The sun's rays shone through the castle windows, urging the queen to rise and meet its brilliance. She awoke in her own bedroom, a rare occurrence since she had come out of her isolation. She rolled onto her back, stifling a yawn and bringing a hand up to lace her fingers through her snowy white hair. This was Elsa's favorite time of day; savoring the silence and stillness of the world while it lasted. She let her eyes slip shut once again. She could spare a few minutes; today was her day off. Or rather, her day off from meetings, paperwork, and the like. Today required a different kind of responsibility. Watching her baby sister. Not that she minded, but speaking of which...where was Anna? A small frown worked its way onto Elsa's lips. Usually her sister was in here by now, pouncing on the bed in unrestrained excitement, not wanting to miss a single moment of Elsa's 'free' time.

The queen sat up with a stretch and wandered down the castle's quiet halls to Anna's room. She paused at the door, raising a hand to knock, then changed her mind and just walked in. Anna was probably asleep still, anyway. To Elsa's surprise, her sister was very much awake, sitting in front of her vanity, looking calm, collected, somber...the exact opposite of the sister that Elsa had come to know over the past few months.

"You look nice," she ventured softly.

Anna turned around with a jerk, jarring the table in front of her. "Huh? Oh, hi," she greeted the blonde softly.

Elsa walked over to her sister and laid a pale hand on her shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

Anna flashed her a sad, but genuine, smile. "Yeah, it's just...it's the third Friday of the month." She sighed when was met with a blank stare. "Look, just follow me," she grabbed Elsa's hand and took off down the halls.

. . .

"So, where are we going?"

Elsa paused at the outskirts of the town; they had left the castle grounds ages ago, and she wanted to know how far Anna was planning to take this.
"Almost there. Just over this ridge," Anna gestured down into the valley where two large boulders stood, mighty and tall.

"Oh," the queen murmured, letting Anna guide her down into the ravine.

As they drew nearer, Elsa couldn't help but stare in awe of the towering stones that represented her parents; strong and proud. She had never actually been here before. Of course, she didn't trust herself to show up at the funeral, or any time between then and the coronation, and the past few weeks, it just hadn't occurred to her. A pang of longing assaulted the young ruler as she remembered her parents; the good things about them, and she regretted how she had pushed them away when they reached out to her.

Leaning against one of the sturdy gravestones, Elsa let herself drop to the ground, legs tucked neatly underneath her. Anna sprawled out on the soft grass and wiggled over to place her head in Elsa's lap, then stretched her arms up towards the sky.

"I like to imagine them up there in Heaven, Mom and Dad, I mean...and telling God about how goofy we are. Not that you're goofy!" she backtracked. "But me. I'm goofy. They're probably bragging about how proud they are of you. It's a nice thought, don't you think?"

"Of course," Elsa glanced away uneasily. She looked back at her sister, hoping she hadn't sensed anything amiss, but Anna's eyes were closed, her lips moving silently. Smiling at her sister, Elsa cupped her face in her hands and leaned down to press a lingering kiss to her brow.

"I love you," she breathed over Anna's skin.

The redhead swatted her face away gently, never breaking her silent oration, and leaving a bewildered Elsa blinking down at her. The young queen sat in an uncomfortable silence until finally, Anna opened her eyes and gave her an abashed smile.

"Sorry, I was just talking to Mom and Dad. And God. Well, actually, I'm not sorry, but, you know," Anna rambled. "Do you ever talk to them? Is that weird? Do you still talk to God? I remember when we were little you used to call him daddy," she giggled.

"Anna," Elsa said, almost begging. "Can we please not talk about this?"

"Why? Am I embarrassing you?" she teased.

Elsa forced a smile. "Of course not, I just- It's fine." But the glistening frost that had formed on the grass betrayed her, and Anna sat up quickly.

"Whoa, frost equals not fine, Sis. What did I say?"

Elsa could practically see the gears turning in Anna's head; being weird wouldn't make Elsa frost up this much...well, 'cause Elsa's not weird. And I know she still believes...wait, no I don't.

"Elsa?" Anna asked hesitantly. "Do you even, umm...believe in God still?"

"Yes, of course, I-" The queen gave a small grin that faded quickly once she saw her sister's unusually stern face. "No? Maybe? I don't know." she tried. "If He's really up there, then why didn't he stop me a few months ago? Why did He even give me these powers? I almost killed you, my own sister, twice! I set off an eternal winter and nothing could have stopped me but you. Our lives have been plagued with misfortune; this curse, our parents death, people like Hans...how do you expect me to believe a God even exists?" Elsa finished her rant, slightly out of breath.

"You know," Anna started softly. "If the world were perfect, we wouldn't need Him. There would be no point. So obviously He's got to let alot of stuff run it's course." She took Elsa's hands in her own. "If you hadn't frozen everything before, you would have never learned how to control it, and you'd still be locked in your room. Elsa, He gave you this power, this gift, because he knew you could handle it, and you could use it for good."

The blonde looked at her cynically. "Since when did you become so spiritual?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Els, I'm serious, this is kind of important." Anna retorted. "There may come a time when you need to depend on something to get you through stuff."

"Isn't that what I have you for?" Elsa countered.

"Well, yes, but some things are beyond me."

Elsa sighed. "Look, I appreciate your concern Anna, but I don't really have time to go to church and all that. I hardly have enough time to spend with you, much less any other activities."

"So?" the redhead pouted. "I stopped doing the whole church thing years ago."

"Then why are you complaining about me?" Elsa cried out in exasperation.

Anna tilted her head to the side to think. "Well, I stopped going because it was usually

boring, and what wasn't just never stuck with me. Don't get me wrong, it was meaningful and great and all that, but at the end of the day? Not really life changing. I think faith is something you kind of have to figure your by yourself. Does that make sense?"

Elsa let her head fall back as she closed her eyes. "Yes. And truthfully, I do want to gain my faith back, I just have so many doubts that I'm not sure if I have the right to call myself a Christian. But I'll try harder, okay?" She gave her sister a small smile. Anna grinned back and settled herself back into Elsa's lap, choosing to let the matter sit for now. Elsa had been pushed enough for one day.

"I love you."

"Mmm...me too. Take a nap or something, okay? You were up too early." Elsa smirked down at her sister, who gave her a cheeky smile as she obediently closed her eyes. The older girl let the smirk slide off her face and turn into a thoughtful frown as she mused over what it meant to give herself up to someone even more powerful than herself.