And here goes chapter five, woo! I'm sure you guys are excited for this, and why not, we get our first official bit Elsanna romantic fluffy-fluff-fluff.

I swear this is going to get a lot more graphic and mature, but I need to build up that adorable sisterly romance first! Oh, and what's that? A mention of the overall plot! GASP.

Anyway, I like this chapter more so than the previous one. Enjoy, my lovely followers.

Mending An Icy Break
- Chapter 5 -

Dinner went by rather smoothly. This was, of course, because nothing was said between the two sisters.

Elsa and Anna sat in silence for much of the meal, the sound of clanking cutlery and soft chewing being the only thing to be heard. The absolute quiet was a bit unnerving to the handmaidens and waiters, who were making their regular rounds, collecting empty plates and dishes between serving courses.

Somewhere between the fiskesuppe and the stekte pølser one of the servants – Håkon, a portly older gentleman, who had been in service to the Arendelle royalty for three generations – was sure he'd heard Princess Anna cough, which had, admittedly, startled him a bit as he'd been replenishing her water glass.

The girls were never this quiet, or at least Anna certainly wasn't. The fact that neither made eye contact with the other throughout the meal made the staff whisper murmurs amongst themselves, rumors already forming.

"Perhaps they had a fight?" One of the younger, newer, housemaids suggested, turning to the two women next to her. The three of them had been hired on only a few months earlier when positions reopened and once again became available.

"Or maybe Princess Anna said something to upset Queen Elsa?" The second proposed, only vaguely aware of the redhead's rambunctious personality, while her hands were busied with washing the empty dinner plates from the second course.

"That's quite enough," Gerda admonished as she walked over, hands on her wide hips. "We don't gossip about our Majesties. Finish up with your duties without another word." The three young women turned their eyes down and quietly finished up their tasks without another word.

The stout woman wandered over to the doors which lead from the kitchen into the main dining hall, seeing Kai standing with the door ever so slightly open, his eyes on the Princess. Anna had remained in the hall after the Queen had excused herself, and was now wandering aimlessly, her hands entwined behind her back and her eyes gazing out the large windows.

"Do you think they may have had a fight?" Gerda inquired softly, touching her hand to Kai's broad shoulder. The corpulent man turned his head slightly and he sighed.

"I'm not sure, but Princess Anna's mind does seem elsewhere," He commented, turning back to gaze out the crack in the door, before chuckling softly, "more so than usual."

"Do you think we should talk to her?" Gerda frowned a bit, her grip tightening on Kai's shoulder. She was always the motherly figure for the girls when their birthmother was unavailable, and took it upon herself to raise them both after the passing of the beloved monarchs. Still, even with her closeness to both girls, Gerda was well aware of her place. She would never overstep her boundary, both out of respect and love for both young women.

"I think this time we should let our highnesses solve this problem themselves." The dark haired man replied, turning to his wife, and giving her a warm smile. "I know you worry, but this relationship is new to them both, and they need to learn the same they would have when they were young." Gerda smiled fondly as the image of the young heiresses – Elsa at the age of six, and Anna at three – playing together with their dolls. How sweet and innocent they had been.

"I'm sure you're right," Gerda gave a nod as she stepped away, "but don't think I'll not interfere if their relationship seems in danger. So help me," She wagged her finger at her husband, "I will not let these girls lose one another again." He gave a deep laugh and a nod of his head.

"Of course," He turned to look back out the door, watching as the redheaded Princess suddenly whirled around on her heels and walked out the far exit of the dining hall into the castle's eastern main level corridor. "It seems Princess Anna has left." The man flung the doors open and turned to the seven women waiting somewhat patiently nearby, trays and washcloths at the ready. "The dining hall is ready to be cleaned."

Anna, meanwhile, had already made her way to the grand staircase and was ascending it. She took only every second step, practically bouncing up the stairs until she reached the upper level. Her hands slipped around behind her back once more, and her fingers laced, while she rocked on her feet before walking down the hall towards the Queen's private study.

Knock, knock, knock-knock, knock. Elsa raised her head, pulling her nose out of the book in her hands, and turned her torso slightly to face towards the door.

"Come in, Anna," She called over flatly, already well aware of who it was; not only was that her sister's signature knock, but she was certainly the only one who would disturb the Queen in her study (unless, of course, it was urgent). The knob rattled before turning, the door creaking open and Anna's head poking in.

"It's okay, right? I mean…, I'm not disturbing you, am I? I waited–kinda–I waited a while." A while being a whole twenty minutes; Elsa laughed softly and gave her sister a small nod and then turned back to face the pages of her open book, with her knees drawn up and a blanket draped over her lap. There was a candle on the table beside the Queen's chesterfield, and a small fire crackling in the fireplace across the room. Otherwise, the room was dimly lit and Anna assumed Elsa was straining her eyes reading.

"It's alright," Elsa smiled, the corners of her lips curling up ever so slightly, while she scanned her eyes along the words on the page, "I don't mind if you want to sit in here as well." The redhead eyed her sister for a moment before entering the room fully and closing the door gently behind her.

"I'll be quiet too," Anna smiled, striding over to the fireplace, and reaching for one of the fire irons. Taking hold of it, the redhead kneeled down to level, prodding the faintly glowing embers on the charred wood. Pursing her lips she set the rod down, reaching over and grabbing a couple dried logs, and tossing them into the fire pit. "You need more light to read," She commented suddenly, causing Elsa to murmur a reply in acknowledgement, "I'll get it going again." Anna added while stoking the fire.

"Alright," Elsa replied softly, talking at Anna from behind the cover of her book, to which the redhead could only laugh.

"Is it good?"

"Mhmm."

"What's it about?" The Princess inquired while standing, brushing her dress off with the palms of her hands.

"Hmm?" The Queen hummed.

"The book," Anna elaborated, walking over and sitting by Elsa's feet on the cushions, "you seem really immersed." The Princess watched as Elsa's deep blue eyes scanned the lines on the page, reading the sentences, and flicking rhythmically left to right at a rapid pace. She was a quick reader, Anna noted, she could tell by just how fast Elsa's eyes moved over the page. "Elsa?" Anna smiled a bit.

"Hmm–I'm sorry?" Elsa's eyes snapped reluctantly away from the page to her sister's face, and then blinked. "The book? Oh, it's just a history text," The Queen informed, "I'm reviewing notes from previous rulers on our trade partners."

"Why?" Anna asked, leaning back into the back of the chesterfield.

"We recently lost contact with one of our partners that provide cattle and dairy," Elsa answered, her eyes drifting back down to the book, "so I'm hoping to find any indication of another trade partner offering the same goods. If not them, then I at least have an idea of what areas might have a large enough cattle supply to trade with Arendelle." Anna bobbed her head slightly and took hold of the end of Elsa's blanket, fiddling with it between her fingers.

"Why did we lose contact? Is that what your meeting was about?" The redhead pulled her legs up onto the cushions and curled up next to her sister, her index fingers and thumbs playing with a few loose threads of the quilt draped over Elsa's knees.

"Admittedly, I'm not sure," Elsa answered, flipping a page, "I hadn't noticed our letters had gone unanswered; I've been…distracted lately." A faint dusting of pink tinted the Queen's pale cheeks.

"Distracted by what?" Anna inquired, her wide teal eyes falling on her sister, practically boring holes into her with its intensity. Elsa's blush spread to her ears and her face felt warm.

"Nothing in particular," She lied, "I just need to make sure that personal things don't interfere with professional ones." Anna gave a small pout.

"Are you mad at me Elsa?" The elder of the two shot her head up, eyes wide, not having expected that. Why would her sister think she was mad? Anna continued. "Because of earlier…, I–" Anna bit her lower lip and turned her eyes down shyly. "Because I, uhm, k-kissed your neck." She clarified, though her voice was barely a whisper, and tapered off near the end of her statement. Elsa's cheeks practically burned now, the memory of her sister's soft lips on her throat flooding back steadily, and she could swear that kissed patch of skin began to tingle again.

The long silent pause made the Princess' stomach twist and writhe, forcing her shift uncomfortably and her grip to tighten on the edge of the blanket between her fingers. Elsa took a moment to regain her composure, clearing her throat and quickly shaking her head.

"N-No, Anna, I'm not mad," She answered, which was true, anger was the furthest emotion she felt about that kiss, "you just caught me by surprise."

"I'm sorry, I wanted to kiss your cheek, but my head was tucked under yours." Anna's own cheeks turned pink, highlighting the soft freckles dusting her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. You actually wanted to kiss her lips, her mind hissed the correction to her, but you couldn't bring yourself to look into her eyes before doing it. The Princess dismissed the thought once again.

"It's fine, Anna, really," Elsa soothed, setting her book down on the table to her side, "I'm not upset. I just think some advance warning might help next time." The Queen immediately bit the inside of her cheek. Next time, that had implications, and she didn't want to seem as though she was expecting–hoping–for another kiss.

There was a short awkward pause that fell over them until the Queen cleared her throat.

"What I mean is that you don't need to worry about being affectionate," Elsa smiled warmly and reached a hand out, cupping it over one of Anna's hands, and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm here for you now, and I can understand wanting to be more…informal." The Princess flicked her eyes to Elsa's and smiled, then laughed softly.

"That sounds so queenly," The redhead teased a bit, taking her free hand and cupping it over Elsa's, sandwiching her sister's hand between her own two, "and thanks. I'm sorry; I know I'm awkward sometimes." The Queen smirked.

"Sometimes?" She baited, knowing that her sister would take it well. And she did. The smile that spread over Anna's lips made the blonde's heart flutter.

"Yes, only sometimes." Anna replied quickly, giving Elsa's hand a gentle squeeze between her own. Another pause befell them, but this time it was much more comfortable, with the two girls staring lovingly at one another. Quickly, Anna turned away and drew her hands back, grasping the edge of the quilt and tugging gently. "May I… I…" She tugged again at the blanket.

"May you?" Elsa searched, her eyes on her sister.

"May I –uhm– come under the blanket too…?" A new wave of deep crimson painted over Anna's cheeks, making her appear all the more red. Elsa smiled a bit and lifted the corner of the quilt from her lap, creating an opening invitingly for her younger sister.

"You may." She answered softly. Anna tried her hardest to not seem too eager to climb under with her sister, so she strategically moved until she was lying partially over her sister with her head resting on Elsa's shoulder. The Queen extended her legs down flat, unfolding her knees and straightening them over the cushions.

"Thank you…" Anna whispered softly, sliding one of her legs over Elsa's, while putting an arm around her sister's waist. Elsa breathed softly and kept her head up, hiding the rather obvious blush on her cheeks, while she put the quilt back down. She felt Anna snuggle closer, her sister's body pressed into her side and partially on her torso, while the arm slung over her held tightly onto her.

"You're welcome." Elsa murmured quietly, turning her head and pressing her warm cheek to Anna's hair. The younger sibling sighed contently and rubbed her face against the blonde's neck. Elsa stiffened visibly, and Anna took notice.

"Elsa?" Anna tilted her head up and blinked at her sister. "Am I making you uncomfortable…?" The Queen immediately shook her head.

"No, of course not," A small smile tugged at the corners of the redhead's lips.

"Maybe…" Anna started, eyes flicking between her sister's red cheeks and her rosy lips, "if my kisses startle you…you should…kiss me instead…" A sudden cold chill ran through the Princess, while the Queen's body dropped a few degrees and the sofa cushions beneath them were coated in a thin layer of frost. The redhead shivered a bit, but didn't pull back, powering through the sudden shock from the temperature drop.

"K-Kiss you…" Elsa murmured, flicking her eyes down to Anna, swallowing quietly. Anna smiled back up at her sister reassuringly and breathed, her warm breath wafting out in a visible puff. Elsa's blue eyes went wide and she quickly removed the frost and returned the temperature to normal with a wave of her free hand. "Sorry…," The Queen's hand slipped to Anna's cheek, her fingers hooking behind the redhead's ear, and her thumb gently stroking her sister's round cheek.

"It's okay," Anna smiled, leaning into her sister's touch, Elsa's cold palm feeling very pleasant against her warm cheeks, "and you don't have to kiss me if you don't want to." The Queen's heart was beating violently against her ribcage, threatening to burst through her chest. "I mean, I just liked when you did it the other night…, it felt…nice." Both girls' cheeks were burning an impossible shade of pink.

"You did?" Elsa asked, seemingly unconvinced. Anna gave a nod against her sister's palm.

"Mhmm; it's nice, having you touch and kiss me again, like when we were kids." Elsa breathed softly and leaned down, her lips hovering above Anna's cheek.

"Yes…?"

"Yes…" Anna murmured, her eyes fluttering closed and swelling bubbling in her chest. She could feel her sister's cold breath against her heated skin, and for a moment she wondered if this was the sort of feeling she was missing for all those years. She loved having Elsa close, pressed against her, the way they were now. But more than just touching, she wanted her sister's lips on her, she wanted Elsa's kisses. She just wanted her sister's attention all for herself.

"Anna," Elsa whispered softly, pressing her lips down in the gentlest kiss to her sister's cheek. The redhead inhaled sharply, murmuring softly and moving closer to her sister. A second kiss followed the first, this one more firm, and slightly to the right. Then a third, a fourth, and a fifth; the sixth kiss touched the corner of Anna's lips and Elsa hesitated. Without opening her eyes, and feeling her sister's uncertainty, the redhead spoke.

"It's alright Elsa," She soothed sweetly; "I love you." Turning her head, Anna boldly pressed her lips to Elsa's. The Queen froze in place, feeling her sister's warm full lips moving against hers, and Anna's breath against her flushed face. This was it, the Queen's first kiss, and it was with her baby sister.