another too real fantasy her mind made up! What was real and what was not? She was losing her sense of reality and that was very bad.

She never had an issue controlling her less than sisterly feelings for Anna while in her presence before. The reason behind the sudden change was glaringly obvious. Elsa had made a mistake by thinking of Anna while with the girl at the masquerade ball, and now she had opened a door that could not be so easily shut. It created a bad situation and made her unpredictably dangerous around her sister.

That's certainly nothing new, is it? Elsa thought perturbed, shaking her head with a slight scowl dragging down her lips. Heaving a loud sigh, she gave up on attempting to play the piano and walked to the window across from it. Leaning her forehead against the glass, she looked out at her kingdom and observed the people of Arendelle going about their business like it was any other day. Lucky them.

Sighing once more, Elsa looked past her kingdom at the snow-capped mountains far off in the distance. If she looked hard enough she could barely see the North Mountain. Thinking of it made her curious about whether her ice castle was still there. Nestled so high in the mountain, it was isolated from practically everyone since very few were brave enough to climb that far up. With it being so cold and snowy up there, her castle was likely still standing, though how much of it was still intact was questionable.

Why not head out and take a look for herself? Elsa needed to be far away from Anna, at least for a short while so she could expel her thoughts in peace. A little trip up the North Mountain sounded like the perfect getaway. On horseback it wouldn't take her as long to trek up the mountain, and as long as she made the trip quick she'd be back in Arendelle before dark. She was certain the journey there and back would give her enough time for her to get her mind back on track where it belonged.

Changing into attire more suitable for riding, Elsa ventured outside and strode purposefully to the stables where she had the available stable boy ready a horse for her.

After the events that took place during the unfortunate winter fiasco, any time the queen went outside the castle walls she was to be heavily protected by guards, so it wasn't easy convincing her body guards to let her ride alone. She had ice powers and was more than capable of defending herself if necessary, plus she was stronger and smarter than she was back then and she was finally in complete control of her magic, for the most part... She had hiccups every now and then but those mostly occurred when concerning her questionable thoughts about Anna, which was happening more frequently…

Eventually, albeit grudgingly, the guards let her go alone. Elsa made sure before she set off to give strict orders to anyone of importance not to disclose her whereabouts to the princess. She wasn't too concerned about Anna following her since the younger girl was supposed to be resting in her room, recovering from her fainting spell, but knowing how stubborn her sister was, she wasn't taking any chances.

As her horse trotted away, a happy snowman watched her go.

~ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0ox0~

After Elsa took her to her room, Anna waited exactly one minute before walking out. Her legs guided her through the castle halls and before she knew it, she found herself outside in the bright and colorful garden, pacing back and forth in front of the tree where the scene of the crime took place. The place where it all unfolded. She couldn't think of anywhere else to go upon discovering this mind boggling news.

"I kissed my sister… She made love to me," she thought out loud to herself. "We.. Oh my god." It was crazy and so wrong but… it had felt sooo good. But it had been her sister, of all people!

What to do? What to say? Did Elsa know? Her behavior was slightly unusual, sure, but there was no clear indication that she knew about what the two of them had done together. Anna's hand flew up to her throat which she realized was free of the ribbon she'd tied on earlier. Had Elsa seen the marks? Was she aware of how they got there? Anna chewed on her fingernails nervously, knowing she'd suffer with a major case of hangnails later on. She snorted and kicked at a random rock in her path. Hangnails were the least of her worries.

What would Elsa do? Anna wondered, her mind running through the many different scenarios. Would she shut her out again after finding out? Or… would they do it again? The latter sent spine tingling chills of anticipation down her back. She definitely wouldn't complain if that happened…

Rubbing the goosebumps that formed along her arms, Anna debated between the four possible outcomes she had. She could tell Elsa and risk staring at doors again for the rest of her life. Or she could refrain from telling Elsa and risk her finding out at a later time, bringing her back to the door issue. She could decide not to tell Elsa and everything could be as it was pre-masquerade, at least in Elsa's mind. Or she could tell Elsa and… discover new possibilities between them that were never considered before.

Somehow she doubted the last one would come to fruition, considering Elsa was queen and she was the princess and they were sisters…

Shit, shit, shit, Anna swore mentally as she continued to probe her brain for a solution.

Her legs complained from her constant treading back and forth with no rest in between and she was starting to create a small trench in the grass. She collapsed to her knees beside a patch of pink and white flowers with beautifully bloomed petals and her fingers absentmindedly stroked across the tops. "What am I gonna do?" she said in a soft sing-song.

Unable to come up with a decision, she sought help from the flowers before her. Anna picked a pink flower from the patch and plucked the petals off of it one by one. "Tell her, don't tell her. Tell her, don't tell her. She loves me, she loves me not…"

Once all petals floated gracefully to the ground and all that was left was the empty stem, Anna rolled her eyes at her patheticness and huffed. The method she was using to make her choice was terribly flawed and childish. Tossing the petal-less stem aside, she clambered to her feet and glared at the tree as if it was the source of her problem. Since it was a witness and played an important part in her intimate moment with her sister, whether it liked it or not, she felt it should take some of the blame. "I don't know whether I should kick you or hug you," she muttered.

"A hug sounds a lot better than a kick."

Anna shrieked in fright and whirled around to face the intruder. "Olaf!" she exclaimed, the shock turning to relief upon finding out it was only the harmless lump of snow and not someone else. She had been so close to knocking his head off. "How- What are you doing here?" She knew it was a stupid question the second it came out of her mouth but she was so startled by his sudden appearance that it was the first thing to pop out.

"Hi, Anna!" the cheerful snowman greeted, waving one of his stick hands voraciously, a big toothy grin spread across his face. In his other hand he held a watering canteen, which he set down. "The flowers were thirsty so I was giving them some water. And would you believe I found a weed growing amongst them? I don't know how it got there but I took care of that pesky nuisance." Above his head floated a tiny cloud that rained flurries of snow down on him. Anna didn't understand how such a small cloud could keep the snowman cold enough to prevent him from melting, but somehow it did. The wonders of her sister's magic.

Glancing around curiously, Olaf asked, "Who were you talking to, anyway?"

"Oh, um…the tree," she admitted. The little guy spent most of his day in the garden, tending to the flowers. He treated them as if they were his children. She knew Olaf wouldn't find her talking to a tree strange at all since he cooed at his flowers all the time. And talking to a tree or flowers wasn't much different than talking to paintings, which she'd had plenty of experience with back in the day. They never talked back.

Olaf looked thoughtful and nodded gleefully. "Then in that case, a hug is definitely in order!" He flung himself against the tree and wrapped his arms as far around the thick trunk as they could go, which wasn't very far. "Hello, Tree!" He sighed happily and released the tree, then scratched at the stubs of hair protruding from the top of his head. "Why would you kick it? What did it do to you?"

If he was asking that then he must have not overheard anything she'd said, thankfully. She had forgotten where she was and had spoken too freely about her intimacy with her sister, and that was dangerous. If anyone other than Olaf had shown up and heard her… well, she didn't know what would have happened but likely nothing good.

In answer to his question she responded with, "Nothing. The tree didn't do anything. I… I was just thinking about my sister."

"You want to kick Elsa?" Olaf asked, confused.

"No! I was… Never mind. I… well, I have something that I need to talk to her about, but it's kind of a sensitive subject and I don't know if I should go through with it," Anna explained with a grimace. "She might… end up hating me." Having Elsa shut her out again would be the worst possible thing to happen and she wasn't sure she'd be able to cope with that.

Olaf clucked soothingly. "I seriously doubt that. She loves you."

Anna wrung her hands together. "So I've been told," she said quietly, digging the tip of her shoe into the rich dirt beneath her feet. But would Elsa still love her after hearing the news? "There's only one way to find out." She pounded a fist into her open palm and said with determination, "I'm going to do it. I'm going to tell her."

"Great! Let's tell her!" Olaf cheered, raising his arms up excitedly, jumping up and down. He stopped and tilted his head. "Wait…what are we telling her?" he asked slowly.

"The truth," Anna answered vaguely. "Olaf, do you know where she is?" Her sister wasn't usually hard to find but knowing exactly where she was would save her the time it would take to hunt her down and prevent her from changing her mind about confronting the issue.

"Yes," he said.

"Where? The study? The library? Her room?"

"No."

Anna dropped to her knees and grabbed the snowman around the midsection and shook him to get the answer she needed out of him quicker. "Where?" She shook a little too hard and Olaf's head plopped off. "Oops, sorry."

Olaf just chuckled. Anna placed his head back where it belonged, giving him a friendly pat. "She went up the North Mountain. I saw her riding on a horse. She was by herself." He gasped, horrified, noticing for the first time the petals scattered on the ground and gathered them up in his hands, frowning. "Hey…"

"The North Mountain?" Anna paid little attention to Olaf and his discovery of the remnants of the flower she'd maimed, deep in thought. It seemed out of the blue for Elsa to go to the North Mountain now when she'd never made a mention or an attempt to go there since the last time, when she revealed her powers to everyone accidentally. At the time she had escaped to the mountain to be alone so she wouldn't harm anyone, and the atmosphere there was perfect if one wanted to be alone. It was quiet and secluded. But why would she want to be alone now? Was it related to her powers again? Was she losing control of them to the point she feared injury to others and was distancing herself for safety reasons?

There was no denying Elsa's powers had been at work during breakfast. The coldness she'd felt, not to mention her sister's frozen breakfast, was proof of that. But it didn't necessarily mean she was losing control. In fact, her powers were kept contained in one area which proved that Elsa was more than capable of directing her icy magic wherever she wanted it.

There was only one other reason she could think of if it wasn't her powers that brought about her sister's sudden trip, and Anna was almost certain it involved her. It had to mean that Elsa knew about them!

Except… if Elsa really knew she'd touched her sister like a lover only could, wouldn't she be more animated about it? It was a startling discovery for Anna, a life-changing experience, really. She fainted, for goodness sake! It was highly unlikely her sister would be as calm as she was during breakfast unless she was oblivious to the truth. Unless… what if it was the kiss that set her off?

Whatever the case, Elsa's ignorance would not be for long once Anna spewed everything out to her. "How far ahead is she?" Anna asked Olaf.

"She set off not too long ago." Olaf eyed her suspiciously, cradling the petals against his mid-section. "Say, Anna-"

Anna thanked Olaf with a strong hug, lifting him off the ground. The petals went flying up in the air and patiently drifted down. One petal landed in Anna's mouth and she spat it out before saying, "I'm sorry for hurting your flower and I promise I'll replace it when I get the chance, but right now I have to find Elsa." She planted a quick kiss on his frozen cheek and rushed off to the stables.

When she arrived at the stables she had a difficult time acquiring a horse. It seemed like everybody was doing their damnedest to prevent Anna from leaving, but she managed to make her escape by creating a distraction, which involved a bucket, the potent presents horses were so generous to leave behind, and a good hurling technique.

When everyone was busy dealing with the poo-tastrophe she'd created, Anna hurriedly slipped reins onto a horse and scrambled onto it without a saddle, having no time to put on all of the proper equipment to make the ride comfortable for her. "Hee-ya!" she bellowed and kicked the horse's side gently, which sent the horse bolting out of the stables. Anna barely had time to grab the reins, nearly flying off the back of the speedy animal as it shot forward. Once she got her bearings, she directed the horse on the right path, in the direction of the North Mountain. Anna gritted her teeth and gripped the reins tightly as her body bounced with each step the beast took, bearing the painful ride, not accustomed to riding saddle-less.

The scenery transitioned from green summer grass to white winter snow as the horse galloped steadily along the sparsely traveled trail up the mountains, although there was evidence of another having recently been in the area. Elsa. She urged the horse to go faster, but the farther they went, the more densely packed the snow became, slowing down their pace.

Anna loosened her hold on the reins, her hands left with stinging indents from squeezing the cord so hard and long. She flexed her hands to bring feeling back into them and turned her mind to focus on how she'd begin her talk with Elsa. "Let's see… Elsa! How are you doing? Nice day for a ride, isn't it? Oh, by the way, we totally DID it together!" She snorted. "No, that sounds dumb. Uh…Okay! So, Elsa, that night in the garden got pretty intense, huh?" She winked and jabbed her elbow as if Elsa were really there.

"Well, that was totally horrendous." Anna growled and smacked her leg in aggravation, but she missed her leg completely and hit the horse instead, hard.

The horse cried out in surprise and stopped abruptly, kicking out. The reins fell out of her reach and Anna's body was thrown forward. She would have gone flying over the horse's head but her arms quickly encircled the horse's thick neck and she clung to the beast for dear life. "Whoa, boy! Er.. Or girl!" The animal did a quick circle, neighing and bucking multiple times. With each jolt Anna felt her hold slipping fast. She continued trying to soothe it, hoping to get the animal back under control, but her words met deaf ears.

"Calm DOOWW- Ow!" Anna lost her grasp and was flung off the horse and tossed into the snow.