The Princess waved her hand. "Open up the gates."

A guard nodded, and signaled for his comrades to do the same. For a short while, the gates had remained open. They had been closed now for six consecutive days, ever since Queen Elsa had been discovered missing. Today, however, the castle was expected to receive a very special visitor.

"You seem really calm, Anna." His gruff voice whispered in her ear. Anna jumped and punched him lightly in the shoulder, all the while laughing.

"Don't scare me like that!" She grinned at him. Her mood had improved significantly in the past few days, her sadness into hope and her disbelief into determination. "But I am excited, I haven't seen her since the coronation!"

Kristoff rubbed his arm. He had forgotten scaring Anna always came with a price. "Well, I've never met her. Is she pretty?"

Her fiance received another punch in the arm. "Kristoff!"

"Kidding, kidding!" He raised his arms in surrender.

The pout that had taken over her features dissipated. "And anyway, she's married." She looked as if she was going to say something more, but at that moment a distant sound of wheels stole her attention. "They're here!"

Sure enough, it seemed a carriage was heading towards the castle, led by a magnificent white horse. Anna beamed with excitement, and she was bouncing on the balls of her feet, a sure sign she was trying to contain her emotion. The horse was fast, leaving Anna to endure only a few moments of hyperactive anxiety. The door of the carriage slammed open, and a bare foot found it's way out in the open before the rest of her body appeared.

"Anna!" A girl with shoulder length brown hair and expressive green eyes attacked the Princess of Arendelle with a vicious hug. "I missed you!"

Anna smiled. "I missed you too! You're hair has gotten really long!"

"Tell me about it." A tall man stepped out of the carriage next, with a small chameleon resting atop his brown hair. "I swear, Rapunzel is trying to grow that obnoxiously long hair back."

"Eugene! I am not!" The Queen of Corona pouted, a facial expression that made her look much like her younger cousin. "But you have to admit, it made a great adventuring tool."

"That's up for debate." The man flashed a devious smile, a look that suited him well. The chameleon on his head smiled as well, before jumping off and climbing on to Kristoff. The dark-haired man stick his hand out to Kristoff. "And you are?"

"Oh!" Anna giggled excitedly. "This is my fiance, Kristoff! Kristoff, this is my cousin Rapunzel, Queen of Corona. And that guy is her husband, Flynn- er, Eugene. Actually, I'm not really sure what to call him."

"His name is Eugene-"

The King interrupted his wife. "Flynn is fine." He shook Kristoff's hand, and scooped the chameleon from his head. "Sorry about Pascal, he's… difficult."

Kristoff nodded, but he couldn't help but stare at Anna and Rapunzel. The resemblance between them was uncanny. "How are you two related, again?"

"She's my cousin." Anna grinned proudly. "Our mothers were sisters. They were both born here in Arendelle, but my aunt Primrose married the young King of Corona and moved there. Mother stayed here, and married my father. Enough talk, though, let's go inside and start the search for Elsa!"

Rapunzel nodded and skipped forward, but Flynn grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks. His previous look of mischief had been replaced by seriousness. "What about that ship we saw?"

"Oh, you're right." The Queen's face darkened. "Anna, we saw a ship when we were down by the docks earlier."

Kristoff smirked. "That's kind of where ships go."

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "It wasn't just any ship, blondie. We saw an enemy ship, bearing the flag of Dunbroch."

A/N: If you've stuck with me thus far, I hope that means you like the story :) However, I plan to progress the story very soon and get down to the heart of the adventure. Before I do this, I'd like your input. On my profile is a link for a poll asking for which pairings/shippings you support. I don't plan to have this story revolve around romance, but the pairings I decide to use will ultimately decide the outcome of the story. As is with any good story, it should be centered on what the fans want! So if you have time to take this quick little survey just click on my profile. I'd greatly appreciate it!