Author's Notes: You know what I hate? To start writing in the past tense and somehow end writing in the present. Ugh! I have to reread the chapter like a thousand times just for that.

In any case, I want to thank all of you that reviewed, alerted and favored. I'm glad you all like it so much; enough to finish writing this today instead of doing a final project for tomorrow…oh well. XD

Now, let the plot, begin!

Chapter two: Away from the Queen's eyes

Being queen was hard work. Elsa had been sitting at her mahogany desk for most of the day, working on one paper or another. They were mostly trivial matters, finances that needed to be verified, food transport licenses that had to be authorized, contracts that she could not postpone the signing off. But Elsa was used to all of this: an aching back, a strained neck, the burning eyes, all due to her never ending workload. Because Elsa had been the rightful regent since the sudden death of her parents, it just so happened that no one knew.

"And that is how Arendelle obtained the territory it controls today." A gruff voice finished, closing the book with a satisfied sigh. Yet the owner's demeanor instantly changed at the sight of the sleeping girl before him.

Raising a hairy eyebrow, he stood from the floor on his short, fat legs. He walked over to the floor table and wasted no time in dropping the heavy book on its top. The blond head shot up like a rocket and groggy eyes looked all over her enormous room in search of the commotion that awoke her from such a peaceful slumber. Her eyes landed on the rocky figure that was standing right before her with an expression of disapproval. They widened comically and she began to stutter.

"Oh…Erasto…I, um, I only dozed off for a second." She said sheepishly, rubbing the reddened skin of her brow.

"For only a second you say? Then how about you tell me what I was saying two seconds ago?" The troll asked crossing his arms over his rocky chest while looking at her expectantly.

The blond girl opened and closed her mouth a few times, before deciding to just risk it. Who knows, she might actually get it right by saying the last thing she remembered.

"Ah…you were talking about the importance of hygiene within the kingdom's premises, which by the way, I find quite ironic coming from the mouth of a mountain troll." She said very quickly.

"I will ignore that insult for the well use of the word ironic, but you are still wrong your majesty." He stated. "Tell me Elsa, how do you plan to solve the country's present problems without the knowledge of its past?"

The little princess deflated. "Why don't we just let Carlos do it? He is in charge after all."

The troll sat down on the floor again, resting his elbows on the table."Princess Elsa." He called, and waited until the girl's blue eyes settled on his. "I've put that man to sleep not to be a burden to you, but because you need the experience of managing your Kingdom. It is a shame that the King had to part from us so fast. Such a departure gave you no time to learn at a slower pace. But the truth remains, that this kingdom won't be yours one day, because it is yours now. Carlos is nothing but a face, your father meant for you to rule, do you understand?"

At the tender age of ten it was hard to comprehend anything that wasn't related to her favorite toys and her most loved books. Yet she nodded, because if nothing else the kingdom was not only the last thing she had from her parents but also the greatest gift her father had given her, and she would treasure it as such. Besides, her little sister was out there, and she depended on her.

"Very well then." Erasto said, standing with a grunt. "Reread what sleep didn't allow you to hear and think about how you would repair the damage the last storm did to your country's crops. Tomorrow we'll discuss it and I'll ease your decision into your guardians' mind, is that alright?"

"Okay." She replied staring down.

The troll's stern posture lessened at little Elsa's sagging shoulders. He walked around the table and caressed her head before leaving the book atop the table, opened to the page she had to study. "Don't be too hard on yourself my child. You are doing well."

The princess smiled softly at the encouragement and watched as Erasto, the Elder troll, touched the forehead of Carlos, the current regent of Arendelle, before hastily jumping out the window. The floor trembled as Erasto touched the ground and Elsa giggled when Carlos fell, face-first, from the sofa to the floor.

He stood startled, wondering what was going on and looking around for something that even he wasn't sure what it was. His black eyes settled on Elsa, who began to read her book in an effort to hide her grin. Carlos fixed his hair and stroked his thin mustache as he sat on the sofa once again. Staring at nothing, he pondered on his sanity.

So yes, Elsa was overly used to the enormous amount of work she had on a daily basis. If nothing else, so many years of experience had taught her how to hasten the process by organizing and prioritizing. What the queen wasn't used to however, was the random appearance of her little sister in her office during labor hours. Although, she probably would have noticed Anna's not really discreet entrance had the queen not been staring off into space.

"Elsa!" The papers flew out of the queen's hands.

"Anna! Don't scare me like that!" She held onto her heart; then moved to retrieve the papers that scattered around her desk.

Anna kneeled to pick up some that had fallen to the floor on her side. She extender her arm to her sister and grinned at the slight glare she received from the queen.

Elsa took the documents from her, and raising a rather fine eyebrow asked, "What do you need?"

"You, my dearest sister." Anna replied, opening her arms with a flourish. "I've come to save you from the claws of your horrid fate – ", she gestured to the parchment full desk. " by inviting you to visit the plaza with me!" She finished, holding her hands behind her back and smiling widely. Evidently, the princess felt very accomplished with herself.

Elsa took a second to take it all in, and then said, "I can't."

"What? Why?" Anna whined, going so far as to slump her shoulders.

"Because I have much work to do Anna. Can't you see?" The queen replied, moving to retake her previous work, or at least to make it look like she was retaking her previous work. It meant nothing to her sister though, who rounded the table and latched onto her arm preventing her from writing anything at all.

"You were not even working when I got here!" Anna countered, pushing and pulling on her sister's arm.

"Of course I was! In here." Elsa tapped her forehead. The action made Anna stop jerking on the queen's limb for a second in which she bestowed upon her an unbelieving stare.

"You are lying."

"Am not." The queen shook her head, retaking control of her arm.

"It's not true." Anna argued.

"It is." The blond shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

"Elsa!"

"Anna!"

"Oh Please! Don't be this way!" Anna knelt by the side of the queen's chair holding onto the armrest with both hands. Maybe if she looked pitiful enough her sister would accept. "We haven't spent time together since the ball." She added a pathetic tone to her tactic.

Elsa was inclined to deny her, because she truly had a lot of work to do, but then she dared to look down into her sister's light blue eyes and her resolve melted down completely. She rolled her eyes at herself, wondering, 'who could say no to those beautiful blue orbs?'

"Fine. But only for a short while." The queen reluctantly acquiesced.

"Awesome!" Anna pulled her arm once more. This time with strength that lifted her whole body out of the room.

To say that Elsa had gone to the towns square against her will, and therefore was not enjoying herself one bit, would have been the biggest lie ever uttered in the history of Arendelle. Even the race down the castle's stairs and across the bridge that united the manor's premises with the rest of her kingdom had been a recently regained thrill that she welcomed greatly. It was almost like being six and nine year olds again; so freeing, so joyous, so very mischievous of them.

Elsa could barely contain her excitement as they walked around the streets. Truth be told, even though the doors had not been closed since a year ago, royal obligations had not left her with much time to explore her kingdom. Ergo, this expedition could certainly count as her first contact with the outside world. And just like a child, her eyes feasted on all there was to see.

Vertical and horizontal soil rows allowed the people to appreciate the square sections where different stands were raised. On each side of the streets, all kinds of shops were available. Some sold clothes of vibrant colors, others had exotic objects. There was a quantity of shops that had the most curious relics Elsa had ever seen, as well as urns, threads, rugs, even jewelry. Then there were those that sold food, from fruits to vegetables and meats, cooked or uncooked, national or international. If you could name it, Elsa didn't doubt they would have it.

The queen marveled at the prosperity of her Kingdom. She could not have been more relieved to know her dismissal of Weselton had no repercussions on the economies of her country. From what she could see by the imported cheese she was currently tasting the expulsion of such relations only left more space for new and more profitable business partners.

"Do you like it your majesty?" The owner of the stand asked. He was as thin as his white beard was long, and he looked at her with wide eyes. The queen could tell he was eager to please.

"Yes, it has a rather strong taste, and that's exactly how I like my cheese." She chuckled sweetly.

The man smiled widely at her response, as if the queen had just made his day, and hurried over his stand in search of something. Elsa was not kept in the dark for long. With much effort by the old man, an enormous ball of cheese was loaded onto the table; uncaring of the squashing of the rest of his merchandise.

"Then please your majesty, take this one! I bought it from the island of East just yesterday. It's the best they had. Therefore, the best I have." He insisted.

Elsa's eyes bulged at the mere size of the thing. How in the world would she carry it around? But, moreover, how could she not buy something from this gentle soul?

She finished chewing on the piece of cheese she still had on her mouth before answering. "Well…how much is it?"

"Oh no! It's free my queen. A gift!" He said, bowing for her.

"No, I could never accept that. This is not charity my good sir." She replied kindly. "Now tell me, how much would you charge anyone else?"

"But my queen…" He tried to object.

"Don't be stubborn now." She smiled softly, urging him to answer.

"F-four corsos your majesty."

"Alright." Elsa rummaged into her small purse and took out seven small silver coins. "Have seven, for being so kind." She smiled, placing the money on the table. Her tremulous eyes then rested on the large ball, still wondering how she would carry that around.

"Thank you so much your majesty." The old man bowed once more. "Oh! Here, let me help you with this!"

The sir moved to the back of the tent and came back with a small cart. The queen saw him drop the cheese onto it, before driving it to her side. 'Oh thank goodness', Elsa thought. She smiled politely once more, and thanked the man.

Timely, her sister appeared beside her in that precise moment. Elsa pulled back as Anna practically shoved a toothpick into her face. It held some type of food that she could not recognize.

"What is that?"

"A horrible fruit from the East Islands." She had the most repulsed expression Elsa had seen in a while; it was hilarious to her. "Eat it!" Anna pushed the fruit farther onto her lips.

The queen seriously doubted the fruit to be as horrid as her dramatic sister had exclaimed. So with a roll of her eyes she opened her mouth to consume it before her sister could vomit in front of everyone.

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "It's just sour."

"It's disgusting."

"Of course." Elsa accepted sarcastically.

"Yes, now come! I want to show you the cutest kitty ever!" Anna exclaimed, dragging her sister to another stand further up ahead.

"Wait! My cheese!" The blond tried to object, but her sister was not listening. Thankfully, the old man was, and he kindly shouted to her that he would send it to the castle. Elsa thanked him again, and allowed herself to be hauled forward.

They stopped at a rather suspicious looking stand, but that was all the judgment Elsa would do until the man would have spoken. The merchant was a rather oversized man, with too much hair on his chest and too little on his head. What surprised Elsa however was that he seemed to think he made up for his lack of hair with brain matter.

"Oh! Princess, queen. What a pleasure." Elsa nodded politely. "I was just showing the princess here this exotic domestic cat." He said, patting the cage the small cub was in.

The queen looked into the enclosure to find what at first glance seemed to be a young offspring of a house cat. Yet, the queen knew better, she had not spent countless hours reading for nothing. The supposed cat was certainly beautiful, with puffy golden hair and countless black spots. It had piercing blue eyes and a straight tail; it kept moving from one side of the small cage to the other, clearly anxious. And although it was very cute, it was very much not what the merchant stated it was; which would mean, he was lying to her; to the queen.

"Isn't it cute Elsa?" Anna asked, her eyes fixed on the kitty.

"Yes, it is." The queen said to her sister. Her eyes then turned to the lying man before her. "It is also exotic, but not domestic."

Anna stood from her crouched position to look at her sister. She noticed the seriousness of her expression and realized Elsa had gone completely into Queen Mode. She bit her lip and looked at the salesman. She was not sure what he had done, but she was certain that things were about to get ugly for him; her sister was rarely mistaken in these affairs.

"What do you mean my queen?" The man asked, a slight tremor in his voice.

"Exactly what I'm saying. This is a wildcat, from Africa where it's legal to sell, unlike here were it is not."

Having been found out the man bowed, stuttering, "I-I did not know your Majesty."

"I don't care. Pack your things and leave. I don't want to see you here when I come around." She turned to her sister. "Anna, take the cat." She added. And she knew he probably had other illegal animals with him, but at least he wouldn't profit from this one within her territory.

Anna moved to take the cage and the man almost protested, but cold eyes held him in place leaving him with no choice but to accept his punishment.

As the queen and princess walked away, Anna could not help herself from whispering, "Are we keeping him?"

Elsa chuckled. "No Anna, the law states that those kinds of animals don't belong here."

"You are the law." Anna tested, smirking.

"Exactly! So we are returning it." The queen declared, and Anna swelled with pride. "Come, I'll buy you something.", she added.

"Really?" Anna beamed at the prospect.

A gentle smile graced the queen's features as she brushed one of her sister's pigtails to the side. "How about some pretty earrings? Considering your ears are always on display?" She teased, rubbing Anna's left ear.

The princess blushed and nodded. Earrings would be a great gift she coincided. Firstly, because although they were royalty, they rarely basked in jewels; a tendency inherited from their mother who found them tacky and not at all suitable for those who had to be the model of refinement. Secondly, and most importantly, because she would be able to always carry with her something that would remind her of her sister; though she had never needed an object to think about her daily.

Elsa made Anna see all the jewelry tents before deciding to which she wanted to return. She claimed it was the best way for Anna to make good judgment of the products she was seeing without leaving anything out. The redhead could understand the logic behind that, but that didn't prevent her from whining after the fifth shop. At the end, they returned to the first tend they had seen, the one where the princess had initially pointed out the earrings she had loved at first glance. It belonged to a middle aged woman with gypsy looks. The woman conversed with Anna as she packed her gift. In the meantime, Elsa looked around the plaza contently; even though she knew she had much work, she hoped they could return soon.

Her mind was submerged within those musings, when suddenly she noticed a strange, violent kind of ruffling among the plaza. From down the street, yelling could be heard. Elsa moved to the center of the road, hoping to see what the commotion was all about. Three children, the first one smaller than the last one, were running away from a large man that kept shouting at them to stop. She could see the tallest boy gesturing to the others to run faster as she tried to prevent the apples in his arms from falling.

The queen had an idea of what was going on. Yet, she made no movement to get out of their way as they ran in her direction, nor did she make an effort to stop them. She had a mixture of feelings and thoughts. She knew what she had to do, as the queen, as the law, but she couldn't bring herself to do it to children wearing such rags.

The first two children, whose hands were too small to carry anything, sprinted past her. But the last boy's foot caught on a bump on the road and he fell before her feet. The apples spread on the ground and he moved quickly to fetch them. He had recovered three of them when he noticed the red fabric of her dress. Slowly he looked up and at the sight of the queen, his mouth clamped shut, his eyes widened and his breath labored.

He was frightened. The queen could tell, everyone could, and as she gazed around the plaza she realized he was not the only one. In her engrossment with herself, her sister and their excursion, she had failed to see the fear that still resided in the eyes of half of her subjects. How could she have missed that? How could she have thought her people would forget the misery she inflicted upon them barely a year ago?

Elsa returned her gaze to the boy as he threw two apples to the children that were still standing behind her. He yelled at them to run, and they obeyed, albeit reluctantly. Then, surprising everyone and stabbing the queen's heart even more, he stood and lifted two fists to his face. There was fear in his trembling body, but there was also rage in his face that the queen could not comprehend. It was like he had a personal bone to pick with her, and Elsa could only wonder what she could have done to him, personally. Still, she raised an eyebrow at him in defiance.

The offended merchant reached them finally. At the sight of the queen, he stuttered an apology and moved to grab the boy by the collar of his torn shirt, but he was halted by the raising hand of the queen.

She stared at the boy for a second longer, trying to decipher him before simply saying, "Go."

The boy was surprised enough to lower his arms. He stood there, looking at her with suspicious curiosity.

At the same time, the robust storekeeper opened his mouth to protest. He didn't get very far.

"Silence!" Elsa said to him. Returning her gaze to the boy she repeated herself one more time. "I told you to leave."

The boy gasped, but didn't wait for a third command. He picked two more apples and ran away as fast as he could. Elsa watched him until he was lost in the distance. She turned to the merchant soon after.

"Where does he live?"

"After the river, your majesty. They keep coming over to steal." The merchant replied. She nodded and proceeded to appease him by paying for the apples the boy had stolen.

"Let's go Anna." Elsa said, begging to walk back to the castle. Anna was quick to follow.

Knocks on Anna's door were few and far in between, even during the last year. Yet somehow she knew she would hear some that night; she was not disappointed.

When the moon was high on the blue sky, three taps resounded into the room. Anna sat on her bed and called for the visitor to enter. Shortly after, Elsa came in. The queen made her way to her sister's bed and sat beside her. Her downcast eyes seemed to be looking for the meaning of life on top of Anna's fuchsia blankets, and the princess tried her best to wait patiently. She had not to wait long, since Elsa was close to exploding with inquiries.

"Anna." Elsa began, her fingers now playing with the fur of the sheets.

"What?"

"What lies beyond the river… it belongs to us as well, correct?"

"I think so yes." Anna nodded. She was pretty certain of that fact.

"Do you know how it is over there?" Elsa asked, her frown beginning to deepen with an uneasiness that let her know there was more to today's event. If only she could know what.

"No, I don't." Anna regretted to say. She gazed at her sister's pale profile as the wind began to pick. Worry lines had created on her forehead since that afternoon and her eyes were red around the edges. It was easy to see that the queen had been crying for quite a while. It tugged at Anna's heart to see her sister in so much pain again.

But unlike before, this time she could reach out to her. Anna took her sister in her arms and, laying back, rested her upon her chest. Elsa went willingly. She fastened herself to Anna's waist and let the tears drop onto the thumb that caressed her cheek.

"They fear me Anna." She sobbed.

"Only some of them Elsa, and barely." She brushed a freezing arm.

"That's more than enough." To the queen, one fearful subject, especially a child, was enough to prove her a failure, mostly because her father had never ruled with fear.

"Just give them time. It's only been little more than a year. Soon they will all see what a kind and softy queen you are!" Elsa said, hoping to lift her sisters' spirits.

Elsa let out a small chuckle at her sister phrasing, and buried herself deeper into the sweet strawberry smell of her sister's skin.

"Why don't we take another field trip and jump a river?" The redhead added.

Elsa made an agreeable sound within her throat as she slowly began to fall into dreamland.

The temperature of the room returned to normal, and Anna vowed to help her sister with their new dilemma. After all, she had promised her that she would never leave her and that they would solve their problems together.