Phew. This took way longer than it should have to come out. Seriously, I'm so sorry. This chapter was originally longer than this, but I needed to break it up so that something could be posted. I try to get each chapter around 2,500 words so it's sizable enough to matter. Hope this is worth it.

A lot more angst and stuff in this chapter. Bare with me guys, lovey stuff to come, but I really find this sort of thing lacks in most Elsanna fics. They'd have troubles, guys, but don't think that'll stop the incestuous lesbian lovings!

Enjoy.

Mending An Icy Break
- Chapter 3 -

Anna flopped unceremoniously into her bed, kicking her legs a bit to bunch up her duvet at the base of the mattress. She felt warm, all over, even under the light nightgown she wore. It was a more summery article of clothing, only reaching about halfway down her shins, with half sleeves and only two buttons at the collar. It was a pale green, soft and well worn. The Princess had thought this choice was befitting of her current warm spell, but it didn't seem to ease her sultry state.

"Why do I feel so hot," She whined into the emptiness of her bedroom chambers, "too hot…" She groaned, slinging an arm over her eyes dramatically, covering them. It was a crime to be this warm during the middle of winter.

Beneath her arm the Princess reminisced, thinking of the day's earlier events, and a smile tweaked at the corners of her lips. She had a lovely day, albeit after a rough start. She had missed Elsa terribly this morning, but she was aware her sister had duties and obligations which superseded Anna time.

The sorts of things the Princess of Arendelle had no business in.

There was a long string of silence, during which Anna's smile fell, and a frown found her lips instead. Elsa was so busy because she had to assume the burden of ruling the kingdom without any assistance whatsoever – not accounting for advisors and other dignitaries, whom assisted by easing the load slightly, though not enough if you asked a certain redhead.

"I could help, maybe," Anna murmured softly, her voice barely a whisper. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince.

A familiar, and thought to be long forgotten, pang struck the Princess' heart. Most would assume carefree and hot-blooded Anna would be far from the type of person to harbour doubts and anxieties, with those types of negativities falling only on her elder sister, but that wasn't true. Being the Princess of Arendelle, as she was, she always knew she was only second in line for the throne.

Not that she entertained any resentment towards Elsa, nor her beloved parents, but deep down she knew that her position was only a spare, a safeguard, an extra, just in case. She was the one that was shooed from meetings, sheltered from hardships, and coddled.

For a long time she thought it was because she was the youngest, but nothing changed as she grew.

She still attended lessons: history, politics, literature, scripture, dancing, etc. All boring. Anna much more preferred being outside, exploring, imagining, having fun. No one seemed to press her further when she was tardy for her sessions, or unfocused, and even inattentive at times.

She wasn't worth the effort.

Though maybe, just maybe, it was because she was younger than Elsa. It must have been. They went easier on her, babied and cosseted her, because she was four years her sister's junior. Or maybe it was because her parents were just tired; bags always under their eyes, in and out of Elsa's bedroom at all hours of the day and night, her mother crying softly in the evenings when she thought little Anna wasn't within earshot.

The Princess reached for a pillow, wrapping her arms around it and drawing it into her chest. She pushed her face into the downy plush and sniffled.

She may not be the Queen of Arendelle, but she was still a royal child of the kingdom.

"I could help," Her voice muffled in goose feathers and lacy fabric, "lighten the load, make her work go faster, easier…" Anna's grip on the pillow tightened as she drew her knees up and curled. "Then Elsa will smile more, be happier, and go outside." She wanted to help Elsa, so badly, but was she up to the task?

It would take quite a bit of work, time, effort, devotion. Elsa still shied from her touch, occasionally, or was startled by her unannounced presence. The Princess would even catch her sister's arms crossing, hugging herself protectively, the way she had seen on that night. She foolishly thought that after the thaw, after the melted hearts and tearful reunions, that Elsa would magically be the sister she remembered so fondly.

But she wasn't.

Elsa was still anxious, fearful and reserved. Still, Anna was resilient and resolute. She was going to bond with her sister, one way or another, dutifully firm and unwavering in her decision. The vice grip on the pillow slacked a bit, and Anna raised her head to look out the window on the far side of her room.

"I will make this work." She assured. This time she was psyching herself up.

In the elder daughter's bedroom…

Elsa had fallen into a deep sleep somewhere between drawing her covers up and setting her book aside. Her room was silent, calm, and serene. The moonlight filtered through her deep navy curtains with the clouds having parted and the snow having stopped their assault on the kingdom of Arendelle a few hours ago.

The Queen was still in her bed with her plait undone and her platinum hair spilling out over her pillow. Her breathing was even, her rosy lips slightly parted, and her breath silent. She was resting soundly until a few murmurs suddenly escaped her, followed by a few small twitches of her fingers and her brow knitting concernedly.

Another, slightly louder, indistinct sound absconded from the Queen's parted lips, which seemed muttered under her breath; the bridge of her nose wrinkled and her eyes moved beneath her closed eyelids, while her fingers gripped into the sheets.

"Nnnnngh," She whined, her voice trapped by her unmoving tongue, and muffled by her lack of speech. She began to twist and writhe, tossing and turning, causing the blanket to become a tangled mess enveloping her kicking legs. Her breathing grew steadily more ragged and gruff; she was practically choking on unspoken words.

Frost crackled to life, spreading from her hands outwards, moving over the sheets and blankets of her highness' bed. The verglas washed over the sides, spilling down onto the floor, and coating the floorboards in a layer of fine white. As her movements became more erratic, the Queen trashed about, entwining herself in the sheets and blanket, creating a jumbled mess.

Her emotions were creating a potent flurry in her room; the ice was reaching the walls, climbing them steadily and protruding outwards with vicious spears of icicles. The castle walls and floors groaned audibly, forcibly being flash-frozen in the dead of night.

"A-Ah…Anna…!" Words finally found the Queen. "N…N-No!" She cried, unshed tears welling in the corners of her tightly shut eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. This wasn't the first time that Elsa had experienced the dread of nightmares, they were a fairly common occurrence with the Queen, but this particular nightmare was a rather nasty one.

Her knuckles blanched with the tightness of her fingers digging into her sheets, and the ice spread up to the ceiling, manifesting itself with a brutal coating of sharp tapering spikes. A few more tosses and turns, followed by the sensation of plummeting, stirred the Queen awake rather fiercely. She shot upright, her chest heaving with her laboured breath, while her eyes stared widely at the sight before her.

"A…A-Ah–Again…," She managed between greedy gulps of air. Taking a moment to regain her composure she simply breathed. No thoughts crossed the Queen's mind as she tried to relax herself. She was focused on her breathing, just the sound of it, which helped calm her somewhat. Focus always had. Upon closing her eyes, images of the terrifying endeavour crossed her mind in a flash, causing her eyes to snap back open quickly lest she relive the terror.

Her arms and legs still trembled with the memory of it all, which made it awkward to untangle herself from her blanket cocoon. Once she was free she sat there quietly, still listening to the sound of her own breathing. Drawing her arms up, she crossed them, laying the open palms of her hands on either arm in some vain attempt to comfort. It was more muscle memory now, than anything, as it brought very little solace.

She tried to swallow, but her throat was very dry. It took a few more attempts to get the lump out, and another three or four shallow breaths to ease out of that endeavor. The Queen sat for a while again in silence, the ice having now quieted and stilled for the time being, while she rubbed herself soothingly. Force of habit, really. It was very rare that anyone would come to her aid during a nightmare, usually because her door was frozen shut and her room unable to be entered.

Things were different now, though…, right?

She could seek out someone, for comfort, and her first thought was her sister.

Anna.

She would make this better. But Elsa's gut instinct wasn't to run to her. It was to remain where she was. To keep a safe distance, to remain on this side of the door, and to abide by her mantra: conceal it, don't feel it, don't let it show. It seemed silly now, to fall back on old conventions like this, but these sorts of things don't always comply with logic.

Instead she laid herself back down, pulled the covers back up to her chin, and turned onto her side. It took a few tries before the Queen's eyes would remain closed, and several minutes before she fell back into a more peaceful slumber.

By the time Anna awoke the next morning it was already half past ten. The castle was alive with the sound of voices, footsteps and movements which echoed through the halls and reverberated off the high ceilings. The Princess, however, was not yet ready for the day, so she pulled the covers up over her head instead.

It wasn't until five to eleven that Anna was forcibly roused from bed by one of her handmaidens.

"Princess Anna," The soft feminine voice of Olina called following the raps of her knuckles against the wooden doorframe, "it's nearly eleven o'clock; do you wish to have lunch with Queen Elsa? She has requested your presence in the banquette hall."

"Mmmrrrph," Anna murmured unintelligibly from under her heavy quilts and duvet.

"Pardon?" Olina called back tentatively, unsure of what to make of that response.

"Mmmkay," The redhead poked out from under the covers, her eyes bleary and her speech slurred from semi-consciousness, "you say Elsa wants to see me?"

"Yes ma'am," Came a gentle reply, "in the banquette hall, in fifteen minutes, your highness."

"Fifteen…minutes…" Anna parroted, the words not making sense. Fifteen, that's a number, and minutes are a unit of time. Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes. Her eyes went wide. FIFTEEN MINUTES! "O-Oh! Uhm – yeah! Tell her, erm, let Queen Elsa know I'll be there in fifteen minutes!" The Princess gracelessly tumbled out of her bed in a heap of blankets and two pillows. "Ah, p-please!" She added quickly, scrambling to her feet and sprinting to her changing room.

The message was relayed, though it wouldn't be until twenty five minutes later that a disheveled Anna would come bursting into the banquette hall before her presence could be announced by Kai.

"Sorry," She bowed to Kai, who she'd struck with the door having swung it open so quickly, "sorry." She then turned and bowed again to Elsa. "Your majesty." She curtseyed quickly out of the bow, catching herself, and hurriedly moved to her seat across the table from her elder sister. Her chair was drawn by a hand, and she smiled appreciatively to him before taking her seat with an unladylike drop.

Elsa rolled her eyes and raised her hand to her lips, stifling a small laugh, always amused by Anna's antics.

"You know you're late," The Queen commented while taking her cup of tea in hand, raising it to her lips, and lightly blowing away the steam.

"Only by, like, five minutes." Anna replied quickly. "Max."

"Try ten," Elsa quipped, smirking, "your presence was requested for eleven fifteen sharp."

"I'm…" Anna searched for an excuse, but fell short, unable to cultivate one, "sorry." Elsa raised her free hand, a gesture of dismissal, and smiled.

"It's alright, just…try to be on time more. Or wake up earlier, whichever works easiest for you." The redhead blushed embarrassedly.

"Fine," Anna replied, quickly changing the subject, "so what are we doing today?" Her turquoise eyes lit up hopefully, burrowing holes into her sister with the intensity of her stare. Elsa fidgeted a bit.

"Well, we're having lunch now," She offered, sipping her tea.

"And?" The Princess asked. Elsa paused. She hadn't considered the need for more than this.

"And…, I have convocation later this afternoon which I must attend; it's a very important matter." Anna's lips pursed.

"About what?" She asked. Elsa cleared her throat.

"Nothing terribly interesting," She tossed a smile to Anna, "certainly not something you'd want to sit through." Anna shoulders slumped and her posture fell.

"So we're not doing anything else today?" She gathered. The Queen flicked her eyes to her sister and felt a pang of guilt.

"I didn't say that," The elder replied quickly, "we could have a later dinner together, if you would like."

"Can we also do something that doesn't revolve around eating? I'm rather fond of walking, it's pretty great." Elsa gave her sister an unamused look.

"I would love to do more Anna, I'm just very busy and–"

"You're always very busy," Anna interrupted, "I'm not trying to steal you away from your duties, I just want to spend some time with you."

"Anna." Elsa admonished her tone stern. The redhead faltered and fell back into her seat, pouting and glaring down at the place setting in front of her. A period of brief silence fell over the room, neither sister wanting to speak. Anna felt terrible for interrupting and putting Elsa on the spot, and Elsa had no idea what to say to her younger sister. "I…," The Queen finally broke the silence, "can make time to do something this evening, after dinner, and before bed."

Anna's eyes lit up and she scooted to the edge of her seat.

"Really?" She asked, hands clasping together and a broad smile painting across her face. Elsa couldn't help but smile at that goofy expression.

"Yes, really," She affirmed, "after dinner you and I can spend some quality time together–"

"Oh Elsa, thank you!" Anna chirped, her smile widening.

"–ahem," Elsa cleared her throat, smiling a bit despite herself; her sister's happiness was oddly infectious, "but that is on one condition." Anna's eyes glued to her sister's face.

"What's that?" She asked, curious.

"You must leave me be during the assembly, please," The Queen's shoulders stiffened a bit, "it's a very important matter and it may take a while. It'll go faster if there are no interruptions." The redhead gave a nod.

"I understand."

"Good," Elsa smiled, "now we can eat." She turned her head and signaled for the food to be brought out.