It had been more than three weeks since Elsa had departed Arendelle to travel to the Southern Isles. Anna had estimated that Elsa had gotten there only a few days ago, and soon it would be time for her to meet with the king and other princes of the Southern Isles and have a trial over Hans's actions.

During Elsa's absence, Arendelle was still running smoothly. The citizens were happy to know that their queen was doing all she could to keep them safe and prevent any kind of battle or war from happening with the Southern Isles. Although Anna and Kristoff had virtually no idea on how to take on the responsibility of running a kingdom, like Elsa had promised, Kai, Gerda, and the other servants were very helpful to the couple when they needed it. Luckily, they didn't have to deal with very large issues that left them even more clueless than they were.

At this time, it was evening, and Joseff was hanging out in his room with Olaf. Although Olaf was bigger than Joseff, he was in no way strong enough to pick Joseff up, especially with his stick arms. But he was just enjoying being with Joseff anyway. He never passed an opportunity to play with Joseff in one way or another, whether it was crawling with Joseff or even letting Joseff snuggle up against him. A few times, Joseff even tried to grab Olaf's nose, though Olaf had to remember that Kristoff and Anna said that if Joseff got it, he might try to chew on it, which could be dangerous for him, so Olaf couldn't let Joseff have it.

"Hey Joseff, why don't you try to stand up again? Maybe you could take a few steps, too." Olaf said out loud, thinking of what else the two friends could do before Joseff had to go to bed.

One week after Elsa had left, Joseff had surprised his parents one day when they came across him standing up in his crib! In these past ten months, every new milestone that Joseff exhibited as he grew just made his parents and aunt more excited. When he was discovered to be standing in his crib, everyone realized that he might be able to stand up on his own without any support soon.

"It's just a shame that she had to leave right before he did it. I know she would have been excited," Anna had said to Kristoff after they witnessed Joseff standing.

"I know," Kristoff replied. "But this is another breakthrough for him. In a few weeks, maybe even when she comes home, he might be able to stand up all on his own. That would definitely be a delighted surprise for her when she returns."

"That's true. She just doesn't want to be absent whenever something new happens with him. It's why she wants to be with him now as much as possible…even though she isn't right now, of course."

"Well, we'll just have to write down every single thing he does that she might want to know so we'll have a lot to tell her when she comes home."

"That's a good idea. Besides us, I'm sure she misses him like crazy. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and maybe that's true."

So the couple did just that. They did have a book in which they had written down all of the milestones that Joseff exhibited over the past months, and they let Elsa read it, too. But since Elsa was away, Kristoff and Anna decided to write some more meticulous details about whatever particular thing Joseff did, such as whatever made him laugh or smile.

Back in the present, Anna and Kristoff walked into the nursery to finally put Joseff to bed. When they saw him cuddling up to Olaf, they smiled. "Having fun with your buddy Olaf, sweetie?" Anna asked.

"We are having a ball," Olaf answered cheerfully. But then Joseff let out a little yawn, prompting Anna to say, "Okay, it's time for you to go to bed, young man."

Kristoff picked him up from the floor and gently placed him in his crib, on his back. But in a matter of seconds, Joseff was now standing in the crib, using the bar for support. His parents laughed and smiled at each other.

"Stubborn little guy, isn't he?" Anna asked.

"He takes after you in that way," Kristoff teased.

"To be fair, he takes after both of us in different ways. But I think stubbornness comes from both of us…though maybe more from you." She playfully nudged and winked at her husband.

Before the couple turned away to leave, Olaf cleared his throat. "Anna, aren't you forgetting?"

"Oh, sorry!" Anna exclaimed. She picked Olaf up and put him in the crib with Joseff, whose face lit up and he sat down once Olaf was with him.

The first few nights after Elsa left, Joseff seemed to have sensed that she was not around since she wasn't with his parents when they put him to bed. He appeared to grasp that she was an important person in his life and he saw her everyday, especially at his bedtime. But since he hadn't seen her the first few nights, it took him a while before he finally went to sleep. Kristoff and Anna had noticed this, for whenever they checked on him during the nights, he was almost always still awake!

However, Olaf began spending more time with Joseff every day, and that seemed to make Joseff feel better. Olaf even slept in the room with Joseff at night, sometimes in the crib, and with Olaf there, Joseff was sleeping more again. Kristoff and Anna speculated that since Olaf was a part of Elsa, in her absence, spending more time with him (Olaf) is what made Joseff seem less disappointed that his aunt was not there. But for whatever the reason, the couple was grateful to have Olaf be a great friend to their little boy.

With Olaf there to keep him company, Joseff fell asleep within minutes after his parents wished him good night.

Meanwhile, it just so happened that in the Southern Isles, at the same moment that Joseff was going to sleep in Arendelle, his Aunt Elsa was sitting on the bed in the room that was given to her during her stay in the kingdom.

Elsa had arrived in the Southern Isles a few days ago and had a private meeting with the king in person. From the moment she first met him, King Anders seemed and acted like an ideal king. Elsa was sure to be polite and courteous to him, but she remembered how Hans seemed like a noble prince himself when she first met him. She didn't want to judge Anders without getting to know him first, but she still didn't want to let her guard down about trusting him or any of the other princes. She had also met the next three older princes Thomas, Soren, and Edvin.

Hans was still in the palace dungeons, where he had remained for the past three years because his brothers thought that time in prison was what he needed to have as a fair punishment for the time being. Due to there being twelve others, jail time for Hans was the only sentence on which they could agree for him. When Hans was brought back to the kingdom, his brothers were so angry with him that when they locked him up, they made sure he couldn't easily escape from his cell, and there were guards keeping an eye on him all the time for extra security.

Now that Elsa was here, a trial deciding on Hans's final fate was scheduled to take place in a couple of days. Elsa felt beyond scared to see Hans again, not to mention scared to be in a country she had never visited, and all alone. She was wishing that her family was there to stand by her and help her. But for his own safety, she knew Joseff couldn't be there, and just like he seemed to miss her, she missed him in return. Elsa hated being so far away from Joseff (and Anna, of course). She went to bed each night, thinking about him, and wondered if he had done anything new yet.

Yet as scared as she was, Elsa knew she had to go through with this trial. It was too late to turn back now. At least she could look forward to seeing her family when she returned home. She was here for them, and she did not want to give up on them.

Elsa spent several hours lying awake in her bed, thinking about what would soon happen. But thoughts of her family gave her a boost of confidence, especially when she thought of Joseff's cute little face. Keeping these thoughts in her mind, Elsa felt more relaxed by the time she finally fell asleep.