A/N: As always, a huge thank you to everyone who's supported me thus far. I couldn't do this without you. Please review my story if you can; I'm willing to take on all criticism, constructive or otherwise. Thank you all and thank you to UltimateCyanide for betaing my work so far. This will most likely mark the beginning of a second hiatus for me, as I will be leaving the country next week. Thanks again for understanding.

Sunday morning.

Anna had forced herself awake early and gotten ready, berating herself after every one of her usual slip ups. She'd forced her hair into order, slipped on her best clothes, prepared her pockets and handbag...

But she was scared.

She simply stared at her reflection, having collapsed by her dressing table, tired from the mental exertion.

I have to do this.

Her eyes passed over the familiar face, the freckles, the hair before closing. She took a deep breath, steadying herself.

I will do this.

She pulled herself to her feet and walked out the door.

I won't let her down again.

During her early breakfast her father had scoffed and asked her what she was doing ahead of her usual rising hours. Anna proudly told him she had an appointment to keep with Oak and her father laughed, telling her not to bother. Anna sneered back, dropping her bowl into the sink with unnecessary force and spat back a retort, to which he chuckled and simply waved goodbye. Seething, Anna marched out the front door, slamming it shut behind her.

Anna had had the foresight to do some research before her visit. She knew what to bring, what to say (she'd rehearsed a few speeches) and what to do. She knew which particular business Oak would be overseeing on a Sunday and which building he would be in. She had made phone inquiries and found that Oak really was free when he said he'd be, so when she marched in through the automatic doors and into the foyer, escaping into the glorious chill of air conditioning, she felt confident.

Mostly.

She faltered then, eyes scanning the room. There were two rows of seats to her left and a vending machine off to the right. She walked forward, hearing the doors slide shut behind her and ran a finger over the cool glass, looking at the trinkets being offered. Her attention was drawn to a particular brand of car accessory: a pudgy little snowman with an carrot nose and stick arms.

Odd. And in such short supply too. Probably some winter stock they don't want to just throw out.

She shook her head and forced herself to focus on what she came here to do. In the corner of the room was a reception desk, where two people sat, waiting to deal with the day's visitors. She scanned the queues. There were only two people in each.

Perfect.

She got in line and soon enough, she found herself in front of a man in a simple white uniform who looked back with green eyes. She looked back: no one was behind her, the room in the process of being cleared in time for the day to begin in earnest. She looked back at the man, who had begun scratching his ginger sideburns as he waited for her to begin talking. He respectfully stopped when she did.

"Er," Anna coughed politely, privately furious for stumbling at the first step, "good morning. My name is Anna. Anna Arendelle? I believe I have an appointment with Mr. Oak..."

She leaned over the counter as the man entered her details into his computer, stopping once to check his spelling and again to raise his eyebrow (Anna pulled back when he did so). When he finished searching, he looked back at her, brows furrowed.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I can't find anything of the sort, but..." His eyes roamed up and down her body, no doubt about to criticise her for assuming his boss would want to speak to a girl of her age. She cursed her father for telling the truth about Oak before choosing a different tack, pulling her badge from her handbag.

"I represent the Arendelle Conglomerate. My father's company. I think you'll find he's had a few dealings with Mr. Oak in the past." She barely concealed her smile as he took a look at her identification before moving back to the screen. She was telling the truth, having learnt of the collaborations as part of her research. Frowning, the receptionist turned back to her.

"Still nothing I'm afraid. I mean, I respect you for helping your dad out - volunteering, correct? - but, like I said, nothing. There's a meeting scheduled next month actually, are you sure you didn't get confused?"

Anna turned around again, thanking what little luck she had that a new queue had yet to form behind her. "I'm quite sure I picked the correct date. I hope I could persuade you to let me through regardless of the short notice?"

The man's eyes widened and he even leaned back slightly. "What do you mean?"

The sneer was back on Anna's face as her hand returned to her handbag. "What would you say is a suitable bribe to get me to him?"

Even after all the time she'd spent with her father and his companions, Anna was still astounded at the change the sight of money could induce in people. The receptionist (named Westie, as she learned soon after) had immediately straightened his back, put on a huge grin and promised her no troubles whatsoever - for an extra bit of cash of course. And he was right. The closest she'd come to a problem had been when Oak's personal secretary had frowned at her as she'd climbed the stairs, complaining that her sudden appointment was completely against standard procedures.

Her adrenaline rush faded just as she approached his door, leaving her frozen in place, knuckles suspended in front of the wood. A multitude of emotions washed over her - her doubt, her fears, her disgust at her own actions that she'd refused to feel so far - before her hand clenched shut, breaking the spell. She knocked once, twice, thrice. When she heard "Come in!" from the other side she gripped the handle, her fingers shaking slightly before she opened it in one swift motion. She locked eyes with Oak, hers narrowing as his widened fractionally.

"Miss Arendelle! It's a surprise to see you here!" He paused as Anna took her seat across from him, holding her hands on her lap beneath the desk. "I must say you're your father's girl through and through. How much money did you spend to get here?" Anna looked up to see his knowing smile and fought the impulse to vomit.

She clenched her jaw tight before relaxing it enough to speak. "You said you'd tell me about my sister today." She couldn't trust herself to say more, so she instead clasped her hands together and looked down until Oak replied.

"And you really believed that?" He let the statement sink in, relishing the effect it had. "After your father went through all that trouble to hide her from the world, you really thought I'd spill everything to a little girl?"

Anna struggled to contain herself, but she felt her control slipping. "Then why give me false hope?! Why take me to that waiting room? Why not just tell me to get lost?!"

She had barely noticed the monitor off to his right as she entered the room, but now he turned his attention to it, opening a new window and typing in a command. Anna tried to subtly lean over, only for the man to turn it around to face her instead. The screen was displaying the live feed of a camera looking at a drab and dreary room. Anna recognised it even as Oak posed his question. "Is this the waiting room in question?"

Anna nodded dumbly. The camera was positioned in the corner of the room and Anna found the seat she'd occupied that day, waiting for answers that would never come. "You were watching me..." She trailed off, looking down, staring at the desk as she processed the information. She heard Oak chuckle and the sound of the monitor being rotated to its original position.

"Obviously."

"Then... that wo - those two people, the woman and child? What were they doing there?"

"Think of it as an experiment. We wanted to see how long you'd stay put before giving up. Well, I was the one watching, but I phoned him afterwards. Your father wanted to see how soft you really were. I just thought it was a barrel of fun."

Anna fell back against the chair, head leaning into her chest as she blinked angry tears from her eyes. She was dimly aware that Oak's accent had all but disappeared since their last encounter and wondered if that too had been part of his act. "And those two... what were they? Actors?"

"Oh!" Oak waved his hand as he leaned back in his own seat, though with much more joy than her. "No, they were the genuine deal seeking help. Your father was kind enough to direct them in my direction - by the way, that's what friends do: help each other out. Apparently you don't have many to practice with - anyway, funny how the timing worked out, isn't it?" His eyes twinkled before he winked at her.

Anna hid her face in the upturned collar of her jacket, trying to wipe away the tears without exposing them to him. The endeavour was a partial success and she chose to make do, meeting his gaze and smile with red eyes and wet cheeks. She took a shaky breath. She was desperate at this point, desperate to find her sister after all that had been done to hide her away and also to defend herself, in any way possible. She exhaled and waited, begging her nerves to relax. "You do realise my father's empire far outweighs yours, correct?"

Oak scoffed. "Of course. But I'm content with where I am for now. What are you getting at?"

"I was just reminding you that, as heir, that power also falls to me; in a limited capacity perhaps, but mine all the same." Her mind was abuzz with the words she expected to hear and the words she should say in return.

Oak laughed loudly. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing yet. You seem to be great friends with my dad. How about my mother? Do you get along with her?"

Oak frowned. "I've met her once or twice. Very quiet when she's sober, so no."

"That's a shame, because I do. You may not know this, but she was the main reason behind, you know." She felt the tables turning ever so slightly and she balled her hands into fists to control herself. She couldn't help but crack a small smile as Oak's eyes widened once more as it dawned on him.

"Main reason behind what?" He breathed.

"Well, imagine the words Arendelle and two years ago in one sentence. What other word would it most likely contain?" Her smile widened into a grin when Oak answered.

"Bjorgman."

The absurdity of the situation, that an eighteen year old girl was successfully blackmailing a grown, influential man, was not lost on either of them. It was a testament to the brutality that the words represented. Oak opened and closed his mouth a few times, words failing him each time. He eventually managed a question, though his voice was suddenly so very weak. "But - but it was your father that did this! Why would he help you?" He held himself up again, confident in his own safety.

"Well," Anna smiled, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "he did introduce me to a unicorn once. In a roundabout manner." She smiled as Oak cocked his head, completely thrown by the statement. "Anyway, I don't think you were listening. I said you should be scared of my mother. You know, the one who actually did everything? Well most of it, but enough to take you down few pegs."

"And you think she would listen to you and not him?"

"Yep. In fact, you don't need to wait for confirmation or anything." She pulled out her phone. "I can do it right now."

"You can't be serious!" The rising pitch in his voice was music to her ears.

"Try me." She opened up her contacts and skimmed through, speaking aloud as she did. "I even know some of her accomplices quite well. Remember Florence?" Oak brightened. "I'll take that as a no." She found the person she was searching for, but kept talking. "I think another woman was Fauna or something weird like that?" Whatever hopes Oak had entertained were dashed, if the rapid change in his expression was any indication. Anna smiled, turning her phone around. "And let's not forget this one. Mary W. She was the key player in the whole affair you know. And she just so happens to be my godmother. She turned the phone so that the screen faced directly up and hovered her thumb over the Call button. "What to try your luck, sir?"

"Do you - do you really think you can get away with that?" He was desperate now. Anna decided not to tell him that most of her claims were based on conjecture. Conjecture based on her own memories and observations, but conjecture all the same.

"What are you going to do about it? Keep me locked up? Kill me? Good luck! Then my parents would really go to town with you. You know, there's just one thing that upsets me about this whole affair."

"And what would that be?"

"That you don't have someone - anyone! - out there who loves you."

"Wh - what is that supposed to mean?"

"You know the story right? How the family got trapped in this... vicious circle of watching each other go mad and going crazy themselves? It's a shame you can only do that with a mirror or something." She grinned as he mopped his brow, sweat pouring over his face like heavy rain, and waited.

The ploy worked. Oak suddenly stood up. "You win, Miss Arendelle. Your father would be so proud of you. I'll get everything you need." He walked to the door, only for Anna to jump up and into his path, gripping the door handle herself.

"Do you really think I'm going to fall for that again? We're going together." She pulled the door open, letting Oak pass by before following him, the door swinging shut behind her.

"Your father would be so proud of you."

That sentence haunted her for the duration of their walk, setting her on edge, making her bite her lip and clench her hands together. She felt the strong urge to vomit yet again and desperately tried to justify her actions to herself. Ironically, the only phrase that worked also came from the giant in front of her.

"Sometimes you must act unlike yourself... and apologize to yourself afterwards."

I've got a lot of apologizing to do. I feel so... filthy.

To distract herself from her thoughts she poked Oak in the back. He turned to her with a scowl.

"So, do you know anything about her?"

"Yes. The basic facts. Normally I wouldn't but I took a particular interest in this case. I'm sure you understand why." He began to turn forward but Anna's second question reversed the motion.

"Basic facts?" Her breath caught in her throat before she followed it up with a third, more monumental question. "Like what?"

Oak smiled at her before opening a door and walking through. "For starters..." He held the door for Anna, who walked through, gazing back at him in wonder.

"I could tell you her name."