Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen

A/n: So, last chapter. As I said in the first chapter, there was someone I wanted to name but couldn't name then. No idea if you're reading but if you are, this story is also for you, NastElilBuggr, for reminding me that a story that isn't told is often a story worth telling. The other people I should thank is the website I used for a lot of my research - if anyone from the Asexuality, Visibility and Education Network happens to be reading, thank you very much for making/contributing to such a helpful website. For anyone who is interested in learning about the relatively broad spectrums of asexuality and how it works (for lack of a better phrase), it's a good resource. Though any errors in the fics are mine, not theirs.

Anyhow, I have work tomorrow so I'm going to leave it there. Hope you enjoy and thanks for following along!

5) The Uniting and What Was Never Said

Aled sees him the next day.

"You're up early."

He shrugs. "Hungry. Elsa's still sleeping so I thought I'd come and grab something to eat."

He means for himself but Elsa might appreciate some food. She's sleeping quite deeply, which is probably good, because she shifted around a lot. Or, at least, every time he woke up, she was shifting around.

Not that he slept much either. It was difficult, trying to sleep with her so close to him.

"So," Aled says, "how was the big night?"

"Good," he says.

"You two enjoyed yourselves then?"

"Yes. It was … hard at first but we worked out how it all fits together."

"You … didn't know?"

"It's a lot harder in practice than in theory. You need good teamwork, see."

Aled frowns. "Right then."

It's only when David returns to the room that he realises that Aled probably wasn't asking about the mechanics of making a good pillow fort from four pillows and four cushions.


She finds Anna in the corridors as she heads to her first meeting. Anna disengages herself from conversation to run over to her.

"So? How was it?"

Elsa didn't sleep well last night. David breathes heavily. She couldn't move around as much as she wanted. The bed was too soft. Everything smelt different.

"The wedding or…"

"No, the, uh, the night. I mean … you did … didn't you?"

Elsa hasn't told Anna about her realisation. She suspects Anna knows though.

"We built a pillow fort actually. And then fell asleep."

Anna stares at her. "Wait, what?"

"We built a pillow fort."

"You built a … how old are you two? Ten?"

But she can see in Anna's eyes both that Anna iss relieved and that she can already see the funny side.

"You're scornful now," Elsa says, "but I bet you ask Kristoff to build a pillow fort."

"I thought I wasn't allowed to tell you if we-"

"Whilst taking one of your overnight trips to inspect ice fields, the reports of which I assume are being fed directly to those who need to see them."

Anna laughs. "Then you'll never know if I ask, will you?"


The first full day of being married is surreal. In some ways, it's like normal. He helps with some reports, he speaks to his family, he talks to the Burakoemin nobles. But in other ways, it's different. He's expected to spend more time with Elsa. He's suddenly expected to know everything about Arendelle. People ask him about the wedding even though it was yesterday and everyone talking to him was there. He actually escapes to the kitchens at one point and Olaf finds him learning to bake.

When Elsa eventually locates him, for a meeting with one of the foreign ambassadors, she only says, "Pieter, if either of them bothers you, you have my permission to ban them from dessert."

To which David unthinkingly responds, "Pieter, I'd like it noted that my wife is not allowed any dessert tonight if it was made by Olaf and me."

Pieter laughs, which makes Elsa and Olaf laugh, and the fact that he just called Elsa his wife (by accident) slips by.

He eats dinner with Elsa and Anna. It's expected by the staff. Anna suggested that Kristoff be invited but that would turn normal dinners into a bigger affair. So he sits there and feels, for the entire time, that he is intruding on something. This is for Elsa and Anna to reconnect. And while he doesn't think that Anna dislikes him, he gets the impression she resents him for taking this time away from her.

In the evening, he retires to the room first. He knows Elsa plans to use her old room as a study but he doesn't know if she will sleep in there. He doubts it. Guards and servants will notice, even if they are also banned from coming into this room. (Anna told him he'd have to improve his cleaning skills. He thinks that tomorrow, he might hide with the cleaning staff instead.)

He's drifting off to sleep when Elsa slips in. The sound alerts him and he sits up before he knows what he's doing. Her hands fly to her mouth and there follows a round of apologies off her and a round of, it's fine, it's fine, off him. He nearly asks what she's been doing but he already knows that Elsa frequently works until the early hours of the morning.

It's awkward then as she needs to change. Yesterday, they changed with their backs to each other, feeling as though they were teenagers again. The sight of Elsa in her nightclothes was more distracting than he cares to admit.

She, of course, barely looked at him. Once they were changed, she only seemed to think the entire thing was generally awkward. He thinks she was more distressed at having to sleep in the same room as someone. He still finds this weird.

He hides under the covers until she says he can look. He considers keeping his head under the covers but that's not really an option.

That night, he learns that Elsa likes to hog the duvet.


Anna and Elsa have a quick break during the afternoon of Elsa and David's second day of marriage. Following the previous night, Anna knows that they're not going to have their dinners after tonight.

Elsa doesn't seem lost. She and David appear comfortable around each other, but they've been acting that way for months. When they sit down, Anna notices that Elsa constantly fiddles with her wedding ring.

A lump forms in her throat. Less than a year ago, she'd wished for a ring like that.

"So," she says, "How is it?"

"He says I hog the duvet."

Anna snorts. "You still do that?"

"What?"

"Remember when we were little and used to sleep in the same bed. You always took the duvet."

"I did not. And why is it that you tell everyone you hate studying and then you remember everything that's ever happened to you?"

"You did. I remember it 'cause I always got cold." She pauses. "Actually, maybe that was you. Didn't you say the trolls erased my memories? Did you ever freeze my feet when we were kids?"

She still doesn't know what happened when she was five but Elsa told her once that before it happened, she'd known about Elsa's powers.

Elsa stares at her. "No," she says. "I can't think why I'd want to do that."

"OK then. Yeah, he's right. You do."

Elsa glares at her and Anna laughs.

"Anyway," Elsa says, although she's fighting a smile, "it's … I don't know. I didn't expect him to always be there. I can't help thinking that we're going to run out of things to talk about soon."

"Didn't you two once talk for an hour about the use of prepositions in languages?"

"Um."

"Yeah, you're gonna be fine. I mean, you like him, right?"

Elsa fiddles with her cup. "I like him. Every time I think it's going to be horrible, he says something or does something that makes me think it's going to be OK. He's easy to talk to and he makes me laugh. And he's smart. I just worry." She looks away. "You know, don't you?"

How does Elsa manage to turn any cheerful conversation into deep soul-searching? Anna's beginning to think it might actually be a talent.

"You told me. When you asked me." Anna makes herself shrug. "You're not attracted to anyone. If you two are building pillow forts, it doesn't sound like David minds."

"He's just too nice. He can't bring himself to tell me I'm … wrong."

Anna nearly reaches out for Elsa. Instead, she says in a light tone, "Yeah, that sounds exactly like David. That's why he hasn't pressured you at all, not because he, you know, thinks you're as normal as everyone else." She shakes her head. "This is why, if I wasn't against this marriage, I would totally be trying to set you two up right now."

Elsa smiles. "Now that would have been a good way to stop us from ever getting married."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I am Arendelle's top matchmaker. OK, so one of the only two guys I've ever been with tried to murder me and take over the country. A fifty per cent. success rate in my own relationships totally qualifies me for this."

Anna realises what she's just said but Elsa is already snorting so Anna laughs too. It feels good. Neither of them has mentioned Hans before without souring the mood.

"Anyway, I had better go. I need to meet one of the ambassadors with David. I found him hiding in the kitchens yesterday so it might take me some time." She rolls her eyes but there's a fond smile on her face.

As Elsa leaves, Anna finds herself thinking that Elsa is happier than Anna thought she would be. Even though their plan failed. Even though Anna said she would do anything to save Elsa and failed. Maybe Hans did break her and maybe he was indirectly responsible for all of this but Elsa is still laughing. They're still laughing. Hans hasn't won.


David's family returns to Burakoem, along with most of the Burakoemin retinue. David looks slightly lost as they watch the ship leave the docks. She nearly holds his hand but that's still too weird. For her part, she doesn't feel much of a sense of loss. She doesn't know them well. David's father is similar to how she imagined him – a large man with hard policies covering the love he has for his family. David's brothers are louder than he is. Geraint seemed friendly enough but Aled irritated her. David's mother was so quiet that Elsa usually forgot she was there. Anna assures her that David's mother is lovely.

Once they return to the castle, David claims a need to go for a walk. She imagines being him – being left in a foreign land, married to someone who has told her that he doesn't want to be married to her or anyone, with only those people she knows in that country for comfort. Without Anna, without Olaf, without Kai or Gerda or anyone she grew up with. And expected to help run that country.

David almost never complains – he tries to ignore problems. He's a lot like Anna that way. But he can't spend his life making everyone else happy. She can't spend it trying to back out at every step, broken or not.

He looks at her as she nods. There's something in that gaze – something she only recognised a few months ago. It's often there even if he doesn't say anything.

They haven't kissed in private since the day before she finally admitted to herself that she isn't attracted to anyone. It hasn't occurred to her but maybe for him…

She leans forwards and gently kisses him. "Thank you," she says.

He looks a little poleaxed. "What for?"

"Everything. Just … everything."

He smiles shyly. "Don't make it sound like we're never seeing each other again. If you want to be sentimental, see, stop stealing the duvet."

She laughs and kisses him again because she knows he likes it, before letting him have his walk.


Somehow, they settle into a routine. In a strange way, it's not unlike how she and Anna were when they were children. She doesn't spend all of each day with David, although she spends more time with him than before. At night, if he's awake, they sometimes talk about nothing for a while before drifting off to sleep. She likes that – it's comforting.

(When she knows she's about to freak out, she escapes to her old room before anyone can catch her.)

She has to involve him more in Arendelle's policies. Her parents shared their work a surprising amount. She remembers that her father was the official face of royal policies but he rarely made a decision without hearing his wife's opinion. But she's gotten so used to doing a lot of it alone, or with the ministers' assistance, that she actually has to write herself a note to remember to ask David. David, for his part, is almost as terrified as Anna was about being asked.

She starts to get used to him. The way he breathes at night. The way his brow furrows when they're discussing something difficult. The way he wishes her a good morning in Burakoemin when he wakes up because he's too groggy for Common. The way he reaches for her in public, but is far more cautious in private. The way he smiles too much or jokes too much or listens too carefully. The way he sometimes joins her in the library. The way he hums as he works. The way he likes salty food over sweet food but refuses to join Anna on a kitchen raid. The way he can be sarcastic and she won't be offended because he never means to hurt her. The way seeing him every evening stops feeling weird and starts feeling normal. The way she finds herself thinking of him at random moments which is particularly odd since she sees so much of him already.

They don't swap soppy messages. He's extremely respectful of her wishes in relation to intimacy, although she often sees something like frustration cross his face. In public, they're still the deeply besotted couple, but in private they're … something else. The more used she is to him, the more she thinks that it's not fair to let him be besotted only for the sake of a love story. And the more she thinks about that love story, the more she realises that if he were anyone else, he would have forced her to act normally long ago. Maybe he wouldn't have been wrong either.


They've started to kiss again. Elsa started it when his family and friends left for Burakoem, but she doesn't seem to mind that he's continued it. Mostly, it's as they were before – usually not too long and not too far. Sometimes, it goes further and he's always surprised that she doesn't stop him.

He finds it a little weird. He likes kissing her but in the back of his mind, he knows that anything she feels is physical only. There's something about that fact which makes the whole thing less fun.

One day, when he breaks it off, she says, "You don't always have to… you can do that now."

"But you said it's not something you want."

She smiles again and he has to fight to keep from stroking her face. He wants to do that more and more these days. "I said it was like chocolate when I'm not hungry. I like chocolate."

David doesn't voice his own thoughts, about the weirdness factor. Instead, he says, "Yes but does chocolate ever jump at you?"

She laughs, hesitates, and lightly swats his shoulder. "You know what I mean."

That's another change. She's slowly becoming more open around him. They've always gotten on well but it's always been him who made the jokes, him who held her, him who listened. Now she starts more of their conversations. When he complained about something, she encouraged him to tell her about it. And while she certainly won't be in the running for the trials for the most touchy-feely person in the city at any point soon, she occasionally does things like brush his arm or lightly swat him or even hold his hand, even though she clearly has to think about it first.

He wants to ask what's changed but he's scared he'll shatter whatever they have. So he decides to enjoy it instead.


Anna celebrates her nineteenth birthday. She gets all sorts of gifts from nearly everyone she knows throughout the morning, except Elsa.

Before her party in the evening, Elsa hands her a thick book. Curious, Anna opens it. Every page has sketches. Sketches of Anna and Elsa as children. Sketches of their parents. Sketches of family dinners. Sketches of Anna outside Elsa's door. Sketches of Anna and Elsa's dinners. Sketches of Kristoff. Sketches of Sven. Sketches of Olaf. Sketches of Kai and Gerda. Sketches of anyone and anything that has ever made Anna happy.

"It's wonderful," Anna says. "Thank you."

Elsa shrugs. "That … I was working on that before I became Queen. A while before. I … never had the courage to give it to you."

"I love it," Anna says. "It's the best birthday present ever."

Elsa smiles. "I'm glad." She hesitates and then says, "Before I forget, I'm sorry to say I'm suffering a case of acute deafness."

"…You are?"

Elsa nods. "Yes. You might want to stay here tonight in case I worsen, rather than stay out inspecting ice overnight – which I understand you do occasionally, being the hard worker you are, even on your birthday. Sadly, if people were to tell me that Kristoff decided to keep you company … well, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to hear it. Such is the nature of my illness."

Anna smiles even as she reddens. "Thank you, Elsa!"

"What for? You're the one giving up your nightly work to make sure my hearing eventually comes to." Elsa grins. "Now come on. Let's go enjoy your birthday."


At Anna's birthday, David coaxes Elsa into a dance. They've danced together once before but that was to traditional Burakoemin music for the Burakoemin nobles. This is in the castle courtyard for everyone to see. But she enjoyed it then so she agrees now.

As they dance, they talk. After a couple of minutes, she notices that David has a strange look on his face but he doesn't say anything. He never does. She doesn't mention it either but when he sees the concern on her face, he cracks a joke and soon enough, they're talking about nothing serious, as they often end up doing. It's nice.

Nevertheless, when they're back in their room, she says, "Are you OK? You seemed … distracted, earlier."

He rubs his eyes. "It's nothing. Just, when we were dancing, I was thinking…"

"Hmm?"

He shakes his head. "Daydreaming, is all."

She wonders whether to pursue it. David is unlikely to complain. There's a good chance he'd turn it into a joke. Besides, she suspects she knows what he was daydreaming about and she doesn't want to ruin the otherwise pleasant evening with awkward words and apologies. But she doesn't want him to think she doesn't care.

Finally, she grips his shoulder and squeezes gently. "Let me know if you want to talk."

He smiles slightly. "I will. Thanks, Elsa." He sits down on the bed. "Now, are you coming to bed or are you going to sit up until some ridiculous time working on some proposal that could probably wait until tomorrow?"

"It's vital work!"

"It is. So is not dying of sleep deprivation." He ducks instinctively as she chucks a nearby pen at him. "Do you always resort to violence?"

She laughs and soon, she's almost forgotten that strange look on his face. Almost.


The sisters sit in Elsa and David's room. David is out working somewhere but Elsa has called her in here.

"It's David's birthday in three weeks," Elsa says.

Anna raises an eyebrow. "Um … Elsa, I know. You put me in charge of organising the royal celebration because you have some crazy idea that I like dealing with crying entertainment organisers."

"Just be glad I didn't put you in charge of organising your birthday celebrations."

"Only because I refused."

"Yes, and I let you because it was your birthday. Anyway, going back to David,I want to do something special for him." Anna raises an eyebrow again and Elsa blushes. "Get your mind out of the gutter. We raised you better than that."

"You didn't raise me at all," Anna says and then winces when she sees Elsa flinch. She'd meant it as a joke but she knows Elsa viewed their parents' death as meaning she should take over Anna's guardianship. "Everyone knows that I'm a terrible student anyway."

That makes Elsa smile. Anna tries not to sag in relief. Even now – nearly a year after Elsa's coronation – she doesn't know what she can and can't say. She knows Elsa much better than she did in the past fourteen years but she doesn't know where the boundaries are.

"Says the woman who remembers almost everything that ever happened to her. Anyway, I mean, apart from the royal celebration. I was wondering … what can I do that's not … so big?"

Anna has no idea why Elsa is asking her. Does this fall in the remit of royal party organiser?

She has got to read the document setting out her role at some point.

"Um … well, Kristoff takes me sledding sometimes."

"I can't drive a sled."

"I mean like a romantic tour through the forests."

"I still can't drive a sled. Romantically or otherwise."

"Kristoff could drive you. It's not like you're planning to get up to anything."

"Like?"

"Maybe you should put your mind in the gutter. Hey!" She wipes snow off her forehead. "No fair. I can't have a snowball fight with you without awesome snow powers." But she can't help laughing. Elsa rarely uses her powers so spontaneously – at least, not around other people – and it's nice to see her act so openly now. "Anyway, that's what Kristoff does. But you should do whatever you think would make him happy. Like, I dunno, learn to sing or do one of his dances, or maybe build some kind of winter wonderland or, or didn't he say it rains all the time in Burakoem? You could-"

"Anna, David's here because I changed Arendelle's climate last year. Can we pick a solution that isn't going to end like … that?"

Elsa obviously started that as a joke but even now, the guilt of what she did weighs her down. Anna doesn't know if she's ever met someone who feels as much guilt as Elsa does. And she still doesn't know what she can do to alleviate it.

"OK," she says, a little too brightly because she always responds to things like this a little too brightly. "I already said, maybe do something traditional in Burakoem." Something occurs to her. "I know! Stay here! I'll be right back!"

"Anna, where are you going?"

She already has her hand on the door handle. "Relax, Elsa. The library has a book on Burakoem. I'll have a plan for you before you know it."


Elsa celebrates her first year as Queen. She didn't want there to be a country-wide celebration but her advisers insisted.

She makes a speech. She didn't want to do that either but she knew, without being told, that it would be necessary. She talks about Arendelle's strength through adversity, about the tightening of international relations, about her future plans for the country, of her happiness. With every word she says, every half-truth and almost-truth she speaks, she tries to impart telepathically: I'm sorry. I'm not the ruler you deserve. I'm broken and I'm dangerous. But I'm trying.

When the speech ends, she turns and walks down the steps. David and Anna are waiting for her. As she steps between them, they each take one of her hands. From a glance at their expressions, she knows it wasn't planned. After a second, Anna reluctantly lets go, and David looks apologetic. Because even though her and Anna's story is a story about love, they all know that the only thing people are interested in is a love story.


Later, Anna walks Elsa to her room. They pause outside the door.

"Can you believe it's been a year?" Anna says. She isn't smiling.

"It feels like longer."

"It's still … I can't believe we did all that. All of that happened."

"I can believe I did that. I … well. At least it's over."

The sisters look at each other.

"Elsa, what's your favourite animal?"

Elsa looks surprised. "I've always been fond of wolves. How about you? Reindeer?"

Anna shakes her head. "Lynxes."

"Huh. I would never have thought that."

Anna smiles and then, suddenly, hugs Elsa tightly. "I don't care how it happened," she whispers. "This has been one of the best years of my life."

Elsa returns the hug. "You've got plenty of better ones ahead, little sister. I promise."


Two days later, she goes for a walk. She wants a break. She wants to walk around Arendelle and just … pretend.

She doesn't tell the guards where she's going. She doesn't mention it to David or Anna or Olaf or anyone. She doesn't dress up in disguise. She just gets up and goes.

As she walks through the streets, people stop and stare. Some are covert about it while others openly gape. A few flinch away from her, which she expected, but that doesn't make it feel any better.

Then some children run out.

"Queen Elsa! Do the magic! Do the magic!"

She's done that before but usually with some forewarning to the citizens of Arendelle or at least her guards. But she's never been able to resist an expression like that so she claps her hands together and gives the children a blanket of snow to play with. Then, just because she can, she makes a series of ice houses. Of course, now no one can get through this street. She makes a mental note to repay all the merchants for their lost business later.

Now that she's set up this miniature winter wonderland, she doesn't know what to do. She didn't want to be an ice witch or a queen or broken or different or anything today. She just wanted-

"You know," the woman standing next to her says, "it isn't fair."

Elsa jumps and turns. "What isn't?"

"You only ever do snow shows for the kids. What about us adults?"

"I'm sorry, I could-"

The woman laughs. "Don't worry, your Majesty. I was joking." Then, with a truly wicked grin on her face, she ducks and throws a snowball at Elsa.

For a moment, there is silence as everyone waits for Elsa's reaction.

Elsa looks at a little boy stood near the woman. "You threw that?"

The boy's eyes are wide. "No, no, it wasn't-" He staggers as a snowball lightly hits his chest. "Not fair," he says and throws one back at Elsa, who ducks and lets it hit the man behind her.

She doesn't know how long the snowball fight goes on for nor does she realise how far it's reached until David and Anna arrive. David greets her by throwing a snowball at the back of her head. She turns and slips, falling into his arms.

"Hello," he says, and part of her warms at the fact that he sounds so familiar. If she were anyone else… "I didn't know you could slip on ice."

"I can slip on stone, I can slip on ice. I just do it less than most people." She lets him kiss her for the nearby people before stepping back. "So, uh, what are you and Anna doing here?"

Anna has already gotten involved with the snowball fight. David shrugs. "Well, we thought the castle was far too warm – no ice, you see – and-"

"Very funny."

He smirks. "Fine. I went to ask you something and couldn't find you. About the same time Anna and I realised no one had seen you all day, we heard there was a city-wide snowball fight taking place."

"And…"

"And I said we should look on the mountains since a snowball fight in June was obviously a coincidence, see, but one of the soldiers thought you might have something to do with it. I didn't believe them, mind, but Anna convinced me you might have ice powers. You realise the entire city's taking part?"

"I … got a bit caught up in the moment. Still, they're having fun and I think I've worked out how much I owe all of the merchants."

"Oh good. I'm glad you took a break for five minutes."

"Shut up. One of us has to be the responsible one."

"I am the responsible one. I stayed in the castle, see, rather than starting a snowball fight in the middle of the city."

He's laughing and she kisses him to shut him up. She only means for it to be a quick thing but he winds his arms around her and given she's the one who disappeared from the castle today, she decides to let him have it.

They are separated by a snowball. Elsa turns red as she looks at the thrower – the same woman from the very start of the fight.

"With all due respect, your Majesties," she says and Elsa can tell from her tone of voice that her face is going to enter new realms of colour when the sentence is finished, "there are children watching."

She's grateful when someone chucks a snowball at her face, cooling her down.


David says, "You're the one who threw a snowball at her then?"

The woman nods. "She just looked so lost before the children came. And even then … I thought she could do with a bit of fun." She peers at him. "I hope I wasn't too far out of line, your Majesty."

David watches Elsa usher children away, laughing and smiling, chatting to parents as she does so. She looks twenty-two and happy, not forty-two and burdened.

"Not at all," he says. "She works too hard."

"And we're all the luckier for it." She smiles at him. "I'm glad you came, Majesty. You're good for her. She hasn't been this happy since the old King and Queen died."

He doesn't know what he says to that but the woman's words stay with him long after he and Elsa have returned to the castle and gone to bed.


Arendelle celebrates David's birthday. Kristoff thought that David might as well celebrate at the same time as the anniversary of the coronation – there are only three weeks between them, after all – but Anna refused to let him suggest it to Elsa. Arendelle needs the parties. It needs to remember what Elsa did for them rather than what Elsa did to them.

To be honest, she isn't sure that Kristoff would have suggested it. Although he has gotten over his awkwardness around Elsa from so many months ago, when Elsa suggested Kristoff couldn't be trusted to listen to imperial secrets, he is still not fully comfortable around her. Elsa knows this and Anna hasn't yet found a way to tell her that the extra-casual air she adopts near Kristoff is only making him more nervous.

The celebration is fairly run-of-the-mill – although she doesn't exactly have much experience with country-wide celebrations – and all the more fun for it. Elsa and David join in the festival, starting in the courtyard, and end the day with a dinner. Anna watches them together – watches them laugh at each other's jokes, watches them talk, watches David reach for Elsa and Elsa letting him even though she still doesn't really like being touched.

"What are you looking at?" Kristoff murmurs.

"Just an event," Anna says, smiling. "Since I'm not allowed to assign endings to anyone anymore."


Once the party is over, Elsa tells David to wait outside the room. He's a little confused – they have now started to change in front of each other because they agreed that hiding under the covers was getting annoying, although she still looks away most of the time and she knows he does too – but he complies. Once she's changed, she takes a few seconds to remind herself that when Anna saw her in this outfit, she only laughed for five minutes, and tells David he can come in.

He stares at her. She crosses her arms across her chest. Then he starts to laugh.

"What?" she says, slightly defensively.

He takes in the red dress, white stockings, black hat and says, "No one over the age of ten wears that these days."

"But … Anna said it was a traditional Burakoemin outfit."

"It is," David assures her. "But no one has really worn it for about 100 years, see."

"I'm going to update the library as soon as I've finished dying from embarrassment."

He chuckles again. "So, you going to explain the outfit then? Before you die, I mean."

She fiddles with the hem of the skirt. "I thought you'd like something to remind you of Burakoem." She coughs. "I, uh, learnt a song as well. In Burakoemin. Well, sort of in Burakoemin – I was relying on Anna to tell me if I was pronouncing it wrong but it's not as though she's much better at it. Oh, and I convinced Pieter to bake some traditional Burakoemin food."

David smiles and she can feel her rapid heartbeat start to calm. "OK then. Song first. Song before food, see. Always."

David has probably made this up but it is his birthday so, gathering the remnants of her courage, she starts to sing. From the half-pleased and half-amused look on David's face but she perseveres.

At the second verse, David joins in – as he's done every other time Elsa has sung near him. When the song finishes (she finishes first because she mispronounced the last two words and didn't realise the last note was supposed to be held), David looks at her with a strange expression and then kisses her. And kisses her. And kisses her.

It's going further than before. At first, she thinks to stop it. But she is curious. Even if she's missing something, there has to be something to this. A reason why so many people talk about it. It's not as though she'd be doing anything wrong. And it's expected. She should have said yes long ago.

So she lets him carry on.

But just when she thinks they've reached a point of no return, David steps back.

"I'm sorry." He glances around. "We should eat."

Given their current state, she doubts he actually wants food.

"David?"

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I was just … you did all of this – learnt the song, got those clothes made, even got food – for me. It… Thank you."

"I thought it's your birthday. It should be something … special."

He looks uncomfortable. "It's enough for me."

"David?"

"I just don't want you to…"

"It's fine." He looks away. "David," she says. It comes out quieter than she intends. "Can't you just let yourself be happy for once? Can't we be … normal? This is what married couples do. This is what people do when they're in l-... Please, David. Just once, I want to be … normal."

David walks over to her and she can feel the thud of bare feet on wooden floorboards. His hand touches her bare shoulder and she nearly shoots ice into the floor and she shudders. Why ask when she already knows the answer?

"I didn't marry normal," he says softly. "I married Elsa."

"But don't you want it?"

He hesitates and glances away. "I really think we should-"

"David, look at me," she says because he cannot keep running from things like this. But she knows now. If you chase him, he'll let himself be caught. Slowly, he turns to look at her. "Do you remember when you asked me if kissing Torsten and Indira worked?" she asks, clenching her fists and hoping he doesn't see. "And I told you I preferred kissing you?" He nods. "I thought about that a lot. I thought … you know, if I am … like I am … it shouldn't make a difference."

"But there is one?"

She nods and now she knows she's going to blush. "I … I mean, kissing Indira and Torsten was … I suppose it was like the second or third time we kissed. Nice enough but I couldn't see that there was anything more to it. But with you…" She forces her hands to still so that she can't accidentally cause a blizzard out of embarrassment. "I … I think I prefer it because I like the affection. I feel like there's a meaning to it, I suppose. And I like that it's something you like. I like that I'm doing something that makes you happy – because it's you, not because you're a person. It's … nice."

She seems to have caught him completely off-guard. He stares at her. His fingers play with his wedding ring.

"I … I'm glad," he says. "But I know … I mean, I … I think if you want to then … but not if you think you should. I mean … it'd be boring if we were normal, right?"

He gives up and takes a step back and she knows he's letting her decide. If she says no, he'll respect that. They'll go back to being awkward around each other for some time. And he'll always think she planned this because it was his birthday and she wanted to be normal.

He doesn't deserve to be married to someone like her. He deserves to be happy. He could have let Arendelle fall several times over. He could have told her she was broken. He could have been brutal, or mean, or callous, or power-hungry. He could have been boring or evil or silly or too confident.

There's a reason she prefers kissing him to other people.

"Sometimes," she says, "it's fun to be normal."

And then she kisses him before either of them can change their minds.


He finds her in the library, working. The guards no longer give him suspicious looks when he walks in there – just one perk of now being a member of the Arendelle nobility. She looks up when he walks in but then returns to her work.

For a few seconds, he thinks she's ashamed and embarrassed. That was his first assumption when he woke up to realise she was gone, even though most people in the castle wouldn't be up for another few hours. But from her expression, when she looked up, he knows she isn't. Not in the way he first thought.

He sits down at the distance he used before they pretended to … before they announced their betrothal.

"So," he says and coughs to clear his throat. "What, um, what are you working on?"

"Whether the royal ice business should be hedging its foreign export trade by entering into a foreign exchange swap."

"Urgent work, that," David says.

She sighs and looks at him. Her face is pale again but her hair is very tousled and her dress – that ridiculous, Burakoemin dress – doesn't sit as neatly on her body as it did before he…

He can feel himself turn red and decides the table deserves a very thorough inspection.

"David," she says. And stops. She's taken to doing that recently. It's funny – he always thought of Elsa as someone who knows what she wants to say and Anna as someone who speaks without thinking. Now he thinks that maybe Elsa just stops herself when she realises she doesn't know what to say. "I'm sorry. I just…"

He still doesn't reach for her. "Got scared?"

She nods. "It's stupid, isn't it? I've just always…" She hesitates. "Not that I didn't … I mean … I'm glad we did that."

That makes him feel a bit better.

"I feel like it probably wasn't the same for you as it was for me."

She hesitates. "I … I mean, I'm not saying I don't want to do that again but … I … I don't … it wasn't what I…"

"It's like chocolate when you're not hungry but don't want to refuse?"

"Stop being so right about everything," she says and he laughs. "It's just … everything was…"

"It's fine, Elsa," he says. "I'm … I'm not sure I should use the word grateful, mind, but you … it meant a lot to me that you'd do that."

"You deserve someone else though."

He hesitates. "Elsa, do you … are you happy?" Maybe that was too big a question because now she freezes. "Elsa? I mean…" He sighs. "You'd be happier if we weren't married, right?"

She thinks for about a minute and that minute feels like forever. "I … I think yes," she says slowly. "We … I mean, we've known each other for less than a year. But … I think if we'd never met … that … would have been worse." She hesitates. "I'd have been happier because I'd still know you but I wouldn't have to worry and you'd still be … you. And you could have been with someone else. Someone perfect for you."

For some reason, he's glad she's not the kind of person who easily says what he thinks she's saying. What she nearly said just a few hours ago before cutting herself off. Somehow, if she said it, it would be too big a gesture.

Normal couples would just say it but they've never been normal. If there is such a thing as normal.

"Maybe I'd have been happier if we weren't married as well," he says. "But then, I'd have had to marry someone else, somewhere else and I think maybe my life would have been worse then, if I couldn't … keep you in it."

She smiles at that. "David, what you said … when you stopped last night," she says. She hesitates. "You … you don't always have to think about me, you know."

"But you never think about you."

"Well, you never think about you so we have to compromise somewhere."

"Without turning me into a snowman, you mean?"

"Stop turning everything into a joke! I'm trying to be serious!"

"So am I. I like not being a snowman, see."

And maybe it wasn't the appropriate reaction – maybe they do need to sit down one day and work out a balance, and maybe he needs to stop running away from anything serious that's about him rather than Elsa – but she laughs and lets him have it.

"Well, if we weren't married," she says, "I'd have to rely on Anna and Olaf for humour around here."

He smiles. "I have my uses."


The fifth time Elsa shows Anna one of her small ice sculptures, she thinks she knows what to say. It's a small reindeer, about the size of Anna's fist, with weirdly curly antlers, head cocked upwards, one leg bent and raised. Anna looks up and sees nervousness in Elsa's expression.

They're sitting in Elsa's old room. David told her that's where Elsa was and there was something in his telling her that told Anna that Elsa needed her. Elsa is waiting for Anna to comment. Waiting to see if Anna can somehow guess what it is that's bothering Elsa because Elsa is so bad at just telling people.

She peers again at the reindeer, just to be sure that she's worked it out. The reindeer is either stopping or starting – or maybe just shaking out an itch. It's spotted something curious above it. The curly antlers look bizarre – not that Anna knows reindeer particularly well but Kristoff's certainly explained them to her before.

She smiles at Elsa. "Your artwork hasn't improved, you know. Reindeer don't have curly horns like this. But," she says, raising a finger before Elsa can react, "it suits it." She hands Elsa the reindeer. "So, what's up? Why're you hiding in your room?"

Elsa places the reindeer carefully on the desk, which looks dryer than Anna has ever seen it. "I'm not. Not really. I just wanted to think."

"Yeah, you don't do enough of that. Everyone says you're the kind of person who acts without thinking. Oh, wait. Wrong sister."

Elsa laughs. "You do think before you act, Anna. Sometimes." She turns her full attention to Anna. "How did you know I was here?"

"I wanna say that I had a feeling but David told me. Not that I wouldn't have guessed 'cause I totally would have but it might've been in, like, an hour or two."

"I know you'd have found me." She pauses and then says, "I … last night … David and…"

When Elsa doesn't say anything else, Anna says, "Somehow, from that detailed and, frankly, overly-long explanation, I've worked out what you're trying to tell me." She pauses. "Wait, what? But I thought you didn't want to-"

Elsa shrugs which Anna feels is definitely an understatement. "I … thought I should try. And David wanted to." She frowns. "Wait, how on earth did you work out what I wanted to say from I last night David and? It wasn't even a complete sentence!"

"Well, if I hadn't worked it out before, I have now." She shrugs. "You're not that hard to work out. It had to be something to do with that 'cause that's one of the only times you're ever lost for words. Anyway, more interesting topic – how was it?"

Elsa is bright red. "I am not having that discussion with you. It's … Anna, do you ever-"

Anna shakes her head. "No, more important topic. You can answer yes or no. Did you enjoy it?"

"Anna-"

"Elsa."

She sighs. "It was OK. But-"

"You chose to do it?"

"Yes, Anna, I-"

"And you're still getting on with David?"

"Do you have something against-"

"No, now shut up and answer the question."

"I … yes, Anna. We're fine. But-"

"And you're happy?"

That's the real question Anna wanted to ask. Of course she's interested in the other stuff but really, she doesn't care if Elsa had the best night of her life if she's otherwise miserable. She also doesn't care if it was a terrible night if Elsa's the happiest person in the world.

Elsa, predictably, pauses at the question. But Elsa will answer – and Elsa knows Anna asked because Elsa promised she would answer any of Anna's questions.

"I'm … closer to happy than I thought I'd be," she says finally. "It's still a bit weird and, I mean, I suppose ideally I wouldn't have to put anyone through being married to someone like me-"

"Elsa-"

She raises a hand, smiling. "Don't. David's already given me the lecture you're about to give me." Anna blinks and shuts up, but she finds herself liking her brother-in-law just a little bit more. "I guess I'm more comfortable alone. But I … I like being with people. I think maybe I could be happy. One day. When I've had some time to … be."

Anna grips her sister's shoulder and she barely flinches at all. "I just want to say," she says, "I know you said not every story is a love story…" She sees Elsa prepare to grimace and stutter some kind of response that will move this conversation back into gloomy territory, so Anna continues with, "and I always thought it was a good thing you never wanted to be a writer 'cause your story would be really, really weird – like, weirder than me trying to marry a man who wants to kill me-"

"Oh, thanks."

"-but I was right. It'd have a happy ending, wouldn't it?"

Elsa smiles. "Maybe."

"Just admit it. I was right. I'm always right."

"Except-"

"Oh, shut up," Anna says and Elsa laughs. "Now, come on. I think David's trying to describe something to do with foreign currency to the economics minister which you were apparently meant to explain today. If you don't go, I think we're going to have to marry you off again."

It isn't funny but Elsa still smiles and stands. "Yes, thank you Anna, for doing your best to kick me when I'm down."

"You're not-" She pauses. "OK, yeah, sorry."

Elsa heads towards the door and Anna follows. "You know," Elsa says as she walks, "I never was a fan of those love stories in the library. You know – woman meets man, falls in love and they live happily ever after. It never felt real."

Anna thinks of Hans who was the ideal prince charming (until he wasn't), of Kristoff who is barely a polite ice cutter, and of Elsa and David who are still trying to figure out parts of their lives together. Of Elsa who still isn't happy and maybe never will be, but she feels closer to it. Of dying to save her sister and it isn't enough but somehow, they're still here and laughing. She thinks of what would have happened if she'd married the first man she met (who wasn't Hans), lived like a proper noblewoman, had lots of children and parties. Everything prim and proper, no one listening to her, no guilt, no bad choices. No talking snowmen or chances to introduce her sister to women like Indira or men like Torsten, or opportunities to mess up and somehow come out stronger from it.

"You know what," she says as they walk through the door. "I don't really like them either."

Fin