Chapter 9

Apologies Long Overdue

Anna finally begged to rest, having nearly fallen for the third or fourth time (she had lost count), so Elsa led the two of them over to one of the fountains to sit down.

"You did much better today," Elsa said, glancing at her sister. Anna really had done better; with Elsa's and Olaf's help, she had managed to not make a fool of herself in front of the people.

"Thanks, I guess," Anna replied, "but I couldn't have done so well without your help."

"Oh, you just need more practice, Anna."

"Mm-hmm," Anna mumbled in reply. She seemed thoroughly distracted watching Kristoff continue to slide around with Sven and Olaf.

"I know ice is his life, but that is ridiculous!" Anna commented, referring to the mountain man's unorthodox skating technique of simply letting Sven drag him around.

"Hey, at least he stays on his feet," Elsa teased.

Anna glared at her. "Say, how do you stay on your feet, without slipping? It can't be easy in those heels."

Elsa laughed. "I'm not completely sure. I think my powers give me some extra ability to keep my footing on ice and snow. Maybe it's because my shoes are cold?" Anna shrugged. "I don't know. Anyway, I usually don't slip."

They continued to watch Kristoff in awkward silence for a few more minutes. Finally, Elsa said, "You know, Anna, despite his... oddities, I think our parents would have liked him."

"Really?" Anna said, her face pinking slightly.

Elsa fought to keep a straight face. "Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Um... no?" her sister said, blushing even more.

I thought so, Elsa thought. She still hasn't admitted it to herself. Having gotten the desired reaction, Elsa said, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Anna—you're in love. I think that was made rather obvious this afternoon."

"I'm not emb—wait, what?" Anna yelped.

"I needed some fresh air earlier, so I took a walk along the outer wall. Apparently, the Royal Guards cannot refuse their Queen a spyglass if she asks for one," she said, smirking.

"What? You were... you..." Anna's expression went from surprised to embarrassed to annoyed, before blurting, "Elsa, you stinker!" Suddenly, she yelped again when a snowball landed on her head.

A hand covering her laughter, Elsa said, "Calm down, Anna. I won't tell anybody if you don't want me to." Thinking for a moment, she added, "Besides, I may not need to. You did kiss him in the middle of town, in broad daylight. And you're the Princess, so word will surely spread no matter what I do."

"Oh," the strawberry-blonde said, her face falling. "Did I mess up?"

"No, no, Anna," Elsa said reassuringly. "I'm sure the people will be happy to know you have someone besides me who cares for you. Nevertheless, I should probably have a talk with you and Kristoff about being more discreet." She reached for Anna's hand, and gave it a squeeze. "I'm happy for you, and I'm sure Mama and Papa would be, as well." Wiping away the sudden tears, she fell silent. A light snow began falling in her immediate vicinity.

"Elsa, are you all right?" Anna asked worriedly.

"Yes... and no," the blonde replied tiredly. "Anna, there's something that I need to do, that I've put off for far too long. I won't ask you to come, if you don't want to, but I think it's time I paid my respects."

"Oh, Elsa..." Anna said. "Of course I'll come with you. You shouldn't have to face this alone, just because I had to." She sniffled.

"I know, and I'm truly sorry," Elsa said. "That was something I'll regret for the rest of my life. I should have been there for you." She smiled warmly, and added, "I would appreciate your company, Anna." The snow lessened, becoming just a flurry around her.

"Well, it's kind of far to walk," her sister pointed out. "We'll either have to have Kristoff take us in his new sled—cart, I mean; there's no snow—or ride by ourselves."

"Ride? As in horses?" Elsa asked.

"Of course I mean horses. Wait..." Anna looked at her curiously. "When was the last time you rode a horse, Elsa?"

"Um..." Elsa dimly remembered learning how to ride a horse, riding around the castle grounds, just like Anna had. But that had been so long ago—so long she didn't really know when. The only clear memory she had of riding a horse was... that night.

"Elsa," Anna said, eyes narrowing, "please don't tell me it was thirteen years ago, riding to the trolls' valley."

Sisters really can read minds, the blonde thought ruefully. "No, Anna... but I don't really remember when I rode last," she said. "I didn't get out much in the last thirteen years. It's been a very long time."

"Well then," Anna said, a determined look on her face as she stood. "Forget about Kristoff. We need to get you reacquainted with riding, right away!"

"I don't know, Anna..." Elsa said, her tone uneasy.

"Come on!" her sister said. "Once we get going, it's a lot of fun!" Anna pulled Elsa up and tried to drag her across the courtyard, apparently forgetting that the courtyard was currently covered in ice, and that she still had trouble skating. "Woah!" she cried, losing her footing once again.

Elsa laughed, catching Anna before she fell. "Maybe you'd better let me lead, sister," she teased. "You're still not very sure of yourself on the ice." She started guiding them across the courtyard.

They passed Eugene and Rapunzel skating together, clearly enjoying themselves. When they passed Kristoff and Sven, Anna motioned for Elsa to stop, and said, "Hey, Kristoff? Elsa and I are going riding. We'll be back in a bit, okay?"

"Sure," Kristoff replied. "Going anywhere I can take you?"

"Yeah," Anna said, "but Elsa needs to practice riding a horse."

Elsa rolled her eyes, and fought back a smirk. If Anna intends to give me a beginner's lesson, she thought, then I'll play along, but maybe I can have some fun later.

"Uh, okay," Kristoff said. "See you later, ladies!"

Anna waved goodbye, and Elsa skated them the rest of the way to the stables.

When they got to the stables, Anna had Elsa thaw her skates (About time, she thought), then went in search of the stableman. She came back a moment later, the middle-aged man in tow.

"I assume that you'd like your horse saddled, Your Highness?" he was saying, when they reached Elsa.

"Yes, please," Anna replied. "Tell me, does the Queen have her own horse?"

"Not exactly," the stableman said, turning to Elsa. "I can't recall you riding since you were younger, Your Majesty. However, I do have a horse that might suit you; I'll go fetch and have him saddled, if you'd like."

"Please do," Anna said before her sister could decline the offer. Turning to Elsa, she said, "This is going to fun, Elsa, trust me."

"Going to the memorial stones?" Elsa said drily, raising an eyebrow at her.

"No, riding horses, silly!" Anna replied. When the stableman returned, he was leading Anna's white horse, Snowdrop, and a second horse of similar color and build.

"His name is Anton," the stableman said, at Anna's questioning look. To Elsa, he said, "He's fairly gentle, Your Majesty, but be careful going any faster than a canter—he's not used to it."

"Good advice, um..." The Queen trailed off, then said, "What is your name, good sir?"

The stableman looked surprised by the question, but nonetheless smiled and replied, "Johannes, Your Majesty." He bowed.

"Thank you, Johannes," Elsa said, then approached the horse. She held a hand out, and allowed him to sniff her before patting its nose.

"Elsa," Anna said, "just watch what I do, okay?" Elsa nodded, and watched as Anna approached her horse from the left, stepping in the stirrup, then hauling herself up onto the saddle. She sat at a slight angle, her right leg to the right of the pommel, the other below, yet she was still able to face forward.

"It's a sidesaddle," she explained to Elsa. "Now, do what I just did."

Elsa did her best to copy what Anna did, but thirteen years of isolation had apparently not done her physique much good, for she had trouble lifting herself up. Fortunately, Johannes was there to give her a boost, and Elsa finally made it onto the saddle, looking thoroughly embarrassed and sitting awkwardly.

"Make sure you're secure on the saddle enough so you won't lose your balance and fall," Anna instructed, showing her sister how she was straddling the pommel of the saddle. "Now, grab onto the reins, and don't let go. Steering is easy; to turn left, pull on the left rein, and pull on the right to turn that way. Pull on both to stop." She watched as Elsa experimented, turning Anton this way and that. "Now, to go, flick the reins gently. Then follow me." Anna flicked her own horse's reins, and rode off at a walk.

Anna spared a glance back at Elsa as she left the stables. She saw that her sister was doing an okay job of steering and staying on the horse, but she still looked nervous. "Just relax, Elsa," Anna said. "As long as you're firmly seated and keep your hands on the reins, you should be fine. We won't go faster than this until you're comfortable, so whatever you do, don't dig your heels in or anything like that."

Anna led them back to the courtyard, then pulled back on Snowdrop's reins, realizing something. "Uh, Elsa?" she said, turning to her sister, "how are we going to get the horses across the ice? There's still quite a few people out here."

"Hmm..." Elsa sat in thought for a moment, then said, "I'll thaw a path, I guess." Addressing the townsfolk, she said loudly, "May I have everyone's attention, please? I need to melt a path to the gate." The people quickly skated or otherwise moved out of the way, leaving a clear space in the middle of the courtyard. Elsa raised a hand, a look of concentration on her face, and thawed a cobblestone path a meter or two wide, from the front doors to the gates, with a smaller path leading to the stables.

"Thank you," the Queen said. "I will only be out for a short while. Please, enjoy yourselves!"

Meanwhile, Anna had spotted Kai, and waved him over. "Elsa and I are going to visit the stones," she told him.

"Keep an eye on things, will you, Kai?" the Queen added.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Kai replied, bowing.

"Come on, Elsa," Anna said, and flicked her reins, the horse setting off in a walk toward the gates. She could hear Elsa's horse following; stealing a look behind her, she saw that Elsa was steering the horse with one hand on the reins, and waving to the crowd with the other. Show-off, Anna thought. A few people waved at Anna, too, so she waved back.

As they made their way out the gates and across the stone bridge, Anna noted all of the people around them walking to and from the castle. This skating rink thing was a big hit, she thought. I wonder how long she's going to leave it there? She had no idea whether Elsa's conjured ice would melt on its own, or whether it would be a permanent castle attraction until Elsa decided to thaw it.

When they reached the town, Elsa asked her, "I assume you know the way there?"

"Of course I know the way," Anna replied. "I'm pretty sure I know," she admitted. "It's hard to miss, though—it's up the hill a ways."

Despite Elsa's doubt in her sister's navigational skills (they only took one wrong turn along the way), they reached the cemetery by late afternoon. Tying the horses up at the gates, they walked in silence, hand in hand, to the plot belonging to the Arendelle Royal Family. The snow flurries had returned, and grew stronger as they neared their destination.

In a small clearing stood the two stones (cenotaphs, Elsa thought they were called), each nearly twice as tall as the sisters, placed here for the late Queen and King of Arendelle. Engraved on them, written in Old Norse, were runes, which translate as follows:

Queen Idun: She died in the sea

King Agdar: He died in the sea

Elsa sank to her knees on the ground, and Anna knelt next to her, putting a comforting arm around her as she wept before the stones. The snow flurries around her slowed and stilled in the air, held frozen by her grief.

When she had cried herself out, she slipped out of Anna's embrace and straightened, facing the statues. She cleared her throat, and did her best to sound calm and collected.

"Mama, Papa," she began, "I hope that you can hear me, wherever you've gone, for there are things that I feel I need to tell you.

"First, I must ask for your forgiveness, for my not coming here sooner. On that horrible day, over three years ago, I couldn't come out of my room for the memorial, for my powers were out of control from my grief. In thirteen years, I still had no control.

"Five days ago, I was crowned Queen. Anna was so excited to have the gates open, so much so that she fell for a young prince and wished to marry him after knowing him for less than a day. At the ball that evening, she asked for my blessing, and when I said no, she grabbed my hand, unintentionally pulling my glove off, and demanded to know why I shut her out and what I was afraid of. I lost control, and revealed my powers to the assembled guests, and to the people in the courtyard when I ran.

"I felt like I'd failed you, Papa, for not concealing, for letting it show, but it didn't stop there. I ran right across the fjord, freezing it over and plunging the kingdom into winter. I fled into the mountains, and didn't know what had happened until Anna found me two days later. She tried to convince me to return, and to let her help me, but I was too afraid, and lost control again. I accidentally froze her heart.

"Her traveling companion was an ice harvester named Kristoff, who had been raised by the rock trolls; apparently, he saw us that night, thirteen years ago, and thus knew where to take Anna for help. But they were told that only an act of true love could thaw her frozen heart. He decided to return her to her prince waiting in Arendelle.

"The prince had organized a search party, looking for Anna, but Anna had already gone, so they found only me. Two of the men with him tried to kill me, and I was forced to defend myself. The prince stopped me before I could kill them, but I fell, was knocked unconscious, and was taken back to Arendelle and locked in the dungeon.

"I know why you must have rebuilt that cell, Papa, and I forgive you. By then I knew my powers were too dangerous for me to remain in Arendelle, and knew that even the concealing shackles would not hold for long. But I could not persuade the prince to release me.

"It turns out that he had been scheming for the throne all along, and when Anna returned seeking his comfort, he betrayed her, and left her to freeze. He then told the Council that she was dead by my hand, but had married him, and he ordered my execution for treason. I managed to break the shackles and the cell wall to escape, just as they came for me, and a massive blizzard began.

"But Anna had escaped as well, with the help of a living snowman I had made when I fled Arendelle. She managed to break out of the quickly freezing castle and went out onto the frozen fjord to find me. The prince found me in the blizzard before she did, though, and claimed that she was dead because of me. I collapsed in grief, halting the storm, and waited for the end.

"Anna found me in time, and threw herself in the prince's way just as she froze solid. The prince's sword broke and threw him back, and I saw what my powers had done to her. As I grieved for her, she suddenly returned to life, her frozen heart thawed by her act of self-sacrifice. It was then I realized what we never figured out, my entire life: love will thaw. With my love for Anna I lifted the winter, and hugged Anna for the first time in thirteen years.

"What you never realized, Papa, is that concealing and not feeling was the worst way for me to try and gain control. Keeping my emotions bottled up only made things worse, making the magic burst out. Feelings just can't be concealed indefinitely, any more than my powers can. Sometimes I just need to let it go.

"Because I let myself feel, now—especially love—I have much less fear of hurting Anna or anyone else. I have told her the truth about the accident, and we are starting to mend our relationship. I will never shut her or anyone else out again, for the gates have been opened."

She took a deep breath, and said, "Papa, Mama, I forgive you for shutting us in, and keeping us apart. You were afraid, just like I was for thirteen years. You let the troll elder's warning misguide you, though you are not to blame for it being vague and incomplete, a fact I will bring up if I see him again."

Sighing, she said, "I hope you forgive me for almost destroying the kingdom in my carelessness, Papa. I feel ashamed for running away, but it was the only thing I could think of to do to protect Anna and the people. They have forgiven me, and I think there will be peace for a long time to come."

"I..." She trailed off. "I think that's everything. Anna?"

Anna mimed punching Hans in the face. "Oh, right. Anna punched the prince in the face, and I mercifully sent him back to his kingdom for punishment, after two days in the dungeon. The man responsible for the thugs sent to kill me has likewise been sent home, but not before I cut off trade with his country."

She thought some more, and remembered Rapunzel. "Our cousin Rapunzel from Corona attended the coronation, and she and her husband Eugene have been keeping me, Anna, and Kristoff company for the last few days." She paused. "She partly blamed herself for your loss, but we both convinced her that these things happen, and there was nothing she could have done.

"I'm sorry you two never got to meet her, especially you, Mama; she's very spirited and easygoing, just like Anna. I think you would like her a lot. I think you both would like Anna's friend Kristoff, too, though he's a little odd. They're closer now than when they met, but I have advised Anna to take it slow." She smiled at her sister.

"Thank you for listening, Mama, Papa. I love you, and I miss you, now more than ever." She brushed a tear away, and stood.

"Do you have anything you'd like to add, Anna?" she asked her sister.

"Nah, I think you covered pretty much everything," the strawberry-blonde replied. Addressing the statues, she said, "I miss you too, Mama and Papa. I love you." She then stood, and followed Elsa back to the cemetery gates.

When they reached the horses, Anna said, "Are you okay, Elsa? You look pretty tired."

"I am tired, Anna," the blonde replied, "but I needed to get that load off my shoulders. Thanks for... for supporting me." Anna hugged her, and Elsa returned the embrace. She was still cold, but didn't look ready to freeze everything, so Anna supposed Elsa was okay. After a minute or two, they broke apart, and mounted their horses (Elsa needing help from Anna).

"So, Anna," Elsa asked, as she got situated on Anton, "what's your horse's name?"

"Oh, I named him Snowdrop," Anna replied. "I'm not sure why, besides the color. He's kind of a scaredy-horse, as I found out a few days ago."

"It's a lovely name, Anna," Elsa assured her. "And it's probably from your love of snow."

"Yeah, I guess so," Anna agreed. "So, do you think you're okay enough riding, to maybe go a bit faster?"

Her sister smirked at her. "Are you asking to race me, Anna?"

"Well, it's almost dinnertime," Anna said, "so I just thought you might like to get home..."

Elsa snapped Anton's reins sharply, and took off down the hill. "Catch me if you can, Anna!" she called back.

Wait, what? Anna thought. A few hours ago she hadn't ridden in probably a decade, and now this. I wonder if she's just been pulling my leg this whole time? Annoyed, she snapped her reins and galloped off in pursuit of her sister.

Fifteen minutes later, just as dusk was setting in, they reached the castle, Anna having caught up to Elsa by the time they reached the bridge. Slowing to a walk to get around the people going in and out, the sisters rode through the gates and right up to the doors, where Kai waited.

Helping the Queen down from Anton, the portly man said, "I'll take these back to the stables for you, Your Majesty, Your Highness."

"Thanks, Kai," Anna said. Dismounting, and handing Snowdrop's reins to Kai (giving the white horse a pat on the nose first), she said to Elsa, "Let's go find Kristoff."

They found him and Sven with Rapunzel and Eugene off to one side of the courtyard, watching the remaining people (and one snowman) skate around.

"So, where did you two go?" Rapunzel asked when they arrived. "You sort of left in a hurry."

"Elsa wanted to visit our parents' stones," Anna explained, "and I went along to support her. We took horses, because I thought she was out of practice!" She glared at her sister.

"Come on, Anna," Elsa teased. "Just because it was a long time ago doesn't mean I don't remember the basics. After that, it doesn't take long for me to relearn."

Anna felt like tossing a snowball at her, except there wasn't any snow in the frozen courtyard to make one. And Elsa was already tired, so a snowball fight probably wasn't such a good idea. "Okay, fine. But it was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Elsa admitted. "We should probably do that more often."

"Sure," Anna said, "if you can work it into your busy schedule, that is. But you should probably go easier on your horse next time—he looked pretty tired when we got back."

"I guess I should take the stableman's advice next time," her sister agreed, shrugging sheepishly. "Anyway, it's nearly time for dinner, so let's go get ready, shall we?"

"Yes, let's!" Anna agreed.

"I'll see to Sven," Kristoff said, and led Sven in the direction of the stables. As soon as he turned away, Elsa motioned for Anna and the Coronans to stay.

When the mountain man was out of earshot, Elsa said to them, "I have a surprise for Kristoff this evening, and I'll be needing your help." Anna and Eugene and Rapunzel listened as she explained her plan.

A/N: Having Elsa visit her parents' memorial stones was an idea I've had since I wrote chapter 2. And it seems to me that it'd be far enough from the castle that the sisters would want to ride there to make good time. As you can see, Elsa has just as much of a mischievous side as Anna. ;)

–Inevitably, being in uncharted territory, I start to run into problems writing—for example, needing to name things, like the horses, and the stableman. Also, I know very little about horses in general, having never ridden one in my life—just the basic things, like how a person mounts one. So I wound up doing a bit of research, especially concerning how one rides sidesaddle (as highborn ladies would do), but I'm sure it's going to sound strange anyway.

–I also looked up a translation of the King's and Queen's memorial stones (source: 2014/03/30/runes-on-king-queen-of-arendelles-gravestones/). According to the article, the first lines read, in Old Norse: 'Iðunn dróttning' (Queen Idun) and 'Agðar konungr' (King Agdar). The second lines, 'hon dó í hafi' and 'hann dó í hafi', simply mean that they 'died in the sea'. (The 'd' is used for 'ð' instead of 'th' because it's easier to pronounce, as with 'Oðin' (Odin).)

–I admit to adding the term 'cenotaph' after reading one of grrlgeek72's fics. Credit where credit is due. :)

–I apologize for dumping exposition again, but I didn't feel like shortening it. (This will be the last time, I hope.) Notice that Elsa states that she has less fear of hurting anyone, not no fear. Just as she admitted to Anna back in chapter 4, she's still not entirely sure of herself.

Next chapter: a title is awarded, and the mountain trek begins!