G'day all.

Sorry for the delay, I'm working on a groove that allows me to update all of my on going fics on a nice rotation. So, to make up for it, this chapter is not only longer than previous ones, but has a nice mix of Elsanna cuteness and plot! Ooooh, lucky you.

Without further ado, enjoy!

Mending An Icy Break
- Chapter 12 -

Anna was much stronger than she appeared, Elsa mused, or perhaps just capable of great bursts of energy whenever she desired. Either way the Queen was at her mercy; her entire body being forcibly pulled flush against her younger sibling, eliciting a soft mewl from the sovereign ruler.

"You make cute noises," Elsa heard Anna comment. Her own arctic eyes were screwed tightly shut, and she gnawed at her lower lip, her pearly white teeth biting into the tender flesh.

Their bodies meshed perfectly, with the contours of their forms connecting together like pieces of the antique wooden jigsaw puzzle they used to play with as children.

"A-Anna," The blonde breathed, managing words between muffled pleasured sounds, her entire body rhythmically moving atop the redhead's.

The Princess' hands slid along the lithe sides of her sister's body, desperately petting against the fabric of the Queen's nightgown, which was all that separated her bare palms from Elsa's bare skin. The mere thought excited her, and ignited a flame in the pit of her stomach, which burned with a passionate intensity.

The girls shifted together in a tangled mess of fervent desire, bodies rubbing and grinding together shamelessly, which rocked the bed somewhat and dislodged more than one pillow from behind Anna's head.

One of those pillows managed to not only wriggle free from the space between the Princess and the headboard, but also tumble sideways off the bed, connecting with the bedside table in the process. The sudden movement of the pillow connected with a candlestick resting atop the table, rattling it and causing it to tip over and sending it careening to the ground.

The long golden stand tumbled to the floor, landing with a deafeningly loud crash, which caused the wax candle to fly out from the base, and left the now empty stand rolling nosily over the uncarpeted floor.

The sound was jarring, to say the least, and it startled both sisters apart. Elsa sat upright immediately and clutched her left hand to her chest, her wide blue eyes fixed on the candlestick, as her chest heaved.

"You think we woke up the whole castle by doing that?" Anna asked offhandedly, having been startled by the sudden sound as well, though she only moved to prop herself up on her elbows. Elsa slipped out of the bed, stepping down onto the floor softly, and padding her way over to collect the candle and candle stand.

"I'm sure we have," She answered while placing the candle back inside its stand, and returning it to its rightful spot on the bedside table. "We might as well get dressed and greet the day." Anna turned onto her side and jutted her lower lip out in a pout.

"But I want to cuddle more," She insisted, her wide teal eyes pleading. Elsa turned slightly and smiled.

"Is that what you call cuddling?"

"A form of," The redhead rolled partly onto her back and threw her arms up, extending them outwards, beckoning her sister to her for another hug, "we'll call it our own special form of cuddling." The blonde laughed, raising her hand to cover her mouth as she did.

"You certainly are imaginative, my dear sister," Elsa approached her sibling, and bent down to receive her hug. Anna's arms wrapped around Elsa's shoulders, and with a bit of momentum, she turned and tugged the blonde Queen back down onto her.

With lost footing, the monarch stumbled and fell easily into the embrace, being rewarded with a peppering of kisses that found her cheeks. Unable to contain her laughter, Elsa bubbled happily, while Anna enthusiastically kissed her face–cheeks, forehead and bridge of her nose all included. "I love you," The redhead managed between kisses, "so much."

Elsa, between bouts of laughter, managed her own reply. "I love you too," She giggled, relaxing into the tight embrace and happily accepting her fate–to be viciously kissed by her Princess. "But if you don't stop, our absence will be noticed. I'm usually already dressed and in my study by now."

The onslaught of kisses slowly subsided, but the tightness of the grip around her did not loosen. "I know, you're always really busy," A pang of guilt at those words filtered through the Queen, "but I get it. You've got a lot of work to do."

"Just a few important letters to answer today," Elsa insisted with a smile on her lips, "I've made a decision about something, and I need to inform one of our allies."

"A decision?" Anna parroted, her eyes wide and curious.

Elsa stared back down at her beloved sister; her fiery hair was a complete mess, tangled and jutting out at various points, and there was the slightest remnants of dried drool at the corner of her kiss swollen lips. Her freckled nose wrinkled somewhat as she tried to read her sister's silent stare, and her wide teal eyes flicked quizzically, encased in her dark lashes. Elsa loved this sight, her sister with her, so close she could practically count the freckles that dusted her sunkissed skin.

I love her so much. She thought to herself, a small smile threatening to form.

"Yes," She finally spoke, her voice airy and soft, "a decision." With a quick kiss to Anna's forehead, Elsa slipped out of the embrace, which had slacked somewhat with the Princess' confusion. "I'll see you for dinner, alright?" Anna bobbed her head in a nod and Elsa smiled, turning and walking towards Anna's changing screen.

Slipping behind it, she removed her nightgown and retrieved the underclothes and bodice she'd left there the night before. She dressed quickly and silently, forming her ice dress with a gesture of the hand, and strode out of Anna's bedroom without another word.

Anna, all the while watching her sister's silhouette behind the screen, sat fully upright and began mulling over Elsa's words. 'A decision'. What sort of decision? What did she mean by that?

So distracted by her own thoughts, the redhead didn't even notice Elsa's hurried exit, and instead slowly stood. Her footsteps were near slightly as she made her way across the room. She dressed, fixed her hair and washed her face. Once she was finally ready to greet the day, much earlier than she normally awoke, the Princess left her room and headed out.

"You're up earlier than normal," Kristoff commented as he walked beside Anna, turning his head to look down at her when he received no answer, and took notice of how lost in thought the redhead seemed. "Did you have a nice night?"

Still no response.

The mountain man tried another route, and cleared his throat before speaking. "You planning on having dinner with Elsa again tonight?"

Nothing. Again.

A bit disconcerting, he thought. Raising his hand, Kristoff scratched at the back of his head, his fingers itching at blonde locks. "Sven got his head stuck in a hollow tree yesterday," He tried, "but after a bit of tugging we got him out. He's okay now, just his pride that's wounded."

Yet again, not a word; she was in deeper thought than he'd originally thought. Anna just continued to stare at the ground, her eyes glued to the cobblestone beneath their feet as they walked, while she chewed at her bottom lip.

"Kristoff," Olaf chirruped, waddling up to the burly man, a wide grin on his snowy face. "Look what I found!" The snowman held his twiggy arm up, holding worn and tattered black brim hat. "Isn't it great? I think someone lost it though, maybe we should try to return it?" Kristoff hummed absently and Olaf bounced. "Kristoff!"

"Huh–what? Oh, yeah, sure buddy," The blonde dismissed, his brown eyes following Anna as she walked. "Has Anna been like this all day?" Olaf blinked, whirled around and watched as the Princess just barely missed a pole, grazing it as she walked around it.

"Oh, well yeah," Olaf turned back to Kristoff and gave a nod. "She said Elsa told her about making a decision, but she doesn't know about what, so she's thinking really hard about it now." Kristoff hummed again.

"Some big important queenly decision, or some sort of sisterly decision?" Olaf cocked his head slightly, contemplating the man's question for a brief moment.

"I don't know!" He finally announced, beaming. "Elsa makes lots of different decisions, but she doesn't always tell me about them. She's busy too, so sometimes I don't see her much." Olaf frowned a bit and looked down at his feet, fiddling with the hat in his twiggy hands.

Kristoff's eyes fell on the snowman, and at that moment he was surprised to find just how much Olaf looked like Anna. Posture wise, anyway. Sometimes it surprised him just how alike the two were.

"Anna's going to walk right into the fjord," Olaf commented, waddling hurriedly to Anna, which garnered a very unflattering 'huh' from the blonde. When the words sank in his head shot up, and he noticed that the redhead had wandered onto the docks, and she was still far from paying attention, her steps leading her towards the edge of the wooden planks.

"Anna!" He shouted, rushing after Olaf, whizzing right past the toddling snowman and jumping the steps leading down to the docks. Shooting forward, he managing to grab Anna's waist and yank her back just as she would have stepped off the edge. Thankfully she'd been ambling, so her stride was slow, but the sudden jerking backwards and being lifted yanked the Princess out of her thoughts boisterously.

"Hey!" She squeaked, turning to look back over her shoulder, her brow knitting together in a stern glare. "What're you doing Kristoff?"

"Stopping you from taking an unexpected swim?" He shot back, turning and gently setting Anna back down on her feet. "You need to get your head out of the clouds, or you're going to end up at the bottom of the fjord." Anna blinked, looking around and finally taking in her surroundings, before her cheeks flushed pink. "What's going on with you? You're so out of it."

Bluntly stated, Anna thought, as always. She tightened her shoulders and crossed her arms, looking off to the side to avoid Kristoff's stare. "I'm just thinking, I have a lot on my mind," She admitted, perhaps a touch more harshly than she'd intended. "But…thank you, for stopping me from falling into the water."

"You're welcome," He answered, standing upright and watching as Olaf awkwardly stumbled over the steps and tumbled down onto the hard wooden planks of the dock. "You okay buddy?" As the words left him, Olaf hit the ground, and his head popped off and rolled to their feet.

"I'm okay!" He smiled up at them, and then blinked. "But I wouldn't mind a little help."

Anna giggled. "Oh Olaf, here," She reached down and grasped his head, walking over and setting it back down atop his shoulders with a plop.

"Thank you," He smiled up at her, flexing his fingers, "now I'm perfect!" The redhead laughed again and enveloped the snowman in a hug, squeezing him gently. Kristoff smiled and strode over, and picking up the hat that Olaf had dropped, dusting it off.

"Here Olaf," He handed the black brim hat to the snowman, who gratefully accepted it once he and Anna had separated. "Now," He turned to Anna, "what are you thinking so hard about exactly?"

The Princess sighed. "About something Elsa said," She admitted under her breath, "it's not really important…, or it might be–ugh, I'm not sure!" With a heavy sigh, Anna's shoulders slumped, and she walked up the steps of the dock to drop down on a bench. Kristoff and Olaf followed after, the blonde taking a seat beside the Princess, and Olaf plopping himself down on the cold stones.

"Well," Kristoff prompted, "I'm all ears." Anna chewed the inside of her cheek and turned her eyes to meet her friend's.

"It's just that, normally when Elsa tells me things like 'I've come to a decision' it's about land agreements, or shipping routes." Kristoff raised a brow.

"But?"

"But this time it was…different. She took a minute, just looked at me, then smiled–"

"Oh no," Kristoff interrupted, "not a smile. Sounds like she's happy about whatever decision she's made." He reasoned.

"I hope so," Anna wrung her hands out and stared down at her lap.

"Why are you worrying so much over this?" Kristoff asked, leaning back against the bench and draping his arm along the back of it.

"I'm not sure, something's just worrying me about the whole thing," She raised her head and looked in the direction of the castle, seeing it standing tall and regally above everything else, the highest point seemingly touching the clouds. "I just don't want Elsa to get hurt, and I have this weird feeling that whatever decision she made was for us, and not for whomever else. Like, she picked us over them."

Kristoff followed the redhead's gaze and then hummed again. "And that's a bad thing?" Anna immediately whirled her head around and shook it, her hands rising up.

"No, of course not," She practically shouted, "it's just…I don't want to think that whatever decision she made upsets someone." The blonde man smiled and placed his hand on Anna's shoulder.

"You're too nice for your own good," He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, "someone's always going to get the short end of a deal, but your sister is smart, she'll always make the best choice. I'm sure she was just happy she finally came to a decision."

"Yeah!" Olaf chimed in excitedly, bouncing onto his feet. "Elsa's the best!" Anna smiled.

"She is," She agreed softly with a small nod.

"You're a good sister for worrying so much about her," Kristoff praised, tussling Anna's hair, to which she quickly ducked out from under his hand and glared half-heartedly.

"Oh, it's snowing!" Olaf exclaimed, bouncing around as white flecks of snow began dancing down from the sky. Anna turned her eyes skywards and began worriedly gnawing on her lip. Kristoff took notice and shook his head.

"You're doing it again," He commented.

"What?"

"Chewing your lip," He clarified, "you do it when you're nervous or thinking. It's just snow, not a harbinger of bad news or a sign of something to come."

"It could be," Anna crossed her arms, "besides it's–"

"A month to the end of winter, so totally reasonable," He reasoned with a smirk. "Just go home to Elsa, see that she's alright, and calm down. You're worrying yourself over nothing." Anna huffed.

"You know what," She stood, her arms at her sides, "I am going to go home! I will see you later," She turned and faced her back to the blonde, who relaxed further into the bench and chuckled to himself, "come on Olaf, we're going home."

"Oh, okay," He stood and waved to Kristoff, "bye Kristoff!"

"See ya," The mountain man waved off, still grinning.

"You are certain on this decision, Your Highness?" Jaeden inquired, standing before Elsa, on the opposite side of her desk. "You know the council, myself included, will support your choices regardless of motive."

Elsa strummed the fingers of her free hand against the oaken top of her desk, her left hand tightly gripping her writing quill. "I know Jaeden," She smiled to the elderly man; even greying with age but still handsome, adorning his uniform which was decorated to the point of being entirely covered in various medals for valour.

He had been the personal advisor for the Arendelle Crown for three generations now, having first stood at the side of King Christian and Queen Gyda–Elsa and Anna's grandparents, and beloved monarchs in their own right.

"I truly appreciate your devotion." The Queen smiled, raising her quill and dripping it into the inkwell.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Jaeden crossed his arm over his chest and bowed lightly, "I have faith that this decision is for the best." Elsa flicked her shimmering blue eyes to meet the elderly man's own dulled brown.

Was it for the best? Surely they would be able to maintain their alliance with Lüztunel without a marriage between their kingdoms.

The quill remained in the inkwell, unmoving. Jaeden raised a single brow quizzically.

"Your Highness," He nodded his head to her quill, "I do believe that's sufficient ink for signing." Elsa blushed lightly and raised the quill, allowing the excess ink to drip back into the well.

"Yes, of course," She murmured, drawing the quill to her and hesitating.

Arendelle would be fine. Of course, they have other trade partners, other allies, even if Lüztunel was to disconnect and break their alliance after receiving this letter.

It was a rejection at a proposal they had so patiently been awaiting an answer to, for years, the chances of losing their alliance was a possibility to be considered.

"Queen Elsa?" The concern in Jaeden's voice was evident. "Are you alright? You seem…uncertain."

"I…" The blonde returned the quill to the inkwell and frowned down at the paper before her; the letter was fully written, when her confidence in her choice was at its peak, but now she had faltered and was questioning her decision. "I'm not sure. Jaeden, I'm not sure what to do."

"Whatever you think is best," The advisor replied immediately, offering a sympathetic smile, "you will make the right decision, just trust your instincts."

Instincts? They were screaming for Anna to remain in Arendelle, to reject every single proposal for her hand, and to keep her beloved sister for herself. She was thinking selfishly.

What if Lüztunel did not just revoke their alliance, but also declared war? Arendelle could not combat the military might of a kingdom that large.

Elsa's grip on the quill tightened and frost crept over it. The crackling sound of verglas drew in the Queen's attention, and she stared down at the thin layer of ice.

"You are stronger than you give yourself credit," Jaeden spoke suddenly, "perhaps whatever issue you are wrestling with could be solved if you consider your own strengths as a ruler? You are just as capable as your father was."

"Am I?" Elsa asked, her eyes falling from the quill to the paper.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Maybe. Maybe she was strong, and perhaps it wasn't wrong for her to want to keep Anna here. She was to become her co-regent, after all. She needed someone to rule by her side, and in the absence of a king Arendelle could be ruled by sister queens.

She did, after all, have something her father did not.

And one should never underestimate the power of snow and ice.

A new waved of confidence washed over the Queen as she drew her quill back and signed the parchment. The deal was done, she had made her decision.

Whatever comes, whatever is to be faced, she would do it with Anna by her side.