Thank you to all the great reviews! Really keeps me writing when I get into a block. If you haven't noticed by now the POV is really by all the characters in some way but not too personalised and it can switch around suddenly. I hope it's not too confusing. Now onto the next chapter!

Oh How Things Have Changed

Irena was silent as the grave while she witnessed the scene before her. Anna, her long-time friend and the only girl she really let into her heart was alive. Actually alive. She somehow had survived for two years here in the frozen landscape. Not that she was too surprised by that fact alone; the girl could survive anything even falling through ice. But childhood memories were not meant to be at the front of her mind right now. Anna was alive, that was better than anything they could've hoped for but, she wasn't free. The Princess switched her gaze to that of the seated woman, the Snow Queen. Her demeanour had changed, she wasn't an overpowering monarch anymore and it was almost like she had nothing to prove. It seemed she forgot all about them now her gaze had moved to…

It was almost an instinctive move to snap her head at her brother who had nearly taken a step forward. Grabbing his wrist to inforce he did not move, Irena could tell his mind was reeling. The girl he had felt for had finally reappeared before him. She almost shed a tear for her twin, the girl may have been alive but she was not his, she never was. Unfortunately Irena knew her brother would never understand that. She let her gaze to what had bothered her bother so much; the Queen had left her throne to stand just within the light within inches of Anna. She couldn't hear anything but their lips were moving; whispering was never a good sign. Sounds of scuffing shoes reminded them both they still had other company, Kristoff who looked rather miffed. Can't win them all it seems.

Anna couldn't believe her lucky stars, though she didn't really have any but maybe she'd like some if they lead to things such as this. Her best friends here! They were all together again! This was going to be the best day ever. Well maybe second best day…she couldn't forget that day she spent outside in the snow with Elsa…or that time with Kristoff who showed her how to…Never mind! It'll still be a great day. Before having the chance to run off like she normally would, Elsa snatched her aside for a moment as her Head Guard watched over their two guests. The younger woman looked up the short height difference.

"I want this to be very clear Anna. I don't like them here" Elsa was glaring hard as teal eyes connected with her own.

"I get it. Royals and the noble people. Yeah. But like you said with the trading ships, it's only a week. They were my only friends from childhood, well the only ones that I could stay with for longer than a month. Please Elsa, give them a chance yes? For me?" she smiled at the blonde woman. Elsa tilted her head away.

"I will give them a chance only because I can deal with them later. You may go for now Anna, but you have duties this evening. I will not allow you to slack off because you have…'guests'" the Queen forced the last word a little.

"Promise. We'll be back in time for dinner"

"I will not have those…people at my table" Elsa was beginning to become upset at the girl's favour towards the two.

"But it's being polite. Please?" Anna instantly stopped her drawl of the word when she felt sharp icy nails at her throat. The Queen held her chin securely upwards, exposing her throat. The air around them dropped a few degrees.

"Remember to whom you belong. I will not say it twice Anna…" Elsa whispered into a reddening ear before releasing her. "Go, nightfall will be fast tonight. Kristoff" The man in question left his post and a lingering glare before following his Queen out of the room. Anna released a sigh before descending the dais.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, had to clear up some…stuff" Anna had her breath squeezed out of her in a rib breaking hug from the Princess.

"Oh Anna, we've missed you"

"I've missed you guys too. It's been so long, how's home? And your brothers? I'm positive I can name them all now. Even in order" she grinned. Irena took a step back and just shook her head while smiling.

"Oh Anna. Please never change" the strawberry blonde just looked puzzled.

"Huh? Change? I don't think I have…well Kristoff said I'm not exactly how I was but…"

"Anna will never change. Still the sweet playful girl we know. If not slightly clumsy" Hans took a step forward to the two but thought better than to make the same move as his sister. It would be uncalled for and rather insulting but Anna didn't seem to see it that way and took it upon herself to hug the tall man. Irena watched as her brother's eyes went from shocked to happiness and then content. A rather bold move on the girl's part; all things considering.

"Yeah, I'm sure we've all changed some" Anna grinned making the twins happy at seeing that old smile once more. "I mean it has been years and I've been so busy here. I guess with the no ships thing letters weren't possible" she seemed to go off with the thought. Hans snapped out of his little state.

"But Anna, how have you survived all this time? I mean this place isn't right. It's snowing in summer!" Irena had to frown at her brother's rather brash behaviour.

"Survived? You're weird Hans. I live here now, happily with my family too. We have a giant farm here for all the animals. Come I'll show you" Anna took his hand to lead him out of the room, Irena following close behind.

The Princess made note of where their friend was leading them. Leaving the castle she turned another way from the main gate and headed through a small courtyard until they exited the castle estate through a smaller side entrance. The thin pathway lead down to a small structure, by the smell Irena assumed it was the Royal Stables however as soon as they stepped into the building she was surprised to find no horses at all. Young stall hands were moving about with hay stacks throwing some into each pen occupied by the animals but instead of seeing the long face of an equine a tall, sharp horned cervine grazed on the fresh food it was just given.

"They're all…reindeer" Irena spoke softly. The teal eyed woman grinned.

"Of course. What else do you think my family trains? In Arendelle horses can't work in the snow all the time because they're not suited for it. So all labour work is done by our reindeer" she looked mighty proud of herself after saying that. The twins nearly chuckled as she struck an adorable pose in her pride.

"I cannot say I'm surprised Anna. After all it is you. So I am assuming this is what you wanted to show us?" Hans replied. He was disheartened when Anna let go of his hand.

"Well not just this. I'm going to show you all of Arendelle! Well maybe not all of it, cause there is a lot to see and I even doubt it could all be seen in one day but, I think we could get through most of it today. But then again I did promise Elsa we'd be back by sundown so we have to hurry and see all the important places. Well I think important anyway so let's go!" Grinning widely Anna walked on down to the far end of the stables. A young teen stopped his work to bow slightly, he moved to the side and opened a stall on the left to which Anna stopped at.

"My beauty! Come here Eirlys. Who's a good girl? Wanna go out today? Yes we do" Anna held her arms out wide to hug the massive neck of the animal. A large white reindeer stepped out of its stall to nuzzle against the trainer happily. The royal twins had never seen such a beast before. Sure they had seen reindeer of its size but the colouring and those large antlers were astonishing if what slightly deadly. The animal, Eirlys looked at them through its deep dark eyes before snorting a puff of air. Anna grinned.

"Come we'll have a sled ready then we can see everything!"

"That's another of the large greenhouses. I think it's used for the mass of our corn…or was it grain…? Anyway, there are lots of them and they all do the same thing!" Anna continued to ramble on every little detail she could remember about Arendelle as the trio went on their sled ride. She was a very enthusiastic tour guide and seemed to enjoy going on about every little thing she knew. They had seen what used to be farmland now home to herds of reindeer, the kingdom's main resource to odd structured buildings at the base of the North Mountain where, as Anna confusingly explained is where they grew all their food. Irena had to wonder if the girl even knew what she was talking about. 'How could anyone grow food in a building made of ice?'

Hans remained polite through the trip. He nodded to her explanations and grinned at her enthusiasm. Everything she was telling him went right over his head however. He truthfully didn't really care how Arendelle had survived two years isolated, or how they created such engineering ideas no scholar would ever consider. The Prince was revelling in the mere presence of the young woman he had longed for since he could remember to think of anything else. Expect for that name that kept drilling itself into his consciousness. Elsa.

It seemed when Anna wasn't talking about the kingdom she was talking about the Queen. What that woman had done for the citizens, how she kept the wolves within the forest or using her 'magnificent' powers she kept Arendelle under the light fall of winter's beauty. Hans saw nothing but how that tyrant had corrupted his friend's innocent mind with outrageous lies and won over her loyalty through graces he had yet to uncover. She continued to speak about her even after they finished their ride in the later hours of the day.

"I don't know how she got the idea but it works! I was in awe at how smart she is…" Anna gently brushed the soft fur of her reindeer before closing off the stall, facing the waiting royals once more.

"I myself am intrigued by her many inventive ideas. Certainly never seen such things before" Hans glared at his sister discreetly to which she obviously ignored. Irena didn't care for his petty emotions building up over the topic of conversation. She had Anna back and their friendship still so strong, there was no way the Princess would forsake this chance, not even for her brother.

"Did you know the snow and ice will never melt?" Anna was nearly jumping with excitement as she led them out of the stables, returning up the path they first travelled earlier that day. The two young ladies had hooked arms as they walked on through the light snowed path. Hans strode confidently behind them at a reasonable distance, still able to hear them perfectly well but just enough to 'watch' them uninterrupted. This was his chance to truly see the strawberry blonde as what she was; a woman.

Hans remembered the first time he saw Anna, her small body, pudgy face and light freckles were adorable when she smiled. He watched her grow into an amazing young woman, just coming into her body. She lost the baby fat while her breasts and hips grew out and back then he thought she was very beautiful. But compared to how she looked now, he could say they were two different people. Anna stood at full height just shorter than his sister who was half a head off himself. Her coarse hair softened into smooth strands, he would've thought it silk if he could actually touch it. Despite her heavy furred clothing he could see her womanly features plain as day. Those firm slim arms, curvy breasts leading down to a trim waist then onto long lean legs. Hans couldn't help himself and he didn't want to. She was a near perfect woman in his eyes; unfortunately he didn't see the eyes on him.

When the group returned to the chilling castle, Anna proclaimed they had to attend dinner with her and by implication, Elsa. From what Irena remembered of the earlier scene with the Queen the thought of hosting the royal siblings wasn't one Elsa enthused over nor did the face her brother was giving now imply he wanted to either. Oblivious to her surroundings, Anna opened the doors to the dining room or the equivalent of. A long table was the centre piece accompanied with multiple chairs, suits of knight's armor did line the walls and yet Irena could only think that it was all out of place. The furniture was wood, the armor metal and the temperature was rather welcoming compared to the other areas of the bone-chilling castle. There was very little ice within the room. Irena took the chance to seek out the absent crystal like substance while Anna near dragged her to her assigned seat. Both women couldn't see their last party member conveniently missing.

Hans was forced to the side and rather brutally slammed against the nearest wall. Groaning in pain he looked up to see brown eyes glaring harshly and a grim look upon the blonde man's face. Kristoff was holding the Prince off the ground by his collar and apparently doing it with ease.

"I give you this one warning, your "Highness". Stay away from Anna. She is not yours, she never will be yours. Your kingdom is as good as dead to her now. You have one week…don't make me kill you…" with that he dropped the Prince to the ground and disappeared down the corridor. Hans straightened himself up while trying to calm his beating heart.

"Barbarian man…How dare he…" settling with his slightly dishevelled look, Hans joined the two ladies in the dining room, upset upon learning his place was next to his sister and not the younger female.

"I see you have all returned…how…delightful…" that cold voice once again sounded from the walls rather than its speaker as she made her way to the throne like chair at the head of the table.

"Yip, just like I promised Elsa" Anna grinned from her place on the left. Hans watched as the ruler smiled down to the younger woman and gently cupped her cheek.

"Yes indeed Anna…I will have to reward you…later" brushing her thumb over the smooth skin then giving a tap to the girls jaw the Ice Queen finally took her seat. The atmosphere began to increase with tension as a stare down took place between the Royal siblings and that of the head of table. Irena did her best to appear sophisticated while Hans openly glared. Anna of course remained her oblivious self.

"We are rather grateful to be hosted for dinner your Majesty. Especially after such a day of travel and seeing the sights" Irena looked to Anna as she spoke the latter, the two sharing a smile.

"Of course you are. Who else would be so lucky but…'old friends' of Anna's? Seeing how there is very little blue blood these days, why not make the most of it while it lasts yes?" as she spoke servants came through a small side door carrying trays of food. Placing them evenly about the table without a sound they made themselves scarce. Anna jumped right in to the delicious looking food, piling her plate high. The Princess followed at a more humble pace. Hans had not broken his gaze from the blonde who only smiled at him cunningly.

"You should enjoy yourself Prince Hans…we wouldn't want this to be your last meal…do we?"

Cookie points for anyone who figures out why I named Anna's reindeer as I did. A little news update!~~~ Next chapter will be a few days late for reasons that cannot be altered on my part. Please forgive me. But see it this way; you may get two chapters in the next week. As always reviews are most welcome!