The queen had thought that a good night's sleep would help relax her, but she woke thinking of events from the previous day. When she tried to pull her blankets off, they wouldn't budge. She looked down and immediately spotted the problem: ice. Hans's disappearance must have haunted her in her sleep too.

Elsa quickly thought of Anna's sacrifice again and used the happy memory of Anna returning to normal to disperse the ice from her blankets. With a wave of her hand, her nightdress turned to the light blue gown she'd grown used to wearing in her ice palace. She sighed and sat down at her dressing table. Yesterday it seemed so simple being both Queen Elsa and magical Elsa.

"Baby steps," she said to her reflection. Her stomached growled. "Right… a good place to start might be breakfast."

Elsa was nowhere near as food-obsessed as her little sister. Even so, she was grateful for dining again at Arendelle Castle. Marshmallow probably would have been able to catch birds or deer, but Elsa almost lost her appetite at the thought of having to make meals out of them. It's not as though she would have been able to survive by eating just snow.

"Your Majesty?" someone said from a corner behind her.

Elsa turned around and beamed when she saw Gerda, one of her most trusted servants. "Good Morning, Gerda!" Then she realized from Gerda's expression that something was wrong. "Is something the matter?"

"It's just… I was going to ask the same question. You've not touched the food. Would you like something else from the kitchens?" Gerda asked. Elsa glanced back at the table; there sat several plates of cheese, fruit jam and smoked fish. Then she looked at the empty plate right in front of her.

"No! I was just lost in thought. Have you eaten yet? Would you care to join me?" Immediately after she'd asked, she knew it was a breach of etiquette. It was an old habit from the days when Elsa used to lock herself away in her room. Gerda would bring meals to her and initially try to converse with the princess through the closed door. She and Kai had not known about Elsa's powers. But they noticed the change in the elder princess right around the same time that the King and Queen ordered the castle to be isolated from the rest of the kingdom. One day, Elsa had opened the door for her and asked Gerda to eat with her. But Elsa had been like a skittish stray back then. Some days, she would not answer the door at all and Gerda would just leave the tray in the hall for Elsa to take when she was ready. Other days, Elsa would have the door open just a crack, waiting for Gerda to appear.

No wonder Gerda worried about her.

"No, thank you," Gerda said. Elsa was grateful that Gerda did not chide her for the invitation. "I am sure Princess Anna will be joining you shortly. I must get started on the washing."

"I see… please excuse yourself then," Elsa answered. She smiled to mask the disappointment.

When Gerda left, Elsa took a slice of bread, smoked salmon and cheese for her plate. Even though smoked salmon was one of her favorites, Elsa found that she wasn't very hungry after all. She thought being at the dinner table was odd last night. It was even stranger when she was the only one sitting there.

As if on cue, the dining hall door opened. Elsa set her food down, about to welcome Anna or Kristoff. But it was Kai who entered the room.

"Good Morning, Your Majesty," Kai bowed. Only when Elsa greeted him did he straighten himself. "When you are finished here, Lord Harald requests to meet in the Council Chamber…"

"Harald is still here?" Elsa asked. Lord Harald had been Regent to Arendelle before Elsa came of age. He was a distant cousin of her father's, a decade older than herself and had no wife or children. He had been efficient but bold while managing Arendelle's affairs. While the man had never done anything to warrant Elsa's dislike, she distinctly remembered being extra careful about hiding her secret from him.

"I think he wants to discuss Prince Hans's disappearance..." Kai said.

"Please go with me when I speak with him."

"Your Majesty?"

"He makes me feel uneasy, Kai. I don't know what it is. Please."

"Of course," Kai answered. Then he bowed and exited the room, informing her on his way out that he would wait for her to finish her meal.

"You are not nearly as alarmed as I hoped you'd be," Lord Harald said. They sat with one seat between them at the long council table. Kai sat across from them, mostly ignored except for when Elsa would give him a nervous glance. But the longer Elsa sat with Lord Harald, the more her anxiety turned to annoyance.

"The royal guards are working on finding Hans as we speak," she said. "It doesn't do much good to panic."

Lord Harald leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "I'm not suggesting that you panic, Your Highness." Elsa raised her eyebrow at him. "Your Majesty. I'm only asking you to question whether you've taken as much action as necessary at this point."

"What more would you suggest?" Elsa asked. She had planned to wait until the end of the day before acting further. She had not yet decided what to do next if Hans was still not found.

"First I would look at all outcomes. Suppose that Prince Hans is dead—drowned. The Southern Isles will need to know the exact details of the accident. They may demand to put Princess Anna on trial. They may insist that you yourself reprimand her. They may take into account Prince Hans's own actions. But if they find out from some other source before they hear it from the Arendelle Crown..."

"But we don't know for certain that he's dead," Elsa argued.

"True, but how would you take it if Princess Anna went missing in the Southern Isles? What would you think if they didn't report this to you immediately?"

Elsa froze up. As negative as Lord Harald was being, he had a point. If Anna was missing in the Southern Isles and the royals there did not inform Elsa, she would find it extremely suspicious.

"So you're suggesting that I tell them he's...missing?" Elsa asked.

Kai finally cut in by clearing his throat. Both Harald and Elsa looked to him. "Your Majesty," Kai began. "If I may?"

Lord Harald scoffed. "What is he doing in here? That's been bothering me since we began," he said.

"Kai has loyally served this family for ages. I trust him and consider his advice equal to your own, Lord Harald," Elsa said, doing her best not to raise her voice. She did not want to lose her cool in front of this man. Lord Harald put his hands up in mock surrender and then gestured for Kai to contribute to the conversation.

"While I agree with His-lordship that the Southern Isles must receive the news from you and no one else, I feel it may be premature to notify them until the end of the search. To be frank, I think it might make matters worse. Suppose that the prince is acting on some plot we don't know about yet? If the Southern Isles first thinks Hans is missing by Princess Anna's fault, are they as likely to take our side if he lashes out?"

Lord Harald spoke again before Elsa could agree. "Do you think the Southern Isles will take our side if they find out we waited to tell them their prince was attacked?"

Elsa sighed. Lord Harald was not wrong.

"We need to be as up front as possible with them if you wish to maintain a diplomatic relationship."

Elsa wanted to bury her head in her hands and shout for Lord Harald to be quiet. But no matter how she looked at it, both he and Kai were right. How was she supposed to make a decision then?

"My Queen?" Lord Harald prompted.

"I appreciate your counsel, Harald. I will let you know," Elsa answered. She could see in his face that it was not the answer he wanted.

Elsa stood, about to excuse herself when Lord Harald touched her arm. He was gentle, but it was still unwanted contact.

"In other words, you will not write to the Southern Isles immediately?" he asked.

Elsa stared down at him, stunned that he would not leave it alone. She had been under so much stress these past few days. She did not want to take it out on him, but he was nearly asking for it.

"Her Majesty just needs to think on it. I beg Your Lordship to have patience and trust in our queen," Kai said suddenly. He looked at Elsa rather than at Lord Harald. The tension in the room tripled with Kai's impertinence. Elsa had to bite her cheeks to keep from grinning at him. Fortunately, Lord Harald said nothing.

"I'll take my leave now. I need time to think," Elsa said, nodding to them both. She would have to thank Kai later.

Elsa roamed the halls with no particular destination. She barely registered the looks of concern on faces of the servants she passed by. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts, replaying the conversation from the council chamber over and over in her head. She did not want to risk seeming suspicious to the Southern Isles, but she also did not want to act rashly.

She stopped in her tracks, suddenly thinking of Anna. By coincidence, she had stopped only a few doors down from Anna's bedroom. How was her sister coping with everything? Not for the first time, Elsa regretted her harsh words toward Anna; if only things could be as simple between them as when they were children.

"But I managed to hurt her even back then…" Elsa mumbled. Still, she approached Anna's door, preparing an apology with each step. She counted six apologies by the time she reached the door.

I'm sorry I hid my powers from you, I'm sorry for the blizzard, sorry I ran away. I'm sorry you almost died because of me. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm sorry you had to grow up so alone.

It was just Anna on the other side of the door but Elsa was still afraid. Still, she owed it to Anna to be brave. With one deep breath to shake off her fears, Elsa collected herself and knocked lightly on the door.

There was no answer. Maybe Anna hadn't heard?

Elsa knocked a second time, a little harder this time. But she didn't hear one peep from Anna's room.

"So this is what it feels like," Elsa whispered, recalling all the times she had ignored Anna's attempts to connect with her. No… she must be sleeping. Gerda had complained to her once before about Anna's habit of sleeping in. It was probably still too early for Anna to be awake.

Elsa left the door, deciding she would leave Anna be for now. But she still wanted to speak to someone. It didn't have to be about whether or not to write to the Southern Isles. She would actually prefer to take her mind off of that.

She turned right at the end of the corridor, entering the guest wing. All the rooms had been filled for the coronation, but most of the ambassadors and local nobles had returned home once the blizzard cleared. She slowed her pace, trying to remember which room she'd insisted Kristoff use during his stay. Right as she remembered, a servant opened the door and came out of Kristoff's guestroom.

"Excuse me!" Elsa said, startling the poor girl. "Is Kristoff in there?"

"No, Your Majesty, begging your pardon. I think he said he was going down to the stables to see a Sven," she answered. Then she curtsied.

"Thank you," Elsa answered. She would make a quick stop in the kitchens and then find Kristoff.

Horseback riding had never been Elsa's favorite. Now that she could ride a gale of ice and snow wherever she pleased, she hardly imagined herself spending much time around horses. Even growing up, her parents shielded her from the outside world as much as possible, so riding had been unnecessary. Besides that, the stables tended to smell. For those reasons, Elsa had never spent a great amount of time in the stables. She entered the building now, shyly clutching a basket of carrots as she asked a groom where the reindeer was being kept. The boy gaped at the queen at first, seemingly stunned by her presence. She chuckled and asked him a second time, helping him snap out of the shock.

Elsa followed the groom's directions to the very end of the stables. Apparently Sven was kept far away from the horses, just in case. As she neared the end of the building, her ears picked up a conversation.

"…gave me a blanket! A blanket!" said a coarse, goofy kind of voice. "How's the food?"

Although they were still out of sight, Elsa recognized the second voice immediately. "It's great! And they're feeding you down here?" Kristoff asked.

"You bet! Hey, what's the castle like?" the other voice asked.

Elsa stopped, staying quiet so she could hear this part of the conversation without interrupting it.

"Oh, it's…" Kristoff started, hesitating. "It's REALLY big and fancy! It's not really my style, but it's certainly nice! There are portraits everywhere though, staring down like they're all judging you. I could do without those!" At that comment, Elsa snorted with laughter.

"Hey, who's there?!" Kristoff called out.

Elsa stepped out of the shadows. "I've been found out," she said. Then she saw the beautiful tan and white reindeer smiling playfully in the stall before Kristoff. "This must be Sven?"

"Yup!" Kristoff nodded, turning various shades of first pink and then red. "How long were you standing there?"

To spare him some embarrassment, Elsa walked around him to get a closer look at Sven. Sven seemed positively thrilled to meet her. He danced back and forth on his hooves, snorting and making eyes at her basket.

"Long enough to wonder if Sven is a talking reindeer," Elsa grinned. It would not be such a strange thing, considering she had icy powers. "Well, Sven? Would you like a carrot?" She giggled when Sven nodded vehemently and hung his neck over his stall door.

"Oh, would I!" that bizarre voice replied. It didn't exactly come from Sven, Elsa could tell. Sven looked exasperated by her sudden distraction, pleading for her attention through snorts and jumping.

Finally, Elsa's eyes rested on Kristoff, who still looked oddly sheepish about…something.

"Was that…?" Elsa asked.

"Was what?" Kristoff replied a little too quickly.

"That voice…" Elsa finally picked a carrot out of her basket and lifted it up for Sven, who wasted no time in chomping off the end of it. "Was that him or…?"

Kristoff coughed and looked away with a grin. "Sven's a little shy. He just got excited because of the carrots. May I?" He extended his hand toward the basket. Elsa passed it to him, realizing now that both voices belonged to Kristoff.

"Shy, huh? All right," she said, watching as Kristoff held another carrot up for Sven. The reindeer took his time with the second one but his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Where's Anna?" Kristoff aked suddenly.

Elsa sulked a little, remembering that she didn't get to apologize to her sister yet. "I think she's still resting," she said. "A lot has happened… she's probably worn out."

Kristoff gave Sven a scratch behind the ear and said something about saving the rest of the carrots for later. He set the basket down in front of the stall. "You must be worn out too," he said, looking at Elsa again.

"I just need to clear my head and then I'll be fine," she answered. "…can I ask you something?"

"Sure, I guess?"

"You were talking to Sven before, right? And talking for him?" she smiled. Just like that, Kristoff turned red and seemed to have trouble making eye contact with her.

"I know it's silly. Yes, that was me. He doesn't have a voice of his own, but I know him so well, I kind of speak for him… honestly, I don't even know sometimes when I'm doing it. It's like possession by reindeer," he explained, trying to make light of it.

"I think it's great that you two are that close," Elsa said.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

Kristoff studied her for a moment. "Well, Sven is something like a brother to me… though not by blood…or even the same species. But we grew up together. You and Anna seem really close too."

Elsa's smile became sad at the mention of her sister. "We were, once. I feel terrible about the things I said to her yesterday. Here Anna and I finally have a chance to be close again, and I may have ruined it…"

Kristoff was quiet for a second. Even Sven stopped snorting once he sensed the changed atmosphere.

After some thought, Kristoff spoke. "From what Anna told me, you two were isolated from each other for a long time. It makes sense that things feel a little strained right now. But you obviously care for each other… you just need to reason and talk things out, and everything will be fine. I know how much you mean to Anna. I've seen it."

It was true. Even though Elsa ignored her for years, Anna had never given up on her. Her little sister had always sensed her pain, had always tried to reach Elsa.

She turned to him excitedly. "Kristoff… you're very kind and insightful. I can see why Anna likes you. Thank you! I… I'm going to go speak with Anna right now," she said. She waved and dashed, barely giving Kristoff the opportunity to say anything.

Elsa ran all the way back up to the castle, dodging a couple of bewildered servants and guards in her path. When she reached Anna's door, she knocked once again. There was still no answer, but Elsa was not about to let that discourage her. She tried the door handle next; the door opened.

But Anna wasn't in her bed. She wasn't at the dresser or by the window. She wasn't in her room.

"She must be up by now," Elsa murmured to herself. "I'll bet she's eating breakfast!"

A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews!

I read somewhere that Jennifer Lee had originally planned for a regent character in the film... so that's where Harald came from.