For Anna to sleep in late was expected, but even early riser Elsa felt like staying it bed a bit longer this morning. God, there was so much she did not want to think about right now. Maybe if she didn't get up, she wouldn't have to face it. But as soon as she closed her eyes, the image of her sister ill and suffering in bed always came back to haunt her again. Oh, lovely. Better start waking up, then…

So she pushed the blankets away and stood up. At this rate, they would both miss breakfast, and that wouldn't feel good later. The only obstacle in her way now was…waking up the mess on the other bed.

She kneeled over her Anna, stroked the massive tangled mass that was her hair. "Anna. Time to wake up."

"Mrr…" She tossed around a bit, but no luck. This wasn't gonna be easy. What did Elsa know would get the redhead's attention?

Well, food always helped. "Oh, well. That means more waffles for me."

The princess snorted, waking herself up in an instant. "Waffles!" Huh? Where were the waffles? "Elsa, my waffles."

"We gotta go downstairs to get 'em, silly," she giggled. "Come on, get dressed."

They both quickly did so, making their way to the elevators. In comparison to everything else that had piled up, the device seemed almost normal now. Still, Anna kind of wanted a change of pace. If they kept up this routine, her mind would continue to linger on the bad thoughts, and neither of them could have that. "We've never tried to have breakfast in the parks before," she noted as they descended.

Elsa nodded, considering the idea. "Then which park do you think we should go to?"

"The only one we haven't visited yet is this Animal Kingdom…" she mused, looking at a map she had brought along. How interesting that sounded. Eating breakfast alongside the animals. Wait, like real animals or animals like Mickey? Either one sounded fun. But Elsa probably wouldn't like dogs and cats crawling all over the table.

But at this point, Elsa was willing to do whatever would keep Anna happy. "Ready if you are," she agreed with a nod.

Oh, good! She agreed to it! "Of course!" Once on the ground floor, they headed right to the bus stop.

Normally Anna would be talking her sister's ear off already…but for some reason, it didn't seem right to just dive into things today. Not after the mess that was yesterday. She knew Elsa would try to pretend she wasn't mad at her. But after something so unbelievably stupid, how could she not be? So what was she supposed to do? Tell her sister to be honest? Beg for some sort of punishment? No, trying to force it would just make things worse. Maybe it really was better, to pretend it didn't happen. Just enjoy to the fullest the moments they had in between the next guy showing up. That was all she was capable of after everything was said and done, and she supposed she'd just have to accept it…

And still, words weren't coming as easy as they should've. The right topic of conversation to brighten the mood escaped her. Thus, their bus ride was spent in silence, every unpleasant creak and squeak and whoosh from the machine uninterrupted. Not even the ambient music was much of a comfort.


Only after an eternity of that did they arrive at their destination. As it turned out, there were only a few places open for breakfast here, and one of them was right at the front of the park. Neither of them were in the mood to debate their choices, so… "Looks good to me," Anna shrugged.

They took their seats, and finally tried to get a better look at the place. It looked like a small, slightly run-down town, but uninhabited lands were visible just beyond. "A jungle!" she exclaimed.

"Savannah," Elsa quickly corrected.

"Uh, savannah. Right." Inside they were quickly directed to a table, and were allowed to browse the buffet. Elsa returned with her plate very full, but Anna's…even more so. Three whole syrup-soaked waffles, with scrambled eggs and sausage patties and bacon in between, all stacked up like a giant sandwich!

And for the first time that day, Elsa laughed. "Are you sure you can eat that much?"

"I can certainly try!" Anna grinned, already stuffing a whole Mickey ear into her mouth. "So good…"

"Anna, you need to have better manners in public," she sighed with an eyeroll, before starting her own meal. At least she was having fun; a great way to start off the day.

"I can't help myself. I gotta do something fun after…" She stopped. Crud, she almost brought it up. "After, uh, that bus ride! Yeah. Whew, wasn't that something! It's too bad this place is so big, or we could've just walked, right?"

Her mood fell again, ironically, hearing her sister so desperate to keep spirits up. The queen placed her silverware back onto the table. "You should be having fun, to have fun. Not because you think it'll make me feel better."

She frowned; she didn't want Elsa to stop like that. How to fix this…? "C-Can't I do both?" she wondered. "I mean, I can't really have fun if you're not."

"And I can't have fun if I know you're worrying all the time," she responded earnestly. "Worrying about you is my job, remember?"

"Okay, but like, it shouldn't just be your job." She stuffed a forkful of waffle in her mouth, more eager to eat as her mood worsened, and didn't even wait to swallow before continuing. "I thought we talked about this. You don't have to do everything by yourself. And I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, y'know. I won't do something that stupid again."

"I know, I know…" And that was all Elsa said in response. It frustrated Anna to no end. No, you don't. If you did, we would've settled this hours ago.

"You don't believe me, do you?" The princess picked at the eggs in front of her.

She sighed. "Of course I do, Anna. It's just…"

"Just what?" Oh, joy. What kind of excuse was she gonna throw at her this time? Lack of experience, lack of focus? Wrong time of day? She'd heard all of them by now, and she'd turn away every single one.

Elsa cringed. How was she supposed to word this? Anna had her mind set on this, and nobody could convince her of anything else once she was set. "It's just…you know, this…"

What timing! A loud, grating voice rang out across the hall before she could get out another word. "Someone tells me there's a birthday girl in the house!" What was that? A bird. A very large bird. A duck? Yes, one of Mickey's friends, she recalled. He was getting closer. Wait, why was he coming over here? Neither of them had a birthday any time soon.

But before she could protest, the cake was on the table, and then the singing started. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!" Well, at least Anna seemed to like it. The day wasn't ruined for good. But good god, this guy could not sing. "Happy birthday dear Claire…"

"Claire?" Anna stopped dancing in her seat, though her smile had yet to leave her face. "Who's Claire?"

The duck's celebration ceased. "She…I…You're not…" His beak drooped, and a light red covered his face. "Uh, hehe…wrong table. Sorry, folks." They both watched as he carried the cake away, humming and trying hard to pretend that didn't just happen.

Moments later, Anna burst into a fit of giggles. "That was amazing!"

"Hm, poor guy…" Elsa muttered. Doing something embarrassing on the job was always awful. But…yeah, it was pretty funny. Not that she would show it.

Conversation came a little easier between the two of them after that, though there was still an atmosphere of awkwardness that couldn't be completely eliminated. Sooner or later, the meal was finished. And oddly enough, afterwards, they still got a birthday card on their table.

Anna picked up the card and took a good look at it. "Huh. Cute." Mickey, that little dragon, and some other fellow she didn't recognize. It was what was inside, that really piqued her interest. "Whoa! What's this?" Just as she was about to detach it, it fell onto the floor… "Aw man!"

Elsa stopped her from getting down on her hands and knees to find it. "It fell over here," she smiled, and she was able to reach it without much effort. Indeed, what exactly was this? Wild Africa Trek… "Sounds like they want to take us on a tour of the place."

"Oh, neat! I wanna see the animals and stuff!" What sort of animals lived in the savannah again? "Lions, zebras, giraffes…uh, tigers…"

"Tigers live in the Jungle, Anna," she quickly corrected.

"Right, right. Jungle." What was the difference between the two, anyway? Both hot places with wild animals, both places she had never been to. Guess the savannah was as good a place to start off as any. She finished her breakfast in record time, eager to get started.

Elsa chuckled. "Stop it, you're going to make yourself sick."

"I'm fine!" she insisted, swallowing down the last bites. "Are you ready or what?"

"I still have to finish my breakfast, you know." And she planned on taking her time, thank you very much.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh…all right." Just when she thought they had a good distraction, Elsa had to be a slowpoke. So she tried to focus on positive thoughts while she waited. What was there positive to think about? Oh, Donald! Donald seemed nice enough. He seemed kinda grumpy in that show the other day, but he looked happy this morning, at least. Fun guy to hang out with. Maybe they could catch up with him later.

"All right," the queen finally declared, setting her silverware down in perfect position. "Now I'm ready to go."

Anna immediately leapt out of her chair. "Finally! Let's go!" She grabbed Elsa by the wrist as she barely had the chance to get on her feet. "We're gonna go see some lions!"

She laughed. "Anna! Slow down!" Though she had to say, that morning had gone smoother than she thought it would. She could only hope the rest of the day was so peaceful.


Seeking out their tour guide led hem to beyond the borders of the park, where everything looked even more wild than before. It seemed quite possible that they could get lost here. Already, Anna and Elsa spotted several birds and smaller mammals on their way. What if they ran into something that wasn't so harmless? Elsa thought to herself. It wasn't likely they could handle that on her own…

But before she could worry too much, at last they reached the signpost that marked their meeting spot. No one else waited there; it appeared they would be taking this tour on their own. And they didn't have to wait long for their guide - a short, petite, unassuming looking woman. Could someone like this really take on the wilderness?

The woman didn't seem to notice any doubts they were having. "Good morning, your highnesses! Lovely day, isn't it?"

A bit hot, maybe, but yes, it was quite nice today. They nodded in agreement. But Anna was feeling impatient. "Where do we go first?" she blurted out.

"Right this way, please!" Immediately they boarded a little car…That was what they were called, right? Cars? But this looked different from the others they'd seen over the past few days. The tires were huge compared to the rest of it. And they traveled over the rough paths of the savannah area.

One thing they noticed right away was how many bugs were out. Of course; bugs flourished in the humid climate. Anna didn't mind them, but Elsa really couldn't stand bugs…

"Ooh! Elsa, look, look! A rhino!" Anna shouted.

"What? Where?" But just as she turned her head, a fly landed on her face. She squealed and frantically batted it off. When she opened her eyes…no sign of any rhino.

Her sister tried to keep calm, but she let a giggle or two slip. "Elsa, it's only a fly."

"I know it's only a fly," she answered, coming out sounding a bit more angry that she wanted it to. Just when Anna thought they were starting to have fun…

There had to be something that would distract her from the insects. "Hmm…" She looked around to see if she could spot any other animals. A bird probably wouldn't get her attention. It had to be something HUGE and impressive.

Her eyes widened. There it was! "A LION!"

"A lion?!" Indeed, a male lion was resting not too far from where they stood. Both of them had only seen pictures of lions in storybooks. It looked so much bigger in person! Elsa gaped.

"Can we go get a closer look?" the younger asked to their tour guide.

She shook her head. "The lions can be dangerous. They're not always very friendly with humans. We can interact with some smaller animals later."

"Oh…" But there weren't any others that got her this excited. "Do, uh, do they like being pet?"

The guide laughed. "Sometimes. But it has to be on their terms."

Oh, yeah. That made sense. It was a shame lions had to be so grumpy. Not friendly like the ones they'd seen in the movies. Speaking of which… Shouldn't Simba be somewhere around here? It certainly seemed like the place he'd be most comfortable.

Sounded like Elsa had the same idea. "Are there friendlier ones we could meet after this?" she asked.

There was a pause for thought. "Tell you what…I'll talk to my boss and see if anything can be arranged. There is a show you could go to. And maybe some behind-the-scenes fun."

"Really?! That would be great!" She knew Elsa would love that! The Lion King was her favorite! At least, she thought so. It sure affected her emotionally, anyway. The queen wasn't one to show too much excitement at once, but still, she couldn't help smiling. How interesting it might be to talk to a lion king…

In the meantime, they did their best to enjoy what was presented to them in the moment. Meerkats, ostriches, hippos…whoa, there were some elephants! They had to be as tall as their castle back home, maybe even taller! Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. Could they bring an elephant or two home to get more exact measurements? Anna thought to herself. No, people probably wouldn't like that very much. Maybe they could make a snow one! Not a live one, of course. Just a statue, then they could melt it as soon as they were done.

Meanwhile, Elsa attempted to listen carefully to the information their guide was feeding them. Knowledge and studying were her bread and butter, after all. And she had a feeling she might need to know a lot of this in case they ever visited here again. Just by visiting this little kingdom they called Walt Disney World, it almost felt like traveling all across the globe.

The car came to a gradual stop. Anna took a look at her surroundings. No animals in sight here. "Why are we stopping?"

"Because of this," the guide explained as she stepped out of the driver's seat, gesturing to a bridge in front of them. It was incredibly narrow; it didn't take a genius to figure out that they could only cross it on foot. But at the same time, it looked so…rickety. Elsa doubted it was safe. Wasn't there any other way to get to the other side of the ravine?

The tour guide eyed them expectantly. "Well, which one of you is going first?"

At first nobody moved. Elsa decided she would have to set a good example and lead the way. But before she could even take a step… Anna was well on her way. Figured. She never was afraid of anything. But as she skipped across without a care, the bridge appeared to shake and sway dangerously. "Anna, slow down!" she called out.

But Anna didn't hear, and continued on her way. How was she supposed to follow behind now? Waiting for her end of the bridge to stabilize some, she rose a foot to take her first step. Slow…careful…

Okay, first step went smoothly. Second - even better! Hey, maybe this wouldn't be so bad. And Anna was already halfway across! She'd have to pick up the pace to catch up.

Just as she was getting going, she heard a loud snap! Before she could figure out where it was coming from, she felt the ground leave her feet. Oh, god…the bridge! The bridge was broken! ANNA!

The guide quickly grabbed some climbing equipment and attempted to grab on one end of the rope, but she just narrowly missed it. Panicking, Elsa left a trail of ice as she fell. Ice…that was the answer! But she had to work fast… Aiming carefully, she started to weave icy ropes where the original rope was frayed, managing to link both back to their poles. The bridge abruptly stopped its fall, settling at a 45 degree angle.

Anna seemed shocked at first, but it didn't take long for her grin to return. "That. Was. Amazing!"

"Amazing?! We nearly died!" In her frustration, it took Elsa a bit longer than usual to adjust the length of her ropes, straightening out the bridge again. They made the rest of their journey to the other side no problem.

"But you saved us!" she argued. "You should be proud of yourself."

"I wouldn't have had to if they'd just taken proper care of the bridge in the first place…" She watched as their guide lingered behind to look at the damage more closely. It was hard to tell from way over here, but her expression changed suddenly… A familiar expression. The face she'd seen on too many people since she got here, since things started going south. Oh, no…this couldn't be good.

As much as she tried to keep calm, a light snowfall began where she stood. Anna remained completely oblivious to goings-on. "Elsa, what's the matter?"

"I've got a really bad feeling about this," the queen muttered. And from the way the woman hurried to catch up to them, her gut was right about this one, too.

"It…" the guide started, catching her breath. Where was she supposed to start? She had a general idea of what was going on within the resort, but to actually face the danger firsthand… What did anyone want to do with this place? She was just here to take care of the animals! This was one of the least magical parts of the whole place. What could the villains want with a bunch of animals? "I-It looks like the ropes were cut."

Anna's eyes widened. God, not this again…"By who?" was the most important question here. As soon as they figured that out, they could start figuring out a plan, or at least know what to avoid.

But she only shrugged. "Who knows? We could try looking at the security tape, but knowing how sneaky these people are…" There's no way they'd be that dumb. They'd have performed an invisibility spell or something to make sure they weren't caught.

Elsa couldn't sit still. Paranoia continued to fuel her powers. What if that person was still here? What if they were being watched right now? "W-We have to get out of here. It's not safe," she insisted, forcing her 'queenly' face back on.

"You're right," the guide sighed. "We're better off cutting the tour short. It'll be a bit of an early lunch, but at least there'll be more than the three of us there." Without saying another word, she led the sisters back to where their car was parked, and they sped faster than usual back to their home base. Anna held Elsa's hand, but neither of them said a word. At this point nothing could be said that didn't raise the tension.

Though if it was any comfort, they could smell the food from out here - and it smelled absolutely wonderful. Not anything they recognized, but they could say the same about a lot of the other things they'd eaten here so far. Hopefully they could at least rest and enjoy.

They were directed to a small table behind the counter area, and told that the food would be just a few more minutes. In reality, it felt like a lot longer…but maybe that was only because they were too deep in thought to strike up much of a conversation.

Anna was the first to try and speak up. "So…wow. You've been really impressive since we got here," she noted with a chuckle.

Elsa groaned. If only she wasn't put into situations where she HAD to be impressive… But of course she had to. It was either her or Anna, and Anna didn't have magical powers to defend herself with. Nor did he want her to. It was enough of a burden for Elsa already. As long as she had anything to say about it - and being the queen, she had the last say on everything - it would stay her burden and her burden alone.

Ooh, an awkward silence. Anna winced. That couldn't be a good sign. "Sorry," she relented. "Let's just, uh, wait for our food, then."

"No, no, it's okay, Anna. Really." She shook her head; if she was like this right now, how would she act under pressure in her own kingdom? God knew there'd be war, disease, and any number of problems in the coming decades. Calm down. Focus. The longer things stayed like this between them, the worse it would get. "I guess I'm just tired. Of running into these disasters constantly."

"I know how that feels." Truthfully, she was able to get her mind off the little incidents most of the time, but when something big happened… She tried to pretend it didn't bother her, thinking maybe then it really wouldn't bother her, but it was tough. "Maybe if I could pitch in a little more, you wouldn't be so tired."

"No." She cut her off with no hesitation. That was not going to happen. "I can handle this myself. You just enjoy your vacation."

"But it's your vacation, too!" she snapped back.

"Well…" She had said that, hadn't she? But things had changed. "A-a queen doesn't get a vacation!" Maybe it wasn't the healthiest mindset. Right now, there were things more important than her own health.

Not that Anna was ever one to agree with that sort of thinking. "Elsa, you can't keep pushing yourself like this!" she exclaimed, standing up out of her seat. Oh, no. How had things escalated to this point. "It's not right!"

And she found herself losing her own temper as well. "How is it not right? I'm the one who brought us here! I'm the one they're after! This is my responsibility - it has nothing to do with you!"

"How…how could you say that? Elsa, we're sisters!" She just couldn't wrap her head around it. How could anyone think like this? Assume they have to go through everything alone? She thought they'd gotten over that by now. "You've done so much for me already. Why won't you let me do more for you?"

She had to grit her teeth hard to keep down all the frustration boiling up. It was a wonder she didn't coat the building in ice right then and there. "I've done so much for you?" The idea would be laughable, if it didn't bring her so much pain. "Anna, I made you suffer for thirteen years. How was that doing anything for you?"

"Well, I mean…you thought it was to keep me safe…"

"It doesn't matter. It still hurt you." Though tears tried to force themselves out, she held them in with all the effort she could muster. When was the last time they fought like this? She couldn't even remember a time… Was everything falling apart? "Anna, if you want to see me happy, then…just stay out of danger. You don't need to be part of this fight. As long as I'm here, you don't have to worry about everything."

Anna faltered. "But…but…" How could she not worry? She had no idea Elsa still felt like this… And there was nothing she could do about it? No, no. It couldn't be true. Surely there had to be something she could say…

But she didn't have time to think about it before their lunch arrived. All this arguing had made her really hungry - and unusually enough, Elsa was the first to start eating. Guess she wasn't willing to continue the conversation then. And she didn't want to see things get any messier than they already were. So she ate. The food was delicious, but…she couldn't bring herself to be too happy about it.

The hour continued on in that way for what felt like an eternity, eating together yet barely acknowledging each other, not so much as another word spoken for the entirety of the meal.