Elsa scrambled to remember the girl's name. Lady Nuri, Kai had said. Most of her was covered in a long-sleeved dark red dress embroidered with intricate gold patterns. Perhaps the most noticeable thing about her was the fabric the same shade of red as her dress gracefully draping over her head and about her shoulders. Her hair was hidden beneath it, except for a few black curls that had come loose.

Elsa didn't notice any of this, captivated by almond-shaped brown eyes rimmed with kohl. The black smudgy kohl made her eyes stand out against her warm, caramel-hued skin.

She'd never liked red. Why hadn't she? It was the most beautiful color in the world.

Her regal composure had melted. "A- Arendelle welcomes you, Lady Nuri." The name felt right, like she'd always been meant to pronounce it. Elsa felt her cheeks grow hot.

Nuri curtsied, a smile growing on her face. "Thank you, your Majesty."

Were there other people present? At this point, Elsa wasn't sure. She had to say something, keep the girl there for as long as possible before she was whisked away by one of the men.

She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything Anna was next to her again.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Princess Anna of Arendelle." Anna turned wide teal eyes on Elsa, whose own icy blue eyes were narrowed. "What?"

Nuri smiled, curtseying more formally to Anna. "Lady Nuri of Agrabah, your Royal Highness. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She shifted her attention back to Elsa. "I have heard much about both of you. To finally meet the sisters of Arendelle- this language has no words to express my feelings." She paused, then added: "I am very much looking forward to our meeting, Queen Elsa."

"As am I, Lady Nuri. I pray it will be fruitful, and that only good comes from our meeting." Her mouth was dry. Why was she so nervous?

The woman smiled demurely. "I do not doubt that it will, but for now I am afraid I must take my leave. Surely there are many others who desire your company. Tosbeheena 'ala khair, Queen Elsa. Princess Anna." She nodded to Elsa and Anna in turn before turning and gliding gracefully away.

"Whoa, Elsa, why is your face all red?" Anna looked concerned.

The blonde's eyes widened. "I'm not- I don't know. Is it hot in here?" She scanned the room quickly. Thankfully, there were no other latecomers to greet. "I need to get some air. Please excuse me." Elsa stepped off the dais and made her way to one of the balconies off the ballroom perhaps a bit too quickly, leaving Anna blinking confusedly.


The ending of a ball was the saddest part. Not that Anna had anything to compare it to, seeing that this was the first ball she'd ever been to that ended without her sister accidentally revealing her ice powers. Okay, this wasn't so bad.

Still, as the guests trickled out and the servants began clearing the food away, Anna couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. Elsa had been out getting air for quite a while now, and Kristoff had left an hour earlier, so she was alone. Now she felt awkward. Did she wait for Elsa to come back in so they could go off to their new adjoining rooms together? Or would that be weird? Suddenly she was angry. How could Elsa leave her alone again?

A light tap on her shoulder made her jump, yelping with surprise as she turned around. "Hey! What- oh, it's you."

Rapunzel grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't…scare me. I, uh, was just…testing you. Yeah, that's it." She laughed half-heartedly, waving her hands weakly in the air in an attempt to convey…something. She wasn't sure what. "You passed."

"Uh-huh." The brunette rolled her eyes teasingly. "Sure. Listen, I was just wondering if you still wanted to show me around? Just me, Eugene's…busy." She looked pointedly over at her husband, who was arguing with one of the servants.

Anna held back a giggle. "Of course. Whaddya wanta see first?"

"Surprise me!" Rapunzel's green eyes shone mischievously as the girls linked arms and bounded out of the almost-empty ballroom.


"And that's the sock-sliding room. Well, every room is a sock sliding room if you believe hard enough, but that one's got the best floor. I dunno why, but it does."

Anna had gotten more and more relaxed as she led her cousin around the castle, pointing out her favorite spots. Rapunzel stood beside the redhead as they stopped, hands folded behind her back.

"Anna…can I ask you something?"

She swung her arms, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Shoot."

Rapunzel bit her lip hesitantly. "Your sister…what happened earlier? Was that her? With the snow?"

Immediately Anna's eyes clouded over with suspicion. "Why d'you want to know?"

"I'm your cousin, I'm concerned." She spoke carefully, softly. "I know it's not easy to have magical powers. I just- I thought maybe…it would be nice for her to have someone to talk to. Someone who's been through the same kind of thing she has," she added quickly, seeing the redhead's defensive walls begin to come up.

"She has me. Besides, you don't know what she's been through. You might be our cousin, but you're a stranger. You don't know what's been going on, obviously." Anna was a little surprised by the bite in her words and the anger in her voice. Still, she stood by what she said.

"I'm just trying to help, An-"

"Don't!" Anna cut her off, stepping back. "You weren't there for us three years ago when we lost Mamma and Pappa. They were going to your wedding, Rapunzel. But I guess you don't care about that. I guess you were too caught up in your perfect little world, with your perfect new husband, with your perfect family, your perfect life, to even care about anyone else."

Rapunzel drew herself up, steel in her eyes. "Don't make assumptions about me. Like you said, we're strangers." With that, she turned on her heel and strode briskly down the hall.

Alone again, Anna stared after her. Where had that come from? Her own behavior surprised her, but the tiny brunette's was even more unexpected. Everything about her screamed innocent, from her light pink dress to her wide green eyes.

Anna sighed, beginning to doubt her belief that everything was okay now. Things hadn't really changed; everyone still had secrets, and people weren't always what they seemed to be. The thought haunted her as she tossed and turned later that night, finally falling asleep only to dream of white gloves and fires going out.


Deep breaths. These men are not Hans.

"Gentlemen." Elsa strode into the room, where two men rose from their seats at the table. "I hope you were not waiting long?"

"Not long at all, your Majesty." The man who spoke was tall, with dark hair. Elsa could see the clear resemblance to Hans, and her stomach twisted slightly. "If I may, I am Prince Nikolai of the Southern Isles. This," he gestured to the man standing beside him, "is my brother, Prince Dominick of the Southern Isles."

Elsa bowed her head courteously to each of them. "Well met, your Highness. Your Highness. I am, as I'm sure you're aware, Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

They bowed. Elsa moved to sit at the table, across from the Southern Isles princes.

"Before we begin, your Majesty," the other prince spoke up, "I- we would like to formally apologize for everything our younger brother put you and your sister through. None of us knew of his intentions, I swear to you. Had we known, we would have kept him home."

Elsa raised an eyebrow at that, but the first prince –Nikolai- cut in before she could say anything.

"Hans is under the care of our oldest brother, King Frederik. He will see the error of his ways, I assure you. Frederik is exceedingly strict, and will see that Hans receives the punishment he deserves."

The other prince –Dominick- interjected again. "Nikolai and I would also like to apologize for our absence at last night's ball. We would gladly have attended, but our journey was slightly delayed and we arrived a few hours later than we intended to. By the time we docked, it was too late in the night for us to change, freshen up, and still have time to join your Majesty at the ball. We hope no offense was taken, as none was intended."

"No slight was taken, I assure you, although your presence would surely have improved the festivities." Elsa still wasn't quite sure about Hans, but there was no way to know without traveling to the Southern Isles herself. "I accept your apology, though I'm sure you understand that I cannot quite forgive Hans for everything he has done. I trust that King Frederik will deliver whatever sentence he deems most fitting. Now- shall we begin?" She sat, folding her hands in her lap.

The two princes followed suit. Across the table, Elsa noticed that Nikolai's eyes were an unusually light grey. It was a nice contrast to his dark hair, but gave his face something of a stern look. Dominick was slightly fairer than his brother, with cheerful bright blue eyes and loosely curled hair. Elsa wondered idly if it was natural or if he spent his mornings arranging it just so.

Clearly the one in charge out of the two, Nikolai spoke. "Your Majesty, the kingdom of the Southern Isles would be remiss if it did not at least attempt to make up for the mistreatment you received from its youngest prince. In that vein, we would like to arrange to increase the amount of luxury goods exported from the Southern Isles to Arendelle. We would also like to offer a gift."

"Oh? And what sort of gift does the Southern Isles offer Arendelle to atone for the actions of its youngest prince?"

Nikolai smiled as he continued. Elsa distrusted his smile- was it because of Hans, or something else? "The Southern Isles would like to present Arendelle with a small fleet of ships."

Elsa's hands tightened in her lap. Arendelle did need the ships- after the Thaw, Elsa had replaced every ship beyond repair with a similar one from the Royal Navy. Luckily, there hadn't been many, but between the half-dozen of her own that had been damaged…Arendelle could certainly use the ships.

On the other hand, she had been hoping to decrease the flow of trade between Arendelle and the Southern Isles, eventually cutting it off altogether once alternate trade agreements with other kingdoms had been secured. This new trade arrangement would make that much more difficult.

But it was a generous gesture on the Southern Isles' part. Turning it down would imply a bias against the kingdom at best, and start a war at worst.

"The Southern Isles is known for its shipbuilding, your Majesty," began Dominick nervously after a few minutes of silence. "The fleet intended for Arendelle is almost finished now. I have personally supervised their construction, and I can assure you they are of the finest quality."

Elsa allowed a small smile. "I am sure they are very fine indeed, Prince Dominick." She turned her attention to both of them, her smile vanishing. "Arendelle graciously accepts the Southern Isles' generous gift."

"And what of the trade proposal?" Nikolai leaned forward slightly, pale eyes glinting. "Surely your Majesty would benefit greatly from an increase of luxury goods."

"The gift I accept, Prince Nikolai, however I cannot believe that the trade you propose is given as freely. What does the Southern Isles wish to gain in exchange for this increase?"

"The Southern Isles wishes to gain nothing more than a more amicable relationship with Arendelle, Queen Elsa."

Elsa fought the urge to roll her eyes. "And this amicable relationship would benefit the Southern Isles in what way, exactly?"

Nikolai smiled again. "Perhaps a more amicable relationship would make it easier for your Majesty to consider another sort of proposal."

Oh, no. Elsa's eyebrows lifted, her expression slowly becoming more and more formidable. "Surely you are not suggesting what it seems you are."

Dominick at least had the grace to flush and look away. Nikolai, however, seemed entirely unperturbed by Elsa's reaction. "The Southern Isles would like to offer my brother and myself as suitors for the respective hands of Princess Anna and your Majesty."