At that point it was midday, and the sun was blazing. Whatever kiosk Anna had decided on, the length of the line had gotten ridiculous. How much longer would she have to stand here in the boiling heat? It'd been so long, she was practically drenched with sweat.

Still, she couldn't leave now. It's for Elsa, she reminded herself. Just a little while longer.

And after what seemed like an eternity, she finally reached the front of the line. The man smiled at her. "What would you like?"

She looked at the menu posted by the side…and realized she didn't recognize any of this stuff. How was she going to pick something now? "Um, what would you recommend?" she finally answered.

"Well, our chocolate ice cream bar is always popular!" he smiled, holding one up to show her.

Ice cream? Ice cream was always good. She could see why everyone wanted some, in weather like thisl And coated in chocolate?! "I'll take two!" she immediately exclaimed.

"Sure thing!" A couple of the bars were handed to her from the freezer. They really were kept cold, a lot better than the freezers at home, at least until Elsa started maintaning them. Hopefully they wouldn't melt in the hot sun…

"Thank you!" she grinned, running off to give Elsa her treat. When she got there, Elsa was still staring off into nowhere in particular, probably lost in her own thoughts again. Anna nudged her on the shoulder.

"Huh?" Elsa looked up. How long had she been sitting here? She hated to make Anna worry too much…

Anna beamed. "I got ice cream!" she said, passing one bar to her sister.

She eyed the item curiously. "Another Mickey?" What she had learned today, what did that mean regarding the mouse? She wasn't sure what to think about that, but the chocolate quickly got her attention. It looks so good… Casting aside any doubts that were still floating about in her mind, she decided to go for it and took a big bite out of one 'Mickey ear.'

Her eyes widened. The filling was so smooth and creamy, with a lovely vanilla flavor, and the chocolate complemented it in just the right way. "Wow, this is really good…" she managed to say.

"Really?" she giggled. She had to keep herself from drooling, waiting for Elsa to finally take the first bite. Now she immediately dug into her own bar. "MMM!" As she was immersed in the taste, her legs kicked in the air without her realizing it.

For a while, the girls were too occupied in their snack to say another word. Finally, seeing that Elsa had relaxed a bit, Anna decided to speak up.

"Is it still bothering you? This whole animation thing?" she asked.

Elsa paused. "Yes…not as much, but yes," she replied, refreezing her ice cream.

"Oh…" She stopped momentarily as well, trying to figure out what would be the best follow-up. Truthfully, she didn't understand what could bother her so much about it. Sure it was a shock, but it didn't really change anything, did it? So what if technically someone else made it up? That wasn't any different than what God was supposed to do…at, least she thought so. Her religious studies went about as well as any of her other school subjects. "I…is it something I…"

"No, Anna," she interrupted. There wouldn't be any self-reprimanding involved in this conversation, not for her, at least. Especially if she was as much of a victim of these…people as she feared. "It's definitely not you. It's never been you. I just…" How could she put this into words? "I don't even know if we have any control over what we're doing. Over what we did."

The idea seemed plausible at first, but she quickly shrugged it off. "Of course we do. I know I made all my choices on my own," she asserted.

"But maybe that's just what they want us to think?" she wondered out loud to herself. "Was everything forced onto us, Anna? All those years and years of misery…"

So it was about their childhood again. It always traced back to the past somehow. Anna was frankly tired of it; she didn't want to remember all that if she didn't have to. All that mattered right now was that it was over with. "Elsa, you know that's all behind us now," she sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Somehow Elsa snapped again, and the frost that had been building up where she sat refused to recede this time around. "No, I don't!" she yelled. "If they made us go through all that, how do we know they don't have something else ready to make things even worse?!"

"Because we know better now!" Anna shouted back.

"But I don't!" she cut back, lapsing into panic mode. "There's still too much I don't know! And no one wants to take the time to explain any of it…"

Trying to calm herself down, Anna hugged her now, paying no mind to the cold radiating from her body. "If you wanna go back to the inn, we can find someone to talk to," she suggested.

Elsa sighed as her sister's arms had an immediate calming effect. "No, not right now. I doubt I can handle any more new information for a while."

"Oh, okay…" At least they were getting somewhere now. But what would be her next move from here? She really had no clue. "So…then what should we do?" she nervously asked.

There was a pause. Elsa tried to smile. "If you're still wanting to romp around a bit, you can. But for now, I think I'll stay here."

"Really?" That didn't sound like a good idea. "But this place is huge. It'd take me a while to find my way back."

"You have the map, remember?"

Anna sighed. "But it's no fun without you…"

"It'll only be for a few minutes. Promise," she replied.

"But there has to be something…"

"I'm sorry. Not at the moment." Although Elsa slumped a bit on the bench, she didn't seem overly upset. Still, Anna knew she'd gotten better at hiding her unpleasant thoughts – well, not hiding them, but at least not letting on how bad they actually were. And she could see right through it. Seeing the anxiety in her eyes, something in her would just snap, and from that point on all she could think about was finding a way to make it vanish. It ate at her like nothing else, and the longer it took to get it done, the worse she felt…

But if this was the only way she could feel better… "Fine," she agreed, getting back on her feet. "But if you need anything, you come straight to me, okay?"

"I will, Anna," she said, flashing her a more sincere smile this time. This made it easier for her to not worry so much, but it still took her a few seconds to make herself walk away.

What was she going to do now? Every attraction she passed, she could only think, 'Elsa would love this,' and had to remind herself she was alone… No, she wasn't up for a ride right now. But a show might work. She could sit down, relax, enjoy the spectacle and still have plenty of time to get her thoughts together. And – coincidence of coincidences! – she happened to be standing under a marquee at just that moment.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Oh! One of her favorites! Such a romantic story. She made her way in just in time to take her seat for the next show. A wet mist was sprayed from the stage into her face, and she couldn't help but laugh.

But soon Anna found it difficult to focus on the show. A chill went down her spine, and she looked over her shoulder. Nobody was there; nobody but the other spectators, anyway. They didn't pay any attention to her; it was too dark to make out any distinguishing features. People would have to be crazy to be looking at anything other than what was on stage. So…why did she feel like she was being watched…?

Oh, geez. Elsa's paranoia was contagious. Silly Anna. There was nothing to worry about? …Oh, yeah. A lot. She let out a huff, when a theater usher suddenly started pushing the audience to the exits. The show was over. She'd been too deep in her own thoughts to notice.

And they continued that way, even as she shoved her way through the crowd and out the doors. So many ideas, so many events that occurred in just three days, and so many more to come. Elsa was right: it was absolutely overwhelming. She'd tried to keep an optimistic attitude through this whole thing, but it couldn't last long. Not when Elsa was at her lowest point since the coronation. At least it couldn't get any worse. Or could it?

She'd been so happy before, that she was able to comfort her sister after so much time apart. Feeling, for the first time, that her life had purpose. She would follow Elsa to the ends of the earth if she had to. But now she was being dragged somewhere new, and she couldn't quite keep up. No matter what, she was always too slow or too weak or too stupid…

There had to be some way she could be stronger for her. People here knew a lot about weapons, swords and bows and blunt instruments. But even that didn't sound like enough. They'd just barely managed with Facilier, and the people who came after them next would only be stronger. The facts were clear to her: magic was the only thing that could combat magic. It was too bad that she lacked anything of the sort. That was what led to all the trouble in their lives; that Elsa had this incredible gift, that she was on this whole other level that Anna could never hope to even come close to. Wherever they went, she was always the spare.

"My, my, you look troubled, your highness."

The voice nearly made her jump out of her tights. Who was there? Oh, it was just some stranger. A pale, dark-haired young woman in exotic clothing. Come to think of it, something about her did look a little familiar… No, no. She just wasn't thinking straight. "Do I?" She could only imagine what a weirdo she looked like, just standing here in the middle of the street. "I-It's nothing. I'll be fine."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?" she asked in a thick accent Anna couldn't identify. "I would be more than happy to lend my assistance. I have quite a way with helping people, you know."

Help? With this? She couldn't think of many people that could help with something on this scale. Just another guest here, least of all. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I gotta figure this out myself," she stated firmly, trying to make her exit then.

The stranger didn't bother trying to follow her. Her confident expression didn't even change. "It's so easy to get lost, isn't it? In all this 'magic' business."

That made Anna stop in her tracks. How could she know something that specific, when it was all supposed to be a secret? Had this woman been eavesdropping? Could she read minds? "Y-Yeah, totally!" she replied, turning back around with an awkward smile. "Which is why you should prrrobably go. I have a couple months experience with this, but I can't imagine how you'd deal with it…"

She shook her head. "Oh, no. I've practiced the magical arts for many, many years."

"Magical…arts?" What a strange way of putting it. "Wait, really?!" To think such an unassuming figure would know so much about the topic. This place was still packed full of surprises, as usual. Maybe this was the chance she'd been looking for. "Well, what kinda stuff do you know?"

The woman's look seemed to become more smug, almost teasing her. "You wanted to make yourself stronger, is that right?"

Anna nodded eagerly. "Can you help?"

"I can do more than help. I can save you from doing the extra work." She slowly offered a hand to the princess. "If you would just come with me…"

She was all but ready to be led to their destination, but…she hesitated. Something in her gut told her this wasn't right. Elsa hadn't been keen on the idea of her fighting at all. Was she really gonna go and do this behind her back? But no, she had to. She knew what her sister wanted for her, but she was an adult. She could decide for herself. And she couldn't live with herself if something happened because she was powerless to step in and stop it.

Soon, Anna's hand was tight in the other person's. "Yes. Let's go."


There was quite a bit of commotion in the Animation Courtyard. Wintery flurries uncharacteristic of the September weather suddenly loomed over the area, only to vanish just as quickly had they had arrived. Not that any passersby noticed, thanks to the magical barriers in place. Ralph, on the other hand, definitely noticed. And it had been kinda fun at first, but now it was driving him nuts.

He gave it some thought at he looked up at this newest snow cloud. "Someone really oughta go talk to her."

"I thought her sister was gonna do that," Vanellope pointed out, tossing a snowball at him out of a whole pile she'd made.

"Well, if she did, it didn't work," he assumed, blocking the projectile with his hand without even looking at it. "It sounds like she's got a lot on her mind, y'know? Maybe she just needs somebody to vent to."

"Huh…" She smirked. "Sounds kinda like you."

He couldn't help but blush, just a little. "Hey, I don't have that many issues," he jokingly defended himself. Maybe they did have a good deal in common. Though she seemed a good deal shyer. "Let's just hope she feels like talkin'."

"With you? You two have plenty to talk about." Van climbed up onto Ralph's leg, jumping up to deal him a fist-bump, one he happily returned. "Good luck, stinkbrain."

"Thanks. I get the feeling I'm gonna need it." Now all that was left to do was find where Elsa had ran off to. Just then, another cold ball of mist wafted over from the direction of the children's theater. Wow, that was gonna be easy.

And after a short walk, there was the queen herself, sitting quietly on a bench, her lips pursed and her eyes frantically darting from side to side. Oh, geez. This was worse than he thought… "H-Hey, Your Majesty? Elsa?"

Elsa jumped in her seat. She had not beenexpecting anyone to talk to her any time soon. "Ralph!" She stood up, put all her effort into forcing the snow to dissipate, pushing back her anxious thoughts for as long as someone was this close to her. "I-I guess I got a little carried away with thinking. Better take care of that…"

"Look, it's fine. I can handle a bit of snow." Actually, snow was something he'd never really experienced before. Well, it rained powdered sugar in Sugar Rush, but not real snow, anyway. He would enjoy it more, if he didn't know it was a person causing it. "So how did things go with your sister?"

She could only look away in embarrassment. "Uh, not well," she admitted. "I told her I'd just be a few minutes, and it's had to be at least half an hour by now. I better go find her."

"Wait!" He had just got here and she was already leaving? This was getting absolutely nowhere. He was lucky that Elsa did stop to hear what he had to say. "You sure you don't wanna talk things out?"

She paused, considered the possibility. Certainly she hadn't wanted to bother Anna with her problems; she knew her sister would spring into action trying to fix it, and there was no fixing this, not that she could conceive of. But talking to a third party might help. Just so that she was calm enough to function the rest of the day. "All right. We'll talk." She turned around, took her seat again.

Ralph followed her lead. "Great. That's, er, great." Sheesh, he couldn't talk straight. How were you even supposed to talk to a queen? The arcade had plenty of princesses, but a freakin' queen! He was so flustered he didn't even notice the bench crash into the ground as soon as he sat on it, holding Elsa up in the air like a see-saw.

Elsa was wide-eyed, holding onto her end of the seat for dear life. "Ralph?"

He blinked. "Oh." He quickly got up, the bench vibrating as it sprung back into its original position. Maybe it was better to just sit on the ground for now. Yeah, that would do.

Okay, now it was time to start talking. Where could Elsa even start? How could she delve into thirteen years of unspeakable pain, that might've been purposely brought onto her by forces beyond her control? "I've been through a lot in my life, Ralph. I won't worry you with the details. But it's been very rough."

He nodded, not saying anything for a moment. Everyone who came here had a rough patch or two. Dead parents, near-death experiences, a whole slew of different sorts of bad guys. Certainly helped him feel a bit less awkward about his own troubles. But it wasn't enough that it caused anyone this much distress, though; not that he knew of.

"So…learning about all this…" she continued. Deep breath, Elsa. You can get through this. "I keep thinking, why would they do this to us? They know these…things they make have life, have feelings. But they just wanna see us suffer anyway?" It sounded like a crisis of religious faith, and maybe it was. God was just a man at a desk with a pencil and paper. Who in their right mind would believe that if you were to tell them?

Ralph couldn't say he understood completely. He knew from the moment his cabinet was plugged in where he came from, the company that created him, his purpose in the game. But he had certainly held a grudge against his creators for a long time. Cursed his title, his role in a world that would only ever look down on it. So, maybe it was the same thing here. Elsa just needed to know that things could work out regardless. If only he knew what to actually say.

"So, I got this friend back at home," he started. "Programmed with worst backstory of any of us. Her fiance was killed on their wedding day, is how it goes. All 'cause she skipped patrol that day."

One word confused her in the way it was used. Programmed? But it didn't matter. She understood the rest just fine. "That's terrible!" Okay, she'd never met anyone she wanted to marry before, but she could only imagine… One mistake that ruins everything. That sounded about right.

"But you know what? She's doing fine. Doing great, actually! My brother and her, they're married now. They're all over each other." It was embarrassing, how lovey-dovey they were, even in public. But, as long as they were happy… "So, I guess what I'm saying is, there's some things you can't change, but there's still a lot you can do anyway."

His argument was somewhat convincing. But those slivers of doubt always came back. "Do you really know that it was by chance?"

Huh. Actually, he hadn't really thought about that. The whole Disney thing, that kinda complicated the situation. But he just shrugged. "Ehh, they mighta been pushed to meet, but the falling in love thing, that was all them."

"Are you sure? Absolutely sure?"

"Well, yeah. It's pretty rare for that sorta thing to happen. Characters from different games gettin' together. Anyway, they say ya can't force love. At least, that's what I heard."

Elsa couldn't help but smile a little. She knew that he was right. If you were to ask Anna, she'd say love was the easiest thing in the world to pull off. Or, that was what she used to say. Maybe not now, after her first attempt at courting went so horribly wrong. People here could control a lot, but something like that couldn't be kept under wraps, could it? She should know, given her experience with the topic of love.

The awkward silence couldn't mean anything good. Ralph spoke up. "You okay, or…"

"Y-Yeah. I think I'm okay." It was always love, wasn't it? Love thawed, and love was the proof of their existence, their own selves. She was a fool, to keep forgetting the answers that were right in front of her. The love she felt from Anna, she felt more intensely than anything else, and that above all was truth. She still wasn't liking the sound of this war they had going, but…she could accept her origins, she supposed. They would be just fine together, whatever was thrown at them. "I just needed to remember what was really important."

And her smile was returned. "That can be hard to figure out," he recalled.

She only shook her head. "No, it's so simple. I just refused to see it." It was oddly refreshing to talk to a practical stranger about something like this. Before, she would think strangers would judge her, grow to hate her. But this one in particular was very open-minded. "Thank you for taking the time to talk about this, Ralph. I really appreciate it."

Ralph's cheeks turned a bright red. "Hey, it's nothing! You just sounded like you needed some extra help."

Oh, gee. It was always embarrassing when she needed this much help with something. Surely a queen shouldn't be so dependent on others. But, it really did help. "I thought I had a handle on my powers, but…this is all just too much!" she admitted with a laugh.

"Ugh! I know exactly what you mean." His first couple weeks hadn't exactly been smooth, either. He was still banned from the Crystal Palace. "It's always a mess at first. But you get used to it pretty fast."

"Then I hope I'm fully adjusted sooner rather than later." Finally she stood up out of her seat, brushing off the leftover snowflakes that had clung to her outfit. "Well, better go find Anna before she gets into much trouble."

The wrecker did the same. "Yeah, who knows where Van's ran off by now?" Well, he knew he had to get going. But part of him was reluctant to leave the queen to herself again, in case something else happened… "Hey, uh, since we're basically doing the same thing, why not…do it together?"

Hm, what a nice idea. Strangely, she didn't mind the extra company. "That would be lovely," she smiled.

They both made their way down the streets, making idle conversation as they went along. Neither of them could predict the amount of trouble that was actually coming.