A/N: Thanks to everyone who's followed/favorited and/or is reading but not reviewing.:)

Karl the Wizard-I'm glad you've enjoyed it.:) I don't see Elsa holding grudges either. Glad to know Elsa's speech at the portrait was good to you.:) I agree, Anna IS awesome! She's always right there for Elsa. The sequel's coming soon:)

Optomistic-Cool! I'm glad Elsa's speech seemed in character to you.:)

WarriorQueen 14-Thank you for that info.:) I'll try to get Elsa back in character as best I can. And the Hans thing is no big deal to me...we can all hate him or love him, that's everyone's own business.:)

FanGirlJen-Thank you!:)

NrDg-I'm glad you've enjoyed my story.:) Elsa has to get over her issues quickly because stupid me has a timeline that's all connected.:P (Let's just say I complicate things sometimes way. too. much.:P) So expect Elsa to be mostly a-ok by the end of the sequel.:) I know Elsa is still really dependent on Anna at the moment, but I kinda figured she would be after everything that's happened...I guess just give Elsa a bit of time.:P I mean, she does know how to take care of her country, at least via writing...she's done it for three years by now.:) Elsa is just really really awful at socializing and things like that.:P

CieloFede-I just thought Anna would do something like that for Elsa, so she did.:) Elsa seriously needs lots of hugs...:P Since we were PMing and stuff, I'm not going to repeat the rest of my reply here again, lol.;) Thank you:)

Fatten Saad-Lol, yeah, she does.:P I don't think Elsa is too keen on her little sister getting involved with a man again so soon, though.:) The sequel's coming soon!:)

On to the very last chapter!:) Since this is the 'epilogue', so to speak, it's quite a bit shorter than the usual chapters on this story.:)

The next morning, Elsa smiled when she realized she had made it all the way through the rest of the night without any more nightmares or icy accidents. She held her bare hands in front of her face, not quite believing that she had actually done it. Anna helped me. I made it through the rest of the night without any gloves or bad dreams or making a mess! I really did it!

I am the Snow Queen.

And I think Anna needs her own special title like that.

THAT AFTERNOON…

"Please wait here," Elsa said when she and Anna were almost to the ice palace. Elsa had remembered that her ice palace was probably still a mess from the attack that ended with the chandelier dropping on her; and she wasn't quite ready to talk about that with Anna yet. Not to mention, Elsa didn't want Anna's first impression to be the damaged version of the ice palace. She would fix it first, and then invite Anna in.

Anna quickly obliged, and Elsa ran ahead to the ice palace. Elsa frowned when she saw the half-destroyed railing on the staircase. How did that happen? She stuck out one hand and immediately the staircase was restored to its original state. Elsa ran up the staircase into the palace and backed against the door when Marshmallow bellowed at her. "Um…Marshmallow, please…it's me, Elsa!" she blurted, hoping the big snow creature would recognize her.

"ELSA'S BACK!" Marshmallow rumbled happily.

Elsa didn't notice the crown perched on Marshmallow's head; she was too relieved that Marshmallow had recognized her she wasn't paying attention.

"ONE MINUTE. BE RIGHT BACK," Marshmallow said. For some reason, he knew Elsa would want the sparkly gold thing back, but he didn't want to give it up. So he went and hid the crown and came back.

"Marshmallow, have you s-seen my crown?" Elsa asked, completely oblivious to what her snow creature had just done.

Marshmallow paused for a moment, then said, "NO."

Elsa gave him a quizzical look, somehow knowing that he was fibbing. After all, she had made Marshmallow, so she had a small idea of what was going on in his head; although she could not "make" him listen to her, aside from her original reasoning for making him in the first place. "I'm going to go f-fix the mess upstairs," Elsa told Marshmallow.

"MARSHMALLOW CLEANED MESS UP. WHY DID BAD PEOPLE ATTACK ELSA'S FORTRESS?" Marshmallow asked. "MARSHMALLOW SORRY. FAILED TO KEEP ELSA SAFE. MARSHMALLOW CAME BACK AND ELSA MISSING! BAD PEOPLE HURTED HER!"

Elsa dropped her gaze to the floor. Marshmallow is upset he tried to keep me safe and failed…I know what that's like… "It's okay. You did y-your best, and that's the i-important thing," Elsa said firmly.

Marshmallow picked Elsa up and just stared at her. "IS ELSA HURT ANYWHERE?"

Elsa found herself dangling upside down high in the air and inexplicably started giggling. "I'm not hurt! I'm fine! Please put me down!" she exclaimed. I should be terrified, but I'm not. This is kind of…funny. Actually, no…it's really funny! Elsa suddenly gasped for breath when Marshmallow hugged her against his snowy body. "What…are…you…doing…Marshmallow?!"

"GO AWAY!" Marshmallow growled. "MARSHMALLOW KEEP ELSA SAFE! NO ONE COME IN ELSA'S CASTLE!"

Elsa struggled to wiggle out of Marshmallow's grip and tumbled to the floor, landing in a pile of snow. "Marshmallow, stop it! That's my sister!" Elsa shouted.

Marshmallow looked puzzled. "THAT GIRL CAN COME IN?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Her name is Anna," Elsa said quickly.

"ELSA SAY ANNA CAN COME IN. DO NOT HURT ELSA," Marshmallow ordered. "OR ELSE."

Elsa shook her head. Marshmallow, Anna's fine. She's not going to hurt me. I know she won't. "Anna, I'm sorry…Marshmallow is a bit…overprotective, I think," she apologized.

"You think?! Elsa, can't you get rid of him? He's creepy," Anna whispered.

"No, Anna! Marshmallow has his own m-mind, just like Olaf," Elsa replied firmly. I'd feel like I was…killing him…and he also was the one who tried to comfort me after Anna told me about freezing Arendelle and stuff… She noticed Marshmallow looking rather upset (and still a bit mad at Anna) and added, "You two will accept each other. You both accept me, a-and I'm…sort of weird. Different, whatever you w-want to call it. So please m-make up and be friends w-with each other, too."

Anna and Marshmallow glared at each other for a long minute before they both said, "Truce, for Elsa's sake," at the same time.

"Thank you, you two." Elsa sighed in relief and ran up to the second floor. "Wait there and I'll call you in a minute, okay Anna?" I didn't stutter when I said that! I'm getting a little bit better…

Glancing over the room with the snowflake floor upstairs, Elsa realized that Marshmallow had indeed cleaned up all of the mess from the fallen chandelier and broken balcony, but only Elsa herself could actually replace those things. Elsa closed her eyes and willed everything back as it was when she first built this place. A sparkling blue glow filled the room, and ice swirled through the air, replacing the damaged ceiling fixture, the missing balcony doors, and the balcony railing. There. Everything is fixed for Anna now. Elsa's gaze flitted up to the ice chandelier based off the fractal design of her signature snowflake. I did it. You can't beat me, fear. You can't beat me, everyone who still doesn't like me. You can't beat me, inner things from the past that still hurt.

I am the Snow Queen. And I have my baby sister back.

"Anna!" Elsa called. "I'm ready!"

Elsa clasped her hands behind her back, happily watching Anna take in the sparkling icy surroundings. Anna pointed up at the ice chandelier and said, "Elsa, that is AWESOME! It's, like, a super complicated version of your snowflake!"

Elsa nodded vigorously, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Anna's in my ice palace, and we're here TOGETHER! Just like my dream…

"Elsa, do you want to sing together?" Anna asked. "A happy song this time?"

Elsa ran and hugged Anna as tightly as she could. "Absolutely! Thank you so much…" That's a terrific idea, Anna.

"You don't have to keep your distance anymore…'Cause for the first time in forever, I finally understand…for the first time in forever, we have fixed this hand in hand…" Anna started.

"We can spend time on this mountain together…I don't have to live in fear…" Elsa paused, not knowing what to sing next. I don't stutter when I sing? That's…nice?

"'Cause for the first time in forever, I will be right here," Anna continued.

Elsa smiled. Somehow that exact same line had a far different effect for her this time. Except…Anna's always been there for me. Right outside my door. "Anna…let's go back home…our life awaits…Let's enjoy the sun and open up the gates…"

"Yeah, but…" Anna started to say. Not right this second. I like your ice palace, Elsa.

"I know…you mean well…please don't leave me be…" Elsa's gaze dropped to the floor before she risked a shy glance up at her sister. "I'm not alone, we're together and I'm finally free…" That didn't quite fit the original melody, but oh well… "Please don't stay away and I'll try to keep you safe with me…" She paused for a moment before saying, "I don't want t-to say the next part, so I'm s-skipping some, okay?"

Anna nodded. "Sure, that's completely fine." Elsa probably can't even remember part of what we were saying then…

"I'm such a fool; I can be free! There is escape from the storm inside of me! My powers are not a curse!" Elsa sang as she stepped out on the balcony. She couldn't remember any of what Anna had been trying to tell her before, but she remembered the words she'd sung herself exactly. Elsa also remembered that horrible feeling that she was about to explode…that awful storm inside of her. Did I have some kind of panic attack? That would explain why I don't remember my mind registering anything Anna tried to tell me then…anyway, it doesn't matter. That's the past, not the present. Everything's fine now.

Anna jumped in and said without singing, "You're right, Elsa. Did you know you are awesome? I love how you took those…horrid things you said about yourself before and made them something nice." She ran out on the balcony and hugged Elsa close. "And your ice palace is amazing."

Elsa smiled and suddenly decided she did not need to finish the rest of that song to help mend the bit of her that still needed to heal from all that pain inside. She would be fine. She would always be fine, because she had Anna back, and Anna loved and accepted her just the way she was. I'm perfectly happy right now. I don't need to dig that…incident up again. I'm here at my ice palace with my baby sister. My dream is complete. Absolutely, totally complete.

"Elsa, there's just one thing I haven't asked you yet," Anna said a moment later. She pulled away from Elsa and just held her hands tightly.

Elsa looked at her expectantly, almost a hundred percent sure what her sister was going to ask her. I just know it; I just know it!

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Even though Elsa had been positive that was what Anna was going to say, happy tears pricked at her eyes as she immediately blurted for the first time since she was eight, "Yes! Yes, I do!" I've wanted to answer that question so many times since then and say 'yes'….and I JUST DID! I actually did it finally. "Anna, you don't know how many t-times I wanted to say that so much from inside m-my room…"

Anna frowned. "That means I was unknowingly hurting you inside every time I asked you that! I'm sorry, Elsa…really, really sorry!"

"No, Anna, you're wrong," Elsa said firmly. "Don't apologize. Yes, it did hurt me inside every t-time you asked me that, but i-it still made me happy that y-you hadn't abandoned me. I had nothing that m-made me happy except you for all that time. So don't apologize." Anna's trying to apologize for being my one source of sunshine for all that time…?

"But Elsa…you were already traumatized from that accident and whatever that picture-thing was you told me the trolls showed you, and silly me just rubbed in the one thing that you were trying to fix…you were trying all that time to control your powers and I went and talked about SNOW all the time! That was mean!"

"You didn't even know what m-my problem was, and you were f-five, Anna. Five. Yes, I may h-have been 'traumatized', as you put it, I don't know; but it was definitely n-not your fault." Elsa gave Anna a reassuring smile. I am NOT letting Anna blame herself for something that was genuinely one of the few good things about all those years.

"May have been traumatized?! You tried to commit suicide when you were eighteen, Elsa! You were definitely traumatized. I'm just so glad I have you back now…and I can help you feel better and stuff." Anna hugged Elsa close again. "And I'm glad you're so much happier now."

"That depressed girl isn't me anymore," Elsa told her sister. "I'll not be labeled 'traumatized' just because I still hurt inside s-sometimes. I'm fine. I have my little s-sister back, and I can c-control my powers. At least mostly. That's enough for me. That's all I need." And I'm glad I'm so much happier now, too.

"Well then…how about building that snowman?" Anna asked, realizing Elsa did not want to talk about this anymore. She's genuinely happy, and so she's done talking. Fair enough.

"I'd love to!"

Elsa excitedly pulled Anna back inside into the room with the snowflake-engraved floor. "Ready?" she asked happily.

"Do the magic!" Anna shouted. "Oops, sorry, I didn't mean to shout...yeah, oops."

Elsa giggled and began twirling a snowball in her hands, exactly as she had done at age eight. This is just like that fateful day all those years ago, except this time everything is going to be perfect. I'm so happy I can hardly stand it!

The past is in the past.

My dream of being here and playing with my powers safely with Anna is complete.

"I love you, Anna…Thank you." Elsa tossed her snowball in the air, and it exploded into thousands of snowflakes that floated down around both of them.

Elsa hugged her little sister close, absolutely, purely contented and happy.

I have my baby sister back.

I can control my powers.

I am Snow Queen Elsa of Arendelle.

THE END.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story, especially to those who left constructive criticism as well. That is always helpful to me.:)

This is my first multi-chapter story that's actually complete-YAY!:) I never thought 'Secret Passages' would get this long, lol.:P

I originally started this story to write Frozen's story from Elsa's POV. What did she do in her room for all that time? All we know from the movie is she was scared and unsuccessfully trying to control her powers. I know Frozen was meant to be Anna's story, not Elsa's, but I really wish Elsa had gotten more screen time. We never see her outside of either of her 'extreme' personas; either she's declaring her freedom as the Snow Queen on the North Mountain or she's terrified. Anyway...I don't think I did Elsa's amazing character justice, but I hope I've filled in some of the rest of her story anyways.:)

P.S. Annnddd...SEQUEL INFO! Here's the title: 'The Coming Storm'. You guys can interpret that however you wish at the moment since I don't have a good summary yet, although I have the main plotline all set up.:) It's coming soon.;)

This is MantaI-305Apollo's Chariot signing off, over and out!:)