Note:

Aha! Ten is here, but no promises on eleven. I'm playing around with the delivery of that chapter, and it will probably be before July, but later in June. Enjoy!

CHAPTER WARNING:

T is the rating for this story – HOWEVER there will be some extra seasoning in this chapter and this chapter alone.

Disclaimer:

I do not own anything related to the real Frozen Franchise.

Happy reading!

- JQ

Chapter Ten: The More, The Merrier

It had been a week and two days since the princess was brought to Arendelle castle with all of her injuries. Currently, Dr. Halvorson had just finished looking over Tina's sprained ankle. He allowed her to walk on it a bit, to see how she was feeling. Fortunately, the brunette felt no pain.

"Well, Your Highness," Dr. Halvorson said with pride, "it seems as though we can start you on your feet again." When the doctor turned around, Tina looked at Anna and Honeymaren while she threw her fist in the air in silent celebration. Honeymaren smiled and shook her head while the queen giggled quietly behind her hand. Tina quickly hid her reaction as soon as Halvorson turned back to face her, although he knew she was happy to be given the 'all clear' for standing. "The bad news is you mustn't remain on it for too long at a time. I'd say keep off of it for about fifteen minutes per every hour that you're on your feet."

Tina frowned a little, knowing where things were going. "So does that mean..."

"It means," continued the doctor, "that we should keep the wheelchair around for now – in case you have to be anywhere when you're resting."

Tina groaned but Queen Anna was satisfied with this plan. "Tina," the redhead eased, "this is infinitely better than being in the chair the whole time." the brunette sighed but knew it was for the best.

"Fine," the princess drawled out dramatically, "I guess it'll be suitable."

Honeymaren shook her head and turned to face the doctor. "Thank you so much for helping us help her."

"Yes, I second that." Queen Anna added. The doctor just smiled and nodded.

"Again – just my job, ladies." after giving Tina some more instructions about caring for her foot, Dr. Halvorson took his leave. Tina laid down on her bed and exhaled in relief.

"Just five more days of being medically supervised and I'll be free!" Tina exclaimed. At this moment, Ingrid had re-entered the room and shook her head.

"Yeah – then you'll be off to Sweden to get hitched."

The room fell silent and all eyes were on Tina. The princess merely sat up in her bed and sighed heavily. She hadn't spoken much about her upcoming nuptials, but it didn't take a genius to interpret any of that further. Anna had witnessed Tina grieve over it, when she first stayed at the castle. Ingrid knew Tina for many years and nothing ever needed to be said about it – she knew her friend. Honeymaren was probably the most 'outside' of this circle, but an arranged marriage would definitely not be on her own bucket list; especially as a twenty year old woman who had just started to venture out into the world.

"That's it," Tina suddenly said, sticking out her right leg, "who wants to break this leg next?"

Groaning, Ingrid made her way over to her friend. She stuck out her hand and slapped the princess' leg without conviction. The princess scoffed.

"You didn't even try." The brunette pouted.

"I'll go fetch Gunnie then." Ingrid offered but Anna stuck her hand out to block the handmaiden.

"I'm afraid I can't let you willingly conspire to injuring the princess." the redhead stated simply.

Tina allowed herself to – once again – fall backwards onto her guest bed. "Boo – you're no fun."

Honeymaren walked over to sit at the edge of the princess' guest bed. "I mean...we can just wait until Anna leaves to do work. Then she can't stop us."

"Honey!" Anna admonished.

"Splendid – I like you, Honeymaren." the brunette said, looking up at the raven-haired woman.

Honeymaren laughed. "I like you too, Tina."

"Speaking of 'like'," Anna said, making her way to the opposite side of the bed that Honeymaren was on, "Honey and I both noticed that you and Elsa had been spending a lot of time together, these last few days." Tina began to blush and suddenly felt the need to run. Instead, she grasped the bed sheets beneath her so hard that her knuckles were surely going to go numb.

The queen and Honeymaren had gathered a surplus of evidence, over the last few days. They knew that Princess Tina had been openly flirtatious with the ice wielder and they just wanted to confirm their suspicions. They waited until she had been medically cleared for obvious reasons, so now they were here and hoping to get to the bottom of things.

"Indeed..." Honeymaren added, "...but that's not all we've noticed. We've noticed some hand caressing...some longing looks on your part...also mutual blushes here and there." at the same time, Ingrid had already gone to the door and locked it from the inside. She stood there, pretending to look innocent.

"Ingrid," Tina cried out, "how could you let them do this to me?"

The handmaiden just shrugged. "Anna bribed me."

Tina shook her head. It was predictable of her long-time friend, but it still stung. "Traitor."

Anna just laughed and placed a hand on the princess' hand. "Relax, Tina. We won't tell anyone and we aren't cross."

"Yeah," Honeymaren seconded, "it's cute. And it's also completely natural. You can't help but feel whatever you feel."

"I'm only a few years older than you, Tina. I remember what crushing looked like." Anna told her. "I'm also going to flatter myself. Considering Elsa and I are sisters, I am drawing the conclusion that you think we are both pretty." the queen teased, pretending to throw her hair over her shoulder even though her hair was in a bun. Ingrid, Honeymaren and Tina all laughed at the redhead's antics, thereby resolving any tension that Tina was feeling.

"I...I didn't think it was noticeable. J-Just some light flirting...UGH! Gods, I don't even know what I'm thinking." Tina admitted, covering her face with her hands. "I have to get bloody married and I know she isn't reciprocating much – if at all."

"Well, I just wanted to lightly tease you. But I also I wanted to warn you..." Anna waited until Tina fully faced her before continuing. "I'm not telling you to stop your friendship with her – I know that you don't want to marry King Karl and that this last bit of freedom for you could be nice. What I am going to tell you is to please be careful. My sister is..."

Anna struggled to find the proper words but Honeymaren jumped in and saved her. "Elsa is not exactly the best at feelings." the Northuldra woman just shrugged. "That's all there is to it. I'm not even sure she's ever been involved with anyone romantically. Or even expressed interest in anyone." Honeymaren looked over at Anna for validation and the queen just nodded.

"She hasn't." the redhead confirmed, "And it's not because she a prude – no – she just worries way too much for anything. Although, every time I tried to get her to talk to me about possible romantic interests, she simply shuts down. I stopped trying to get information from her a few years ago." Anna said, after sighing for probably the millionth time due to this particular predicament, "Anyway – all I'm saying is: don't have any high expectations for her. She's not used to this and I can almost guarantee that she has no idea what's happening."

"Don't worry about me," Tina told the queen, ignoring when she said 'I will worry all I want', "I don't expect anything to be reciprocated at all. She's really nice and I enjoy spending time with her. Sure – she's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen – but I was getting similar vibes, when I spoke to her in the library. I promise not to scare her off or push too much." While the princess had daydreamed about having the former queen sweep her off her feet, for a whirlwind romance, she knew that it was less than likely to happen at all. "In fact, I was just going to drop most of it altogether. I'm only here for a few more days anyway." Tina looked down at her hands sadly but quickly shook it off. "Thank you, though. I appreciate you guys not being...judgmental about me."

"Anytime," Honeymaren promised, hugging the princess into her side. "We mean that."

The queen then stood, breaking their intimate conversation. "Well, I have things to tend to. You know – being a Queen and all. Anyway, if you want to celebrate the removal of your bandages with a certain sister of mine, she was in the gardens, last time I checked." Tina offered a thankful smile and got to her feet, with the help of Honeymaren.

...

"RYDER!" Elsa screeched, as she chased Ryder around a small area of the garden that they were in.

After a light lunch, Arnold, Ryder, and Gunn-Britt had decided to spend some time in the garden together. Already in the garden, Elsa was just writing some things down in a journal that Gerda had given her. She knew that Tina was seeing Dr. Halvorson today, so she decided that she would take to one of her old hobbies while she waited for her new friend. What she didn't account for was three hooligans coming in to disturb her peace. Ryder had decided to take her pen and torment her.

The blonde was eternally grateful that she never had any brothers.

"This is going to end very badly. Like when the Yaks came, and took all of our rations." Gunn-Britt said to no one in particular, as she watched the ice wielder chase the reindeer herder around.

"Ryder!" Elsa tried again, once she got Ryder cornered at some rose bushes. She thought she had him until he stood tall and stretched his arms way up over his head. He was Kristoff's height so Elsa knew that reaching the pen from her vantage point was no use. She decided on her last resort: begging. "Ryder, please! Just give me the pen!"

"Go long, Arnie!" Ryder called out, holding the pen that was once in Elsa's possession.

Arnold began to panic beside Gunn-Britt, on a nearby bench. "W-What does that even mean?!" without registering the advisor's reaction to his instruction, Ryder threw the pen in Arnold's direction. As expected, the piece of stationary sailed way over the advisor's head and just so happened to hit the poor unsuspecting soul, entering the gardens.

"Ah!"

"Tina!" Ryder and Arnold both cried out. Before either of them could even start heading towards the princess, Elsa pushed her way through the boys and sprinted towards her. Upon reaching Tina, Elsa began to hurl a myriad of frantically asked questions her way.

"Are you hurt?"

"Uh, no – I don't think –!"

"Did it hit your scar?"

"Um, no –!"

"Did it get in your eye? Gods, I'm so sorry that –!"

"Elsa!" Tina said, swiftly grabbing the blonde's wrists in her hands. The brunette just had to laugh at the absolute look of shock on the older woman's face. "Elsa, I promise I'm fine. It was just a little knock on my forehead – it's all good." for a moment, both women just stared at one another, gazing into each other's eyes. The proximity and eye contact was almost too much for either of them but neither looked away. The moment was only broken after Arnold cleared his throat.

"Uh..." Ryder said awkwardly as he approached, "I'm sorry about that."

Both Tina and Elsa turned to look at him. The brunette smiled softly while the blonde looked incredibly cross. Elsa narrowed her eyes at him, in discontent, and he nervously smiled back.

"You just had to grab my pen from me, while I was just minding my own business!" before the blonde could tear into him anymore, Tina placed a calming hand on the former queen at the juncture under her shoulder right above her chest. Ryder noticed how Elsa visibly calmed down and took a step back.

"It's okay, Ryder." Tina told him. "Just – let's not make a habit of taking Elsa's things and throwing them at me."

"Will do, Princess!" Ryder said, saluting her. "But what's this?" he asked, pointing down towards her feet. "Do my eyes deceive me? Or are you standing on both of your feet?!"

Everyone then looked down to see that Tina was, indeed, not in the wheelchair. Arnold then jumped in to wrap his arms around the brunette's shoulders and Ryder threw his arms around Arnold. Tina laughed and just hugged both boys back with equal momentum. Then Gunn-Britt came by and wrapped her arms around all of them and spun them around.

"How do you feel, Tee?" Arnold asked excitedly.

"I feel good. I think?" the princess then looked down at her foot and moved it around a little – testing its' flexibility. "I don't feel much pain but the doctor said I can't be on it for too long. Every hour, I'm supposed to sit for about fifteen minutes or so."

"That sounds reasonable," Elsa commented, "I'm just glad you're healing."

"Yeah," Tina smiled up at the blonde, "me too."

There was another hefty pause where Tina and Elsa just stared at one another again. The others were just standing around them, feeling as if they were intruding on something. Ryder just kept eyeing the proximity between the two (if you could even call it 'proximity'). They weren't really holding hands anymore but Tina was standing impossibly close to Elsa – the only thing that could probably fit between them would have to be a sheet of paper. The reindeer herder – in his six years of knowing Elsa – he had never seen her allow herself to be this close to someone that she didn't trust with her life. Sure, Tina was great, but it had been less than a month. Since he considered it his vocation to teasing Elsa at any given time, he was about to comment on it when they were interrupted by Olaf.

"TINA!" the tiny snowman exclaimed, as he entered the yard. "Tina! Oh it's true – your foot is all better!" Olaf ran towards the brunette and she lowered herself to envelop him into a tight hug.

"Well, not quite Olaf." Elsa said, walking closer to him and Tina. "She still has to rest every so often and she can't exert herself too much."

"But I just had the most fantastic idea to celebrate her foot!" Olaf exclaimed, "We should go up to the North Mountain with our visitors!" Elsa just shook her head.

"Olaf, I don't think you quite understand was 'exert' means."

"The North Mountain?" Ryder inquired, "What's up there?"

Olaf squealed in excitement. "Ohhh! It's got an ice palace and all my brothers and sisters are up there?"

"Ice palace?" Gunn-Britt questioned.

"Brothers and sisters?" Ryder also asked.

"Oh yeah," Olaf said, pointing at Elsa, "She made me and my brother, Marshmallow, by accident when she froze everything. And then she made all my little brothers and sisters when she was sick, this one time. You're all going to love them! They're so cute and fun!" Tina, Arnold, Ryder and Gunn-Britt just turned to face Elsa with wordless expressions.

"So..." Arnold tried, "...if you made little lifeforms..."

"Are you like...their mother?" Tina continued the line of reasoning for her friend.

Elsa just stood there, hands at her sides. Her face was burning because she had – quite honestly – never thought of it before now. "I'm just going to say 'sure', since that's the only logical thing that I can wrap my head around at the moment." the other adults just nodded, accepting the answer and moving on.

"Well," Ryder said stepping closer to the blonde, "a belated happy mother's day!"

Ignoring him, the blonde returned her attention to the snowman. "Olaf, I'm not sure this will be a good time for a trip to the palace," she stated, "Tina's still healing and we have plenty of things to do here with our visitors who are leaving in a few more days."

"But that's exactly why! They won't be here for very long and it would be so fun for everyone!" Olaf reasoned. He then began to pout a little. "And you promised that we'd visit the last time you were here."

"Yeah Elsa," Ryder said, "what kind of a mother breaks promises like that?" Tina elbowed him in the ribs, to rebuke his comment, but the damage had already been done. Elsa just sighed and shook her head.

"Okay, Olaf." she said as she watched his face morph into a wide smile. "But we have to wait until Stella and Nolan are done their lessons for the day. I know they'd be cross if we all went without them." the little snowman cheered some more as Tina spun him around in her arms.

...

Once the Prince and Princess finished their lessons for the day, Olaf informed them of his idea to go to the North Mountain. They were just as excited as the snowman – if not more. Kristoff was also ecstatic to head to the ice palace, as he loved admiring his sister-in-law's impeccable craftsmanship (he argued that the ice palace should be added as a world wonder). Unfortunately, his dreams were cut short when Anna told him that he needed to stay back and help her entertain some guests for a councilmen meeting. As the Prince Consort, he was expected to appear for official meetings as requested by the Queen. He pleaded with his wife to excuse him from this meeting and even promised her that he would attend four more meetings without questions or complaints.

Anna just shook her head at her husband. "I'm sorry, love. This meeting is going to have all of our members accounted for, and I'd hate to have you missing if everyone is going to be there. It won't look great."

The ice harvester sighed sorrowfully. "Oh, man!" Elsa reached a hand out to pat her brother-in-law on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Kris," Elsa told him, "we'll go another time."

"And we'll try not to have too much fun without you." Ryder added.

Kristoff shook his head dramatically and leaned on Elsa for support. "No – I mustn't let you waste away at my expense!" he then grabbed Ryder by the shoulders and shook him. "You must go and enjoy the beauty that is the ice palace! Go! Go and don't let my absence be in vain!" Kristoff then exited the room, equally as dramatic as he began.

The Queen just sighed and shook her head. "Husbands." was her simple response. Before following him, Anna went to address her children. "Okay, do you have all of your warm things?" she asked.

"Yes!" both children answered at the same time. They began to point at their snow clothes to their mother for inspection. The North Mountain was going to be cold, but not as cold as it usually is in the winter months. The children just opted to wear simple coats, hats, mittens, and boots.

Satisfied with her children's state of dress, Anna turned around to inspect Tina and Gunn-Britt. Everyone, except for Elsa and the Natturas, sported cloaks that used to belong to Elsa and Anna's parents. Tina's was purple with Gold embroidery and Gunn-Britt's was a dark blue, with the same type of gold embroidery. Arnold and Ingrid opted to stay behind because they 'were not built for outside activities'.

"Alright," said the Queen, "I expect everyone to be back before dinner – AND in one piece. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." they all replied.

"Good." Anna smiled, "Listen to Elsa; she is the boss. She also knows that palace better than anyone. Whatever she says goes, got it?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." they replied, again.

...

It took about an hour for the group to reach the ice staircase that led to the top of the North Mountain. Once they reached the top of the staircase, Gunn-Britt, Tina, Honeymaren and Ryder stood back in awe of the ice structure before them.

"Whoa..." Tina sighed.

"I understand why Kristoff cries about this." Ryder added.

Elsa just laughed and began to knock on the large door. The group heard (and felt) heavy footsteps approaching. When the door swung open to reveal a massive ice monster, nearly twice the size of Gunn-Britt (who was already a staggering six feet and eight inches tall). The monster had a grimace on its' face until –!

"Marshmallow!" cried out Nolan, Olaf and Stella. They launched themselves at the ice monster and said ice monster growled in delight. The monster then fell to the ground, feigning being attacked while the littler ones laughed and clambered all over him.

"Oh I missed you, Marshmallow!" Olaf cried out, wrapping his twiggy arms around Marshmallow's face as best as he could. The monster growled back in kind, nuzzling into the tiny snowman.

Elsa then began to approach her most fearful creation, yet nothing but love was in her eyes. "It's good to see you, Marshmallow." she said, reaching out and placing a hand on his head.

"EL-SAH." the monster sounded out with a smile.

"Well, that's not something that you see every Friday." Ryder commented, breaking the moment. Both Tina and Honeymaren stood on either sides of the reindeer herder. They both nudged him in the ribs in silent reprimand.

"It is not as scary as the yaks." Gunn-Britt said, making her way over to the centre piece of the ice palace's foyer – a large ice fountain.

Tina followed her large friend over to the fountain and they both just stood, marvelling at its' beauty. The brunette looked down and saw the intricate designs woven through the structure. She removed one of her gloves and placed her bare hand on the fountain's wall. She expected the structure to give a little – to start to melt under her light touch. However, the fountain's wall stayed as it was. It was solid and it was not going to be melted away.

"Fascinating..." the brunette whispered, almost with a sort of reverence to her tone.

As someone who had spent their whole life in Botarskal, Tina noted that the climate was not too different than Arendelle's. Despite the country having 'ice' in its' name, the weather always made sense for the season. However, the winters in Botarskal – specifically – were treacherous. The high winds from the sea mingling with the frigid air around their seaside kingdom was enough to send the Gods into hiding. As such, Tina was no stranger to being kept in the castle with her sisters while vicious storms brewed just outside their abode.

In her earliest memories, she had recalled feeling an odd sense of wonder as she looked out of her window to see the storms and how they interacted with the sea, the sky, and the earth. She didn't know why she found comfort in such a destructive thing. Suddenly, a delightful sound caught the attention of her ears. She looked up to see the ice monster cradling Honeymaren, Elsa and Ryder in its' arms. Olaf, Stella and Nolan were tossing snowballs at them and laughing wildly while the adults maintained the moments' momentum with heart laughs of their own.

Gunn-Britt made a happy grunt, from beside the princess, and then trotted over towards the others. Tina watched as her friend picked up a large amount of snow, form it with her hands, and toss it at the adults. There was a moment of pause that was broken with even more laughter.

Tina just shook her head as she watched the moment unfold. The giant ice monster – who would have been feared – was just as loving and caring as anyone else could be. And then the brunette's eyes drifted toward his maker, of their own accord. The blonde's eyes were closed but her smile was as infectious as the children's. Here, right before her very eyes, Tina observed as the famed ice queen was indulging in playfulness with her ice monster.

Looking back towards the fountain, Tina reflected and thought about how the storms had always intrigued her. Considering her experiences with the ice queen as of late, perhaps the storms were never anything to be afraid of. Perhaps her comfort for them was not as weird as she had once believed. She decided not to reflect anymore on the subject for now though – she wanted to make sure that she didn't miss out on any of the fun.

...

"Hey!" Nolan cried out after Ryder, "That was cheating!"

Ryder stuck his tongue out at the boy and proceeded to do a short and funny dance. "It's not cheating if I'm just better than you, Mr. Princey Pants!"

"Oh yeah," Elsa laughed, "picking on a child. So becoming of you, Ryder!" while Elsa could chastise him all she wanted, she knew that it wouldn't deter Ryder from anything. She watched as Nolan gathered some more snow and formed it into a (poorly shaped) snowball right before launching it at the reindeer herder. More laughs ensued as she watched them run around the back of the ice palace.

Turning towards her right, Elsa saw Honeymaren and Stella making snow angels. The blonde then looked to her left and saw Gunn-Britt with Olaf. The guard was sitting down while Olaf sat on her shoulder. The small snowman was putting snowballs on the horns of Gunn-Britt's helmet like skewers. Elsa had to laugh at the sight. Turning around again, Elsa realized that Tina was nowhere to be seen.

Neither was Marshmallow.

Panic suddenly surged through her. While Marshmallow was completely harmless most of the time, he was still so large and blatantly unaware of his own strength. She worried about him accidentally harming Tina. He was a direct manifestation of her own fears and if he snapped, Elsa would be the only person able to soothe him. Immediately, Elsa went towards the main door of the ice palace. She wasn't entirely thinking when she burst through the doors in a panic.

Now she expected to see Tina injured; she expected to see Marshmallow being regretful. However, she got none of those options.

Tina was seated on the wall of the ice fountain. Marshmallow was seated across from her. One of his large hands was held out towards the princess and she was using her index finger to draw patterns on his hand. Elsa approached the unlikely pair and began to hear Tina's soft voice.

"...and then 'round goes the sheep – up and over the hill..."

"...H...HILL..." grumbled Marshmallow with an innocent looking smile. Tina nodded proudly and continued to trace patterns on his hand.

"Yes!" she said, "Over the hill...and into the pasture..."

Elsa hadn't realized that she moved closer to the pair before she started to speak. "What are we doing over here?" she asked. Amber eyes flitted towards her and Elsa could have sworn that she felt her heart jump.

"I'm telling him a calming story." the brunette explained, "I made it up for children in the village, back in Botarskal. It's about a little sheep that gets frustrated and he runs around the town to let is feelings out."

Elsa nodded curiously. "We needed a calming story?"

"Yes – Ryder and Nolan frightened him by shouting surprise and he got a little nervous." Tina sighed. She then turned around to face Marshmallow once more and gave him a soft pat on the arm. "Poor thing was huddled up under the staircase. I got him to come out eventually and we've just been here."

Elsa watched as her ice beast looked down at Tina, almost as if he was fawning over her. Tina just looked back up at him and Elsa couldn't really place what she was feeling. The brunette was looking at him as if he wasn't scary – as if he was like any other child that she has ever interacted with. It warmed Elsa's heart that someone – a stranger like Tina – could express such compassion and care for a creature that would normally send hundreds of other people running for the hills. The thought settled somewhere deep inside and it made Elsa feel...hmm...she couldn't exactly put a finger on it – all she knew was that this princess was certainly something else.

...

That evening, Elsa found herself restless in the library. She hadn't figured out why just yet, but she couldn't sleep and had the sudden urge to organize whatever was left of her collection of literature from the Americas. She had an amazing day up at the North Mountain. Everything had gone according to plan as the group had made it back to Arendelle Castle before dinner time. The day had been a success as the children had a great time, Olaf and Marshmallow got to reconnect, and their visitors came home in one piece (much to Anna's immense satisfaction).

So now here she was, simply cataloguing her American literature in the middle of the night. A couple guards had come to her when she uncharacteristically dropped a few books, but she sent them away and back to their posts. She knew that they were a little skeptical at her behaviour, but if she was going to be awake, she'd prefer it if she was actually doing something.

What was causing her restlessness? She had no idea. She tried to close her eyes and just drift off to sleep but she couldn't settle herself enough to do so. She figured that the adrenaline of the day was just getting to her. She couldn't remember the last time she had such an exciting and fun-filled day (at least recently). She probably just couldn't come down from the high of the day.

No matter, she thought, organizing the last bit of my literature collection should tire me out eventually.

As she continued to rearrange her books, she began to hear some soft footsteps approaching. Elsa scoffed and rolled her eyes. It was probably just another guard, coming to make sure she was alright. That was certainly something from her royal days that she did not miss.

"I assure you sir," Elsa stated with a soft yet firm tone, "as I have said to your shift mates, I am perfectly fine here on my own. Please go back to your regular post."

"Sir?" asked a very soft, yet feminine voice. The question was followed by soft musical laughter. Laughter that quickly found its' way into Elsa's chest and spread across her face as a light blush. "I didn't think you thought of me as masculine in any respect." Elsa swiftly turned around, not even caring that one of her books on the American revolution dropped to the floor. Amber met ocean blue and Elsa could feel her face start to heat up.

"Oh," Elsa said, "Tina – I was, uh, not expecting...you." she desperately tried not to sound ridiculous, although she knows that she probably did.

"I'd hope not," Tina laughed softly, "if you were expecting me, I'd hope you didn't look like you've seen a ghost."

The blonde shook her head and mentally kicked herself into gear. "No – ahem! – of course, I wouldn't." Tina smiled and began to approach her slowly, tracing her finger along each of the books that she passed. The brunette walked toward the ice wielder until she was standing a mere few inches away from her. Elsa hadn't realized that she was walking backwards until her back hit the window, at the end of the aisle.

"You look tense, Your Highness..." Tina said, bringing her hand from the bookshelf to Elsa's right shoulder. The slightly tanned hand didn't stop its' movements until it reached a spot just above the blonde's clavicle. Elsa's breath hitched and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

"Tense?" Elsa huffed out, noticing that her throat and mouth were dry, "W-W-Wha – what makes you t-t-think I'm tense?" Tina giggled in a sultry tone, just tracing her index finger back and forth, along the ice wielder's clavicle.

"Hmm...just an observation." Tina replied, slowly looking up and meeting Elsa's gaze, "You seem to be...quite nervous...around me."

"You've noticed?" Elsa asked, without thinking. "I-I mean – why – why would I be nervous around you?"

The brunette simply smirked and never faltered in her eye contact with the taller woman. "I think you know the answer..."

Truthfully, Elsa thought to herself, I don't.

"I don't, really..." Elsa admitted softly, never tearing her eyes away from Tina's intense gaze. She felt lightheaded – between the ministrations of Tina's fingers on her neck and shoulder area, balanced with the close proximity. She wanted to lie down, but didn't really want any of this to stop. The sound of her own heartbeat was deafening yet soft in her ears. "...I am not...uh...sure..."

"Well..." Tina whispered, "...let me help you find out." the brunette's fingers danced from Elsa's left clavicle and travelled upwards, along a pale slender neck. The fingers lightly played with some of the shorter platinum hairs, just behind her ear. Elsa's lightheaded feeling dulled out but didn't fade – she was all too focused on amber eyes, hungrily observing her reactions.

"H-How do you – ah – how would you expect to do that?" the blonde asked. Elsa was talking, but she didn't entirely believe that she was thinking coherently. It was almost as if Tina had been casting a spell over her – a spell that Elsa didn't exactly want to free herself from. Elsa forced herself to wiggle her fingers a little, just to make sure she could move freely. Although she could move freely, she didn't want to. She enjoyed the spell; she found that she enjoyed it quite a bit.

"...I have a few ideas..." Tina stated. The brunette's hands stopped their movements and began to cup the back of the blonde's neck. She didn't squeeze or wrap her hand around Elsa's neck, she simply let her fingers lightly dance across pale skin. Tina then pushed herself closer into Elsa's space – suddenly, they were chest to chest. Elsa's breath hitched for the second time and Tina simply pressed her lips against the blonde's ear. "...Do you like what I'm doing right now?" she whispered softly.

Elsa could feel herself nodding, but she couldn't promise that she actually was doing that.

Tina hummed into the ice wielder's ear. "None of this, dear..." Tina told her, gripping some platinum blonde hair a little forcefully. Not tugging or pulling – simply grasping and applying the slightest amount of pressure. "Let me hear your pretty voice..."

Elsa forced her voice out, "Y-Yes..."

"Yes what?"

The blonde's voice was breathless, "Yes...I-I-I like w-what you-you're doing...right...now..."

"Mmm...thank you, beautiful..." Tina praised, which gave Elsa a good feeling in her chest. Suddenly, the lips that were on hear ear began to move south, along a pale jawline. "...what about now?"

"Yes," Elsa choked out, "yes."

"Would her highness wish for me to stop?" Tina asked, still dragging her lips painstakingly slow across the ice wielder's jaw.

Elsa inhaled sharply, "No...no, not really." the blonde gasped as the light pressure on her hair returned.

"Hmm...that didn't sound very convincing." Tina said, stopping her movements and pulling away slowly, "I thought I told you that – ah!"

In one swift movement, the blonde reached out and placed a firm hand on the shorter woman's waist, keeping her close. "Tina," Elsa pleaded, "I-I don't want you to stop."

Smirking, Tina returned her lips to the blonde's jawline and hummed as Elsa gasped at the contact. "That's better..." Tina praised, grazing her lips against porcelain skin. The blonde couldn't help but tighten her grip on the younger woman's waist – pulling her impossibly closer. The ice wielder's skin was aflame, but she didn't want to stop the feelings that spread across her chest and down into her core. The thought of Tina stopping what she was doing – at this very point in time – felt awful to Elsa.

"I want to try something else," Tina whispered against Elsa's chin, "provided you have no objections..."

The blonde moaned a little louder than she had meant to, "I promise," Elsa began, "you will hear – ugh – hear no such thing from...me..."

"Mmm...perfect..." Tina then pulled back, much to Elsa's disappointment. Before Elsa could protest, a slender tanned finger found its' way to her lips. "...mmm...so soft..." Elsa groaned with impatience. What she was impatient for? She had no idea.

Elsa wanted to say 'please', but it didn't seem that her vocal chords wanted to cooperate. As if reading her mind, the brunette removed her finger and replaced it with a slight graze of her lips. The blonde's mouth parted, releasing a soft moan. Elsa's eyes were closed, but Tina's lips were so close that the blonde could feel the brunette's smirk. The ice wielder wanted to push forward and press her lips to the younger woman's, but a tanned hand on her chest kept her in place.

"...what do you want, baby?" Tina's voice ghosted over Elsa's lips. The brunette tried to coax her softly,"...tell me, please...tell me..."

Elsa couldn't feel herself speak, but somehow she said, "...please..."

"...please what, baby?"

"...please..." Elsa begged, "please just kiss me..."

As Elsa closed her eyes, she felt Tina lean in and –!

(. . . . .)

"GAHH!" Elsa screamed. She shot upright in her bed, tugging the sheets around her into her chest. She was panting heavily and she could feel the tips of her fingers begin to freeze the sheets in her hands. Her eyes searched the room frantically, looking at her surroundings. After confirming that she was in her castle bedroom, she sighed and fell back onto her pillows.

No bookshelves.

No library.

No Tina.

She groaned as she draped her forearm across her eyes, almost forcing them shut. She hadn't ever had a dream quite as vivid as that – let alone a dream that was so...explicit. She had to admit, the good news was that she felt some relief, knowing that she had an answer to her unexplained nervousness around Tina. The bad news was that she had never experienced this before and that this woman was supposed to get married at the end of the year.

"...crap."